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MG TD TF 1500 - Hi Gear five speed - assembly procedure

I am bracing myself for the big gearbox job this winter , with the complete kit + refurbished type 9 Sierra gearbox in my basement now.

And now I wonder, can I assemble the clutch bell housing to the gearbox now, or will they only go together with the clutch release arm and release bearing simultaneously installed? (Obviously, these latter parts are still in the car)

regards,

Jan
Jan Kristoffersen

Jan,

You have to assemble the arm and bearing first. By far the hardest part of the whole job for me was getting the taper pins out. I ended up drilling out the one on the bearing housing, and thankfully didn't mess it up too much. I replaced them with roll pins, which are much easier to deal with. Peter Gamble said that was probably okay, others advised against it. Seemed fine to me once it was done.

Jim
J Barry

Jan, You can certainly bolt the bellhousing to the gearbox using the four bolts before installing the clutch shaft and actuating fork, if you wish. Makes no difference. The shaft slides partially through the bore in the housing at which time you then slide on the actuating arm and finish by sliding the shaft completely through the remaining bore. You then anchor the actuating arm with the tapered pin. Jim is correct about the difficulty in removing the old tapered pin. Since I used a new clutch shaft, as the original was worn, I had to drill a new hole and ensure that the actuating arm was perfectly centered to mate with the clutch release plate. You should check the condition of your old clutch shaft to see if there is any wear, you might need a new one. Hope this helps. Cheers Phil

Phil Atrill

Thanks both of you, even though you seem to give me contradictory advice. I am just itching to bolt things up, of course I could wait doing it.

I enclose a pic of a new drug that might come in handy when things get really bad...

regards Jan

Jan Kristoffersen

Jan, Once you get started you will find it’s not as difficult as you might think it is. Like previously stated the hardest part is removing the pins from the bellhousing shaft and driving the shaft out. Be sure and clean off any burrs on the shaft before trying to remove it and a little lube want hurt. Once you have the shaft out I see know reason you can't mount the bellhousing to the gear box. Read & read the instruction I found some of the sequences a little strange. It’s a good kit, everything you need and it looks and performs very well, great setup!

Ed Stanfield
TD/20709
ECS Stanfield

Jim, think carefully before using roll pins. They are an extremely hard spring material and are virtually impossibly to drill out. They're fine to use if the holes are very closely aligned. Bud
Bud Krueger

I must have missed something!
What is a "Hi Gear 5 speed"?
I'm hoping you say it's a fully syncronized 5 speed with 5th gear being an overdrive so I don't have to change rear end ratio to drive on freeways! It would also be nice to be able to shift without double clutching. Oh, while I'm dreaming, good, fast, and CHEAP!
Chuck, the dreamer.

cj schmit

http://hi-gearengineering.co.uk/content/view/14/29/

Same kit sold by Moss Motors. It's cheaper (approx $1000) to order directly from Hi-Gear and pay the shipping. Note that you have to buy the kit AND the gearbox (both sold by Hi-Gear).

Gene Gillam

Bud,

The roll pins had a good fit and seemed fine, but my knowledge here is obviously limited. Is your concern that they might be brittle enough to break if there is some play between the elements (like eventual shear of the woodruff key)? That could definitely be a problem.

I think I'm going to have to be the lab rat here because the engine and transmission are in, the tub is on, and I just don't have the mojo to go back!

Jim
J Barry

Thank you again for your responses. I spent last night going over the parts from Hi Gear, including the rebuilt gearbox again. Everything is so beautifully made, and I look forward to doing the job.I have also looked into the pros and cons of removing the wings, and have decide to remove at least the LH wing and engine bay side wall to make the job easier. Looks like an hours work and then two helping hands to remove these items.

And to cj schmit; the gearbox has an 0.82 overdrive fifth gear. Should give approx 20% less revs pr mile. My main motivation for doing this is not to increase my cruising speeds in my blood red 55 years old and lovely mobile death trap but to make cruising at 50-55 mph more comfortable while not stressing the engine. My experience accumulated by toying with older engines for the last 40+ years is that high RPMs over longer periods will make your engine unhappy. And then you will be unhappy as well.

The only thing I will miss is the unsynchronized shifts; I love to double declutch!

regards,

Jan
Jan Kristoffersen

Jan,
You can still double clutch ,,, it actually might even be better for the syncros to do it!!!

SPW
STEVE WINCZE

Jim, it's not a matter of brittleness, it's a matter of hardness. If you need to do a disassembly and the pin can not be driven out directly, you will not be able to drill out the pin. I ran into this on a water pump that had received a West-Coast modification. Bud
Bud Krueger

This thread was discussed between 12/10/2011 and 14/10/2011

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