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Can you help me on this please.

Put simply, in last few months I have removed and replaced the gearbox cover several times to remove the gearbox and fix the clutch and separately to sort the overdrive wiring and solenoid.

I have replaced the hexagon headed cover screws with stainless capscrews such that I can spin them in and out with a drill driver but the real PITA is resealing the cover to an acceptable standard only for all the good work to  have to be done again next time the cover is removed.

To avoid unecessay removal in the future I'm now looking at the various aftermarket covers that are available with a view to improving access particularly to the overdrive solenoid. As far as I can see there are two piece units and ones with multiple access panels but none of them appear to offer access to the OD solenoid  albeit that the original workshop manual makes reference to an access panel in this position.

Can anybody please advise me how you gain access to the solenoid area without removing the gearbox cover? 

Thanks in anticipation and regards 

Rog

 

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Hi Roger,

if you start with the simplest item - one piece plastic tunnel - you can mod it any way you wish.

Left hand side - oil filler hole, solenoid access (this lurks behind a 'H' support leg)

Right hand side - starter motor upper bolt access, OD rigging arm, speedo angle drive.

Cut the tunnel into two pieces immediately in front of the hand brake handle.

 

It is easy enough to cover the holes with metal plates or sticky tape.

 

Roger

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About 15 years ago, I bought a split gearbox cover from Racetorations. This was an early version, so I had to cut the hole for the filler (left) and for the speedo drive (right).  I believe that the current version has these access points provided.  Because the 2 parts of the cover overlap, one should get a good seal at the junction.

By disconnecting the brace from the floor and the dash, one can manoeuvre the brace forwards so as to permit the rear half of the cover to be removed.  This gives access to the solenoid and its rear fixing screw, but not to the forward fixing screw.  I have drilled a screwdriver hole in the front part of the cover vertically above the forward screw (see photo) to permit removal of the screw.  I seal the hole in the cover with duct tape.

If these two screws haven't already got a pair of slots at right angles (i.e. X shape), then it's worth slotting them to ease removal/replacement.

Ian Cornish

IMG_5207-1280.jpg

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9 hours ago, RogerH said:

Hi Roger,

if you start with the simplest item - one piece plastic tunnel - you can mod it any way you wish.

Left hand side - oil filler hole, solenoid access (this lurks behind a 'H' support leg)

Right hand side - starter motor upper bolt access, OD rigging arm, speedo angle drive.

Cut the tunnel into two pieces immediately in front of the hand brake handle.

 

It is easy enough to cover the holes with metal plates or sticky tape.

 

Roger

+1 Follow Roger's pearl of wisdom. Be aware that the floorboard geometry for TR4, 4A, 5 and 6 may vary while the GB cover is the same for all so elongating some fixing holes might be a very first job before fitting a new tunnel.

 

 

Screen Shot 2019-07-19 at 12.12.42 AM.png

Edited by Geko
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Thanks Roger, Ian, Stef and I look forward to seeing Toms work of art, John.

Im happy to do the work to modify a cover to provide all the necessary access holes/hatches required but this all adds to the time the car is off the road when fixing an issue and I was thinking that  maybe an existing off the shelf bolt on solution may be available in readiness for the next time the cover needs to come off. I'm sure it won't be long. As this is not the case I will take Rogers recommended route and modify a  basic plastic cover recognising that it is likely to need fitting to exactly match my car. My aim/dream will be not to have to remove the main body of the cover for any maintenance or rectification task except for removing the gearbox.

Thanks for all your help

Best regards

Rog

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Rog - have a look at this earlier post where I went into quite a lot of detail as to how to get a new tunnel to fit properly ( about post 15);

Hope it helps a bit but doesn't cover making the holes although in fairness , this is fairly obvious and not difficult when you have the tunnel in place - many of the modern tunnels have sort of guides imprinted in them to help your cuts. The only difficult one is for the right angle drive on an OD car as it isn't flat - they do come up on fleabay from time to time so watch out for one as otheriwise you are going to have to do some tin bashing!

Cheers

Rich 

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The real PITA for me is having to remove the H frame on my 4A to get access to remove the cover. I tie up all the switches and wires and the radio and have these suspended from the mirror bracket on a piece of string. Without a H frame these cars would be easier to get to the gearbox. Never been entirely sure what structural integrity the H frame gives. Maybe someone can answer that one.

My fibreglass gearbox tunnel now has holes each side of the overdrive solenoid mechanism. The right hand side has a large access hole for the speedo angle drive. This is covered with a (modified) Racetorations cover. It didn't fit my tunnel as well as a friends 4A tunnel I worked on recently because we seemed to have different shaped tunnels. I also have another hole near the dip switch to get access to the rear bolt of the uprated starter motor I fitted. I have used bits of car tyre inner tube as seals under the edge of the covers over the access holes and screwed them into place with self tappers. A cover can easily be fashioned from a bit of aluminium. I have tried to avoid the use of gaffer tape because it looks messy and is another PITA to get off and the adhesive gets covered in bits of carpet etc. I like the use of the rubber seal in one of the photos above.

Keith

 

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Thanks John and Roger, Tom has kindly PMd me with a few Terrabytes of pics. It is indeed a work of art.

Thanks Rich I will read these posts with interest.

Thanks Keith , all I do know is that the H frame stops  the whole dash jumping around as it does on a TR3. Being recently well practiced  I have now put my self together a little tool kit to remove/replace the H frame and tunnel and I use a drill driver to spin the 7/16 AF floor bolts, the 1/2 AF radio plate bolts and all the Allen bolts holding the cover. It is actually quite quick to do but for me it is the adequate unsealing and resealing that is the biggest PITA.

Still a great forum, thanks and regards

Rog

 

 

 

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8 hours ago, keith1948 said:

The real PITA for me is having to remove the H frame on my 4A to get access to remove the cover. I tie up all the switches and wires and the radio and have these suspended from the mirror bracket on a piece of string. Without a H frame these cars would be easier to get to the gearbox. Never been entirely sure what structural integrity the H frame gives. Maybe someone can answer that one.

My fibreglass gearbox tunnel now has holes each side of the overdrive solenoid mechanism. The right hand side has a large access hole for the speedo angle drive. This is covered with a (modified) Racetorations cover. It didn't fit my tunnel as well as a friends 4A tunnel I worked on recently because we seemed to have different shaped tunnels. I also have another hole near the dip switch to get access to the rear bolt of the uprated starter motor I fitted. I have used bits of car tyre inner tube as seals under the edge of the covers over the access holes and screwed them into place with self tappers. A cover can easily be fashioned from a bit of aluminium. I have tried to avoid the use of gaffer tape because it looks messy and is another PITA to get off and the adhesive gets covered in bits of carpet etc. I like the use of the rubber seal in one of the photos above.

Keith

 

Hi Keith

 without the 'H' support you will eventually get serious scuttle shake and possible fatigue cracking.

 

Roger

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2 hours ago, RogerH said:

Hi Keith

 without the 'H' support you will eventually get serious scuttle shake and possible fatigue cracking.

 

Roger

Hello Roger

I assume you mean the car and not me (although I think fatigue cracking is something I already have!).

I wasn't going to remove it but just wondered what it did other than get in the way of removing the gearbox cover.

Keith

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