Dear gearboxman

[aide]

Dear gearboxman,

Just blew third gear this evening in my Cerbera.

2001 Tvr Cerbera 4.5 Red Rose

I understand that it's a T-5 WC

Can you let me know how much it would cost to have it fixed or reconditioned or rebuilt or replaced etc?

Any information would be much appreciated

Many thanks
Adrian O'Neill

[Alexdaredevilz]

Might I be the first to say 'good effort'

[aide]

Alexdaredevilz said:

Might I be the first to say 'good effort'

[aide]

looks like it's not as bad as I first thought.

I've been quoted two prices for either a rebuild kit or a total rebuild depending on whether any of the teeth have been damaged.

Going to drop the gearbox this evening and send it off.

Does anyone know if it's possible to drop the gearbox, while leaving the bell housing attached to the engine, without having to remove the manifolds?

[Mr Cerbera]

Removing the Bellhousing is simple ( once you have an 8mm ball-ended allen key and enough extensions ) but I'm not sure if the Gearbox will pass through the gap between the manifolds after that - Sorry !

[itsallyellow]

Tray off, prop off, centre exhaust section off, gearbox handle off (4 13mm bolts) undo 4 gearbox bolts and out you come! The end of the manifolds mean you have to lift out then up and over .

[HarryW]

itsallyellow said:

Tray off, prop off, centre exhaust section off, gearbox handle off (4 13mm bolts) undo 4 gearbox bolts and out you come! The end of the manifolds mean you have to lift out then up and over .

Sounds like you might have done it once or twice.

[itsallyellow]

Haha yea! First te took us nearly 2 hours to get it out. With the different exhaust on the race car we can have the gearbox on the floor in around 10 minutes! Engine out the other evening took us under 2 hours and we certainly wasn't trying to be quick!

Mike

[aide]

wish I bought a yellow one!

[aide]

I'll keep chipping away.. hopefully get it done well before June 29th to give me a little time to let it settle before a spin to northern Italy for the Maratona dles Dolomites...

[aide]

can anyone let me know if it's ok to leave the car propped up on jack points under axle stands for three/four weeks or should I drop it after the gearbox is out?

[aide]

+ do I need another pair of hands to help lift and rotate the gearbox before I drop it through the, in situ, manifolds?
any help or insight or distilled knowledge would be greatly appreciated.
have another shed to cart me from a to b, so I'm in no real rush.. just want to take my time, do it right, perhaps learn a bit along the way and if lucky see her right for the end of june..

[Boatbuoy]

The gearbox weighs about 30-35kgs from memory. I've had mine out twice and it wasn't an easy thing manouver. I reckon you could just about do it single handed with the aid of a trolley jack, but I was much happier with two of us doing it.

[ridds]

Speaking from experience 3rd will be a gonner. I did mine a few years back and just bought another box as it was cheaper and easier than a rebuild.

My 5th was shot also.

[aide]

itsallyellow said:

Tray off, prop off, centre exhaust section off, gearbox handle off (4 13mm bolts) undo 4 gearbox bolts and out you come! The end of the manifolds mean you have to lift out then up and over .

Thanks for the advice itsallyellow, I have a crack in my manifolds so I'm going to get them sorted while the gearbox is away getting rebuilt.

[aide]

ridds said:

Speaking from experience 3rd will be a gonner. I did mine a few years back and just bought another box as it was cheaper and easier than a rebuild.

My 5th was shot also.

Thanks ridds, I did find a box on eBay but it's more or less the same price as getting mine completly rebuilt, so I'm still a little undecided as to what road I'm going to take as I believe that even a complete rebuild would still use reconditioned gears as new ones aren't availiable. either way, I have to take the gearbox out.. which I'm actually looking forward to (famous last words!). Will bring camera and post pics.

[grahamn]

When mine went I had it rebuilt with close ratio, cost about £1500.

[aide]

Hi Graham, I've been quoted prices around that for a full Quaife swap in. But aparently it's noiser. Is there much of a difference between the standard and close ratios? tbh I love the standard ratios. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th at 2000 rpm is 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mph :-)

[Tanguero]

aide said:

Thanks ridds, I did find a box on eBay but it's more or less the same price as getting mine completly rebuilt, so I'm still a little undecided as to what road I'm going to take as I believe that even a complete rebuild would still use reconditioned gears as new ones aren't availiable. either way, I have to take the gearbox out.. which I'm actually looking forward to (famous last words!). Will bring camera and post pics.

I believe new gearsets are available from the place in the states that I got my rebuild kit and billet parts from. Very helpful people to deal with too.

www.thegearbox.org

[aide]

Tanguero said:

I believe new gearsets are available from the place in the states that I got my rebuild kit and billet parts from. Very helpful people to deal with too.

www.thegearbox.org

That's interesting. I asked the re-builders if I could supply my own new gears but they said no as they wouldn't be able to give me a 1 year guarantee. They did mention that the gears they use are crack tested etc. I think rebuilding it myself wouldn't be a good idea!