SafeChav

Just wondering if anyone has any knowledge of this being common on these boxes - problems with input shaft main bearings seizing and making excessive noise when cold?

Moondust_crust

the bearings only seize because the end of the mainshaft breaks up causing little bits of metal to float into the box, when i took my mainshaft bearings out some had got stuck so were flat on one side round on the other, if bc box is noisy its normally the mainshaft bearings or diff bearings .

here is a pic of the end of my mainshaft

meant to be flat not curved.

SafeChav

FFS

This could be bad news then lol

How does the end of the mainshaft start to break up though, surely it that must be a result of the bearings already starting to seize?

Moondust_crust

yeah the bearings wear and then start to break up the end of the mainshaft. its one of the most common failures on bc boxes, that and diff bearings because they are so close to the outside and collect most of the dirt.

rsdan123

iTrader: (3)

odd kidd creations do an mtx75 gearbox converion!

http://oddkiddcreations.co.uk/v3/ind...id=7&Itemid=27

SafeChav

Moondust_crust righteo ok, i don't think things will have got to that stage in this case so, thanks for the info!

rsdan123 yes i know and a price tag to go with it

rsdan123

iTrader: (3)

have you rang and got a price? if so, do you know how much?

SafeChav

nope, but i know its too much money before i even ring.

A friend ran the price of the driveshafts you need for the conversion - IIRC £250 for the pair! No thanks

And i don't really wana be cutting chassis rails either tbh!

Moonie

I really dont know wether to take that question seriously with the ammount of technical knowledge you have posted in this forum!

The shaft in your pic is not the input shaft, its just the main shaft.

One option is to have the gearbox casing machined and fit the bigger (IB5) mainshaft bearing. You also need a sleve fitted onto the end of the main shaft to fit the bigger bearing. You need a good/new mainshaft to do this.

Moondust_crust

thats why i said "here is a pic of the end of my mainshaft " because its the end of the mainshaft!
and he was asking about the end of the mainshaft which acts as an inner for the bearings thats why the pic was listed mate.

Moonie

Sorry, my fault as i thought SafeChav had posted the pic. In his origional post he had said 'problems with input shaft main bearings'

I have done a couple of bearings myself...

antony215

Mine whent not that long ago was making a squealing noise not all the time every now and then where the plastic casing that separates the bearings had broken up and the shaft was catching the box casing

SafeChav

Moonie: calm down calm down Bad grammar on my part i suppose, obviously i'm sure you have worked out by now i'm just talking about the bearings inside the box as a generalisation.

As per Antony's post i've noticed quite a worrying noise on initial start up which at first i though was the top end but it is in actual fact the gearbox, there shouldnt really be any significant damage as the car hasnt been anywhere in 3 years so i'll keep my fingers crossed, and it'd also explain the minor gear change problem that was evident in the short time the car was being driven.

Annoyingly i bought the box as reconditioned so i really hope there is nothing serious wrong internally

SafeChav

Just glancing back over again, when you say "you have done a couple of bearings yourself", do you mean replaced them or broken them?

antony215

I rebuilt my box about 5 months ago new bearing,seals etc...