Technical Changing a gearbox on mk1 turbo

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Technical Changing a gearbox on mk1 turbo

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ok, ive bought a new gearbox for the turbo. old one was making wiring/rattly noises at idle and the idle would drop a bit when the clutch was up in neutral.. plus it wouldnt rev as freely with the clutch up.

anyway. ive got to fit it. im not paying a garage to do it as ital cost me an arm and a leg. Ive done a gearbox on a cinq before but I had the engine out at the time so was easy peasy really and just bolted straight on.

unfortunatly, the uno engine is in and I dont really want to take it out!.

so question

1. Is it possible to take off and replace the gearbox on an MK1 Uno Turbo (1301cc) without having to drop the whole engine out?

it looks like theres a bit of room to get to it all etc.. obviously more from underneith and im sure i could great some more from the top by removing the battery tray/ intercooler hoses etc.

thanks!
 
Not fitted an Uno turbo box to a turbo before (i've fitted my Avanti engineering straight cut / close ratio / LSD box to my 1299cc rally engine before.

I cleared most things that could either be in the way or get damaged like rad, pipework etc....

Then i dropped the old box out with the use of jack, lots of swearing, blood sweat and tears.
So i thought i would be able to fit the new box the same way, after even more blood, sweat and tears i gave up and hired an engine crane and had the job done in an hour !!!
Moral get and engine crane and a mate to help you with it and it could be done in a day.
 
No need to remove engine, just use the crane to drop and lift gearboxes, it helps as you try and line the bolts etc....
 
Make sure you have the right gearbox as there is 2 different sorts, you might already know this but i bought the wrong one the other month and had to get another.
 
Quite by coincidence, I changed a clutch and gearbox in my Uno only last weekend!

Mine is a FIRE engined Uno, but the principles are the same.

It's a tedious job rather than difficult, took me the better part of a day to do it as I was very thorough and did a few other jobs as well.

The way I did it was to raise the front of the car on stands, remove the gearbox and drop it out underneath. Even on a turbo, you should have plenty of room.

You have to drain the gearbox oil (if you have to remove the driveshafts the oil will come spewing out of the gearbox driveshaft housings!), remove the battery for more room, disconnect the clutch cable, remove the reverse light switch cable, disconnect the gearchange linkages (they just 'pop' off their sockets), remove the starter motor, undo the top of the front hubs from the struts, remove the track rod ends from the hubs, remove the driveshafts, remove the gearbox brackets (front and rear on a FIRE Uno), undo the gearbox and drop it out of the car.

You also need to support the engine before the gearbox brackets are removed by supporting it with a stand and a block of wood under the sump. You can also use a support brace (if you can get hold of one) across the front wings and support the engine from above instead.

Biggest problem I had was getting the driveshafts out and back in again. My FIRE Uno has a turbo roll bar fitted which gets in the way. They can be removed with the roll bar still fitted to the lower suspension arms, but it is awkward.

You should be lucky though, as the turbo has a split driveshaft on the drivers side, and you can (I think) unbolt the outer section and leave the inner section still connected to the gearbox. Makes it that much easier.

Instead of a crane like SuperUno suggested, you could hire a dedicated gearbox jack. This goes underneath the gearbox and is strapped into place, and as it is on castors you can the roll the gearbox around underneath the car.

Before you do the job make sure you read up the procedure in the Haynes or Porter manuals. They are quite clear on what needs to be done.

I'd also suggest having someone to help when you remove the actual gearbox from the engine and also to help you guide the new one back into place. A second pair of hands makes a bit difference as it is quite a heavy unit.

Oh, and whatever you do, make sure you fit a new clutch! You'll see how awkward changing a gearbox is, and if the old clutch fails a few thousand miles after changing the gearbox you'll be kicking yourself :bang:

As for changing the clutch, you need to centralise it when fitting the new friction plate and pressure plate. There are some tools that can help you do this, though the FIRE engine doesn't have a spigot bearing in the crankshaft for the older style of tool. You need the one that can centralise the the friction plate to the pressure plate while they are off the car. You leave the tool connecting them together, refit the clutch to the flywheel and when it is bolted up you then unscrew and remove the centralising tool. Draper do one that you should get from a decent motor accessory store.

All in, it's not a very nice job but doable at home with the right tools and some time. I'd also recommend you try and do it in a garage rather than outside, as it can take a while. Nothing worse than doing a job like that and then it starts raining...

Anyway, good luck with the job! Are you going to get it done before the ACE cafe meet next week? Maybe you could bring the turbo down before you do the gearbox swap so we can all see it first!

Chas
 
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shouldnt take me long. i have a rough idea how to do it anyway as i did the one on the cinq. planning to collect the box on monday, start fitting tues, hopefully finish on tues or finish on wednesday. shouldnt take me longer than 2 days really anwyay, if it does ive always got all day thurs to finish too but ill be fine unless i completly **** something up :p

I do plan to fit a new clutch too.

as for being the right gear box :cry: i didnt know there were 2! i will check what type it is :(

cheers for the lengthy post chas! very helpful!
 
IF your tub is a Mk I then it should have the gear linkages on the bottom of the box, not the top like the MkII (Tipo-type boxes). If you've the wrong one i coul dbe tempted to sell you my Avanti one (see above post) although you'll need a lot of cash :)
 
SuperUno said:
IF your tub is a Mk I then it should have the gear linkages on the bottom of the box, not the top like the MkII (Tipo-type boxes). If you've the wrong one i coul dbe tempted to sell you my Avanti one (see above post) although you'll need a lot of cash :)

Some Mk1s have top change boxes too. Top change box cam in 1988.

Uno turbo gearbox swap is quite difficult as far as gearboxes go. You need to remove the RH drive shaft and all the stuff around the gearbox like intercooler etc. You need to support the engine somehow
 
I had the top change box in mine and i bought the wrong box as i didnt know there was 2:(

The top change boxes are quite hard to find (n)
 
well the one i was buying was the box with the connections underneigh. mine has them on the back :confused: neither on top or on the bottom :confused: seller also says its the type for the earlier cars

it is a 1988 car with the turbo ie seats though so as you say, must be the tipo box!

to be honest, i might not even need a new box. a mate told me the wiring noise might be the clutch release bearing.

thats the only noise i get but would the drop in idle speed when the clutch is up be to do with a worn release bearing? the car goes into gear perfect with no grinding so cant be that bad. seems a lot of work for what might not cure the problem heh.

any ideas?
 
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