Rockie51 Posted April 12, 2017 Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 Last year I bought a new plastic gearbox cover from Rimmers. It had a greater front circumference than the old fibreglass one and never sealed properly on the firewall. At the back, it had a longer flat section than the old one. This meant that there was insufficient clearance between the cover and the front universal joint. It caused a loud bang every time we went over a bump as the UJ hit the cover. I contacted Rimmers and they said that they had never had this problem before and asked if the car had been modified. The answer is "no". The car has just come back from having liners and pistons replaced to fix a major blow-by problem which pumped 6 litres of oil out of the dipstick hole in 1800 miles during the TSOA National Rally, and I am just about to start re-installing the interior, including the gearbox cover. It looks like I will have to go back to the old fibreglass cover. Has anyone had a similar experience? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
harlequin Posted April 12, 2017 Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 I splashed out on a Racetorations gearbox cover. Its a bit more expensive then Rimmers attempt but it fits straight out of the box. George Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grahamgl Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 Racestorations every time, split cover is easy to fit and fits well. Just need to cut holes for access to gearbox. I also cut one to give easy access to G/b filler plug. Graham Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kevo_6 Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 +1 Racetorations, very good fit and my box has been out quite a few times in the last couple years. So much easier to fit. As it happens my gearbox is going back in today. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 Hi Kev, what did they find inside the box? Good luck on the refit. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kevo_6 Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 (edited) Hi Kev, what did they find inside the box? Good luck on the refit. Roger Hi Roger I've had an uprated Layshaft and lay gear (Stag type!) with new thrust washers etc, etc. changed the accumulator and the accumulator spring in the overdrive with a good clean inside and run the pressure and box for 3-4 hours. I must say it feels the best it's been turning in the hand. It's in the car just got to bolt it all up this afternoon. Edited April 13, 2017 by Kevo_6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rcreweread Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 Rockie ( is that how you like to be called?) Racetorations covers are very good and so is their price, but that doesn't get you out of the problem you've got. I had a similar experience with a plastic ( not fibreglass) tunnel from a different well known TR supplier from Rimmers ( I wonder if the manufacturer supplies them all) in that it was too big around the bulkhead opening - I had to cut some quite large slots in the cover to "shrink" the circumference and then hold it all together with Gaffa tape - hardly a very professional installation but what else could I do! The easiest way I found to get it to match the circular opening in the bulkhead was to accurately place masking tape on the lip of the bulkhead and mark the mounting holes, starting from the bottom - do that each side making sure the start of the masking tape matches the finished position of the top of the flange of the tunnel onceit's in position and compressed by the mounting bolts into the floor - if you do this each side so that the two pieces of masking tape meet precisely together at the top, you can then superimpose these onto your tunnel as a template. You will invariably find they wont meet when you place them on the tunnel, and the amount by which they don't meet is how much you will have to cut out of the tunnel in the form of an elongated "V" to shrink it to match the curvature - also use the template to drill the mounting holes in the tunnel, but just do one each side first to make sure everything lines up. I don't quite understand what you mean by "At the back, it had a longer flat section than the old one. This meant that there was insufficient clearance between the cover and the front universal joint. " - I don't recall having an issue at the back of the tunnel - can you clarify, maybe with a photo? I don't really understand how the original manufacturer(s) can get the shape so wrong because the bulkhead opening can't really change - given my experience of the plastic one, which is quite dense and feels strong, for my next project I'm going to use a fibreglass one which feels a lot flimsier and will need some sort of reinforcing/backing whatever, but I don't know yet how well that may fit - I'll let you know in due course. Hope this helps a bit cheers Rich Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nigel A Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 When I fitted my plastic tunnel from Moss some years ago, I had to trim the front to get a good fit so that it was flushwith the bulkhead. Afterwards the front fitted really well and wasn't too big. Cheers Nigel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.