Disco 1 gearbox fitting help required

ok guys as some of you might know i have a transfer box that is as good as dead. well i managed to get a 2nd hand one with the r380 attached still for a bargain price of £120 however i very UNDERESTIMATED the weight of the damn things. so anyone with experience changing the R380 and transfer box within about 100 miles of me that would be willing to put me to work and accept some beer tokens get in touch. im thinking this time i may have taken on more than i can handle.

im looking forward to this job but at the same time cant afford to mess things up so would rather do it with someone who knows what there doing as i cant afford a garage and dont trust most garages not to screw me over.

thanks in advance for any reply's guys

Just for the record I'm 139 miles away unless you've got access to a four post lift I'd inclined to yank the engine out as I would have thought that trying to re align the gearbox from the underneath would be nigh on impossible with the engine in place

Marmaduke said:

Just for the record I'm 139 miles away unless you've got access to a four post lift I'd inclined to yank the engine out as I would have thought that trying to re align the gearbox from the underneath would be nigh on impossible with the engine in place

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i dont have any lift and im thinking it be almost impossible without some form of lift. i've done car boxes in the passed big and small but never anything even almost as heavy as this thing. so looking for anyone with experience in doing this job. like i say im more than willing to get dirty and get hands on and will be willing to sort some beer tokens for anyone willing to help this one threw me out of my comfort zone the moment i collected it and realized just how heavy it actually is.

I can't see how you'd line it back up without a proper lift with the engine in place, at least with a defender you can take the floor out and hoist through a door. I'm sure other people who have done it can offer more advice but if it were me I'd hire or buy an engine hoist and pull the engine out. Have you got a drive or a garage to work in?

Marmaduke said:

Just for the record I'm 139 miles away unless you've got access to a four post lift I'd inclined to yank the engine out as I would have thought that trying to re align the gearbox from the underneath would be nigh on impossible with the engine in place

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+1. Bl**dy discoveries .....

Sadly, I'm 180 miles away.

Marmaduke said:

I can't see how you'd line it back up without a proper lift with the engine in place, at least with a defender you can take the floor out and hoist through a door. I'm sure other people who have done it can offer more advice but if it were me I'd hire or buy an engine hoist and pull the engine out. Have you got a drive or a garage to work in?

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have a lane i can work in but thats about it really

Disco1BFG said:

+1. Bl**dy discoveries .....

Sadly, I'm 180 miles away.

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Well I'm 190 miles away if I go the long way

ceffyn said:

have a lane i can work in but thats about it really

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As in a public highway?

the best way is to remove tunnel and use an engine hoist through the door, the top gear box to engine bolts are easier if transmission is lowered to undo those bolts

Marmaduke said:

As in a public highway?

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its behind a mates house but we work on things there all the time plenty of room to get working on it without being in the way. as for public highway umm not too sure all i can say is it runs between the back gardens of 2 streets lol

jamesmartin said:

the best way is to remove tunnel and use an engine hoist through the door, the top gear box to engine bolts are easier if transmission is lowered to undo those bolts

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ahhh looks like i need to try get a hoist then. this is turning into more of a nightmare than i figured it would be

ceffyn said:

ahhh looks like i need to try get a hoist then. this is turning into more of a nightmare than i figured it would be

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you will need some form of lifting an engine hoist is by far the safest and easiest,the transmission hung on a chain is mush better to realign to the engine

Marmaduke said:

Well I'm 190 miles away if I go the long way

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The long way ????? think any way from "up here" to south wales is a long way

Worst job I've ever done on my disco was moving the gearbox back to replace the clutch fork!
Took me and a mate best part of a day to the the poxy thing back on! In the end, I got a rope round it and passed it though the gearchange hole in the tunnel and got another friend to lift will be manoeuvres it into position. That's one job I really don't want to do again!