Discussion
When my car was new it was fitted with a 5 speed box, however as an understatement the 5 speed box for the 2.8 V6 was not the most robust gearbox in the world. The gearbox in my car was replaced many (I'm told in the region of 10 times) by the factory, the final solution was to revert back to the 4 speed unit which was substantially stronger. When reading the revisions in a workshop manual for the 2.8 V6 cars, I noticed the 5 speed box was modified (mainly lubrication system and the specified lubricant from memory) this got me thinking about changing the gearbox back to a 5 speed but this time using a later (and hopefully improved) gearbox and also using the recommended lubricant. The changeover was very straight forward, as follows. The engine does not need to be removed. Remove the gear lever. Remove the clutch cable. Remove the speedo cable. Remove the reverse light wiring Remove the propshaft. There are four or five bolts external to the gearbox that secure the gearbox to the bellhousing remove these and slide the gearbox down the chassis towards the diff. Remove the starter motor. Remove the bellhousing and drop it down out of the chassis. Remove the clutch assembly. Remove the flywheel (this needs to be done to give sufficient clearance to remove the gearbox from the chassis). Now you can take the gearbox from the chassis. You will need to change the needle roller bearing in the end of the crankshaft that supports the input shaft of the gear box, as the shaft that fits into the bearing increase from 1/2" to 15mm IIRC. As Mr Haynes would say re assembly is the reversal of the above, however now with the exception that the bolts that secure the bellhousing to the gearbox are located inside the bellhousing. These bolts are a 'little tricky' for access as the flywheel ring gear wants to cut off fat arms like mine, but if you replace the hex head bolt for socket screws that will accept an allen key (on a socket set ratchet drive) it makes life a little easier. The clutch remains the same type. I would strongly recommend that you upgrade the gear shift with a quickshift version, which you will also need to modify in a similar manner to the four speed version so that the gear lever sticks through the aperture in the correct place. The 5 speed box is slightly shorter than the 4, but the original prop shaft can be retained.
You need to be aware that the 2.3/2.4 V6 used a different ratio to the 2.8/2.9, and you will need to check that the gearbox you use has a mechanical speedo drive as the later (MK3 Granny IIRC) uses an electronic drive. Incidentally the speedo drive point is further to the rear of the gearbox by so depending if your speedo cable is currently wrapped around your front bumper you will require a longer cable, again not a problem, I would recommend if you require a length change send the original to a cable manufacturer (ie Speedy Cables) and spec the length increase.
I paid 150GBP for a 5 speed box that came from a bent 2.8 Capri, the box had the balance of a twelve month warranty as it had recently been overhauled, but you could by a box for significantly less than I payed. The quick shift conversion came with the box but I believe there about 30GBP. The speedo cable was about 15GBP. The spigot bearing
You need to be aware that the 2.3/2.4 V6 used a different ratio to the 2.8/2.9, and you will need to check that the gearbox you use has a mechanical speedo drive as the later (MK3 Granny IIRC) uses an electronic drive. Incidentally the speedo drive point is further to the rear of the gearbox by so depending if your speedo cable is currently wrapped around your front bumper you will require a longer cable, again not a problem, I would recommend if you require a length change send the original to a cable manufacturer (ie Speedy Cables) and spec the length increase.
I paid 150GBP for a 5 speed box that came from a bent 2.8 Capri, the box had the balance of a twelve month warranty as it had recently been overhauled, but you could by a box for significantly less than I payed. The quick shift conversion came with the box but I believe there about 30GBP. The speedo cable was about 15GBP. The spigot bearing
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