BAD NEWS! Advice needed

Hi all,
Feeling a bit sorry for meself today. Just heard from the garage that the gearbox is shagged on my '93 200tdi 110. The cost of sorting the problem would be around £1000 (Including cost of gearbox and and vat).

The vehicle has done 197,000miles.

Here's my problem- should i do the work, bite the bullet and live on bread and beans for the next 5 years, knowing that the vehicle's done a few miles.

Or should i sell up? The truck is very special to us as it was used as our wedding car, and we spent our honeymoon touring the uk in it (there's a fold-out bed and storage in the back), but i'm starting to wonder if i can't afford to keep it.

If i sell should i pay to do the work and sell with a new gearbox, or sell 'as is' for less money.

Any advice, messages of condolence etc much appreciated.

Steve

director_steve said:

Hi all,
Feeling a bit sorry for meself today. Just heard from the garage that the gearbox is shagged on my '93 200tdi 110. The cost of sorting the problem would be around £1000 (Including cost of gearbox and and vat).

The vehicle has done 197,000miles.

Here's my problem- should i do the work, bite the bullet and live on bread and beans for the next 5 years, knowing that the vehicle's done a few miles.

Or should i sell up? The truck is very special to us as it was used as our wedding car, and we spent our honeymoon touring the uk in it (there's a fold-out bed and storage in the back), but i'm starting to wonder if i can't afford to keep it.

If i sell should i pay to do the work and sell with a new gearbox, or sell 'as is' for less money.

Any advice, messages of condolence etc much appreciated.

Steve

Click to expand...

why not get a secondhand one and fit that? It'll be a lot cheaper.

Got a feeling mine might be going the same way, lots of shunting and clunking when shifting. Then again it's a Landy so it could go on for a few more years yet.

If the rest of the LR is worth it I'd go to Ashcroft's for a fully reconditioned box, new clutch and everything for around the £1000 mark.

Second hand box would be cheaper of course, but depending where you get it from there's always a bigger risk with em.

Fix it yourself

pm jamesmartin and see if he has any gearboxes in stock - no idea what his cost would be, but he's offered to help me out before and rebuilds them for a living.

Has to be worth fixing - doesn't it?

Find someone to give you a hand and do it your self ask on here if there is someone close by able to help out you can pick up a good box and a new clutch for less he 300 bucks its not hard as long as you have or can borrow decent tools read the job through haynes or other till you know it by heart then crack on

If you dont fix it what you going to replace it with or is it a "spare" if you buy a car you will have it depreciate to nothing in a couple of years , at least with the landy they hang together for a bit longer

I live close if you want to sell?

i would say the garage are generating january work

what did they say was wrong with it or what did it go in for?

Just buy a second hand one and throw it on, The first job I did since buying my defender was the clutch and considering I'd never really worked on one before it wasn't difficult, just get a good jack and a second pair of hands to help manuver it all in place.

See or ask what fellow landy owners would give you a hand to fit it

my box has just gone, went to scrappys, and that was sh*gged. always check the input shaft going into the transferbox. take the inspection cover off and spacer plate, and pull the top gear shaft off, and inspect the shaft, if worn, dont bother putting in

repair it.
i got one for mine from dewsbury 4x4 for 200 from a low mileage one that was being converted to auto.
if you do change it pull gear cluster out of t-box first then drop it lot easier.
i also find it easier to take full handbrake assy inc backing plate off.

Thanks for the advice chaps! Food for thought.

Gearbox was making a sound like a gearbox eating another gearbox, as well as whining above 30mph- louder than the engine and the radio. So i dropped it at a land rover garage i've used a lot and trust. They're going to confirm the diagnosis for me tomorrow.
Their breakdown is this:
Recon gearbox- £450
Labour- £280 (8hrs at £35 per hour)
Oil0 £17 (ish)
Clutch (might as well, it's pretty old)- £100
+vat.
The garage is very busy and i've never had a problem with them, they also work on all types of Land Rover. I've had terrible experiences with garages that were recommended to me on here.

I wouldn't feel too confident about doing it myself as i don't have a driveway, live on a main road and my jack isn't great. I'm also a post-grad student, so i'm out of the house 14hours a day, 7days a week- finding time to do the work is almost impossible! (also struggle to collect a second hand box)

I've also bought second hand parts before, only for them to fail two months down the road, so i'm a bit reluctant to take that road before.

If i sold the truck, i'd probably sell it with the new gearbox and clutch, but in order to replace it i'd need about £4500 for it. (I'd replace it with a disco 2 as i hope to be starting a family in a year or two). I don't know if it's worth that much- it's had a lot of work done and runs lovely, but i don't know what the going rate is.

Thanks again!

Depends on condition of bulkhead,chassis,doors etc
But £4500 sounds a bit high.

sible88 said:

Depends on condition of bulkhead,chassis,doors etc
But £4500 sounds a bit high.

Click to expand...

That's what i feared.
Bulkhead was replaced with a sound one from a later model. Chassis is ok, as far as i know- had a new x member with extensions. Pretty sure doors are ok. Also has new starter motor, alternator, swivel pin, CV and brake tune up in the past couple of months.

Well the milage you got out of it you done well!

Selling it? you won't get your money back after repairs for sure. What your asking it would have to be mint chassis and bulkhead for the money you want for it. One on a Galvy chassis New bulkhead and very straight with an all new interior and wright mat only made 4K but that said some wrecked "Challenge trucks" sometimes get upto 6K. Me I'd fix it and do as many hours overtime or sell somthing else and buy a little family car like an astra or sumthin'

Or sell it as is but you will take the hit. depending on whats gone exactly. A fellow landy owner welded up his Output shaft and he has done another 10K miles on it but he caught it before it done any damage and has now saved up enough for a 2.8 TDI and R380 shorty to replace it in the 2 years. I think he will run it into the ground and eventually he will have the funds for a chassis bulkhead 2.8 and R380 to be rebuilt after he's destroyed it and it dies on his original Reg No.

Yours sound far more terminal unfortunatly.

8 hours to remove and re-fit a gearbox?

Ask ashcrofts how much to give yu a comparison - or James.