I intend to use my blog to keep you informed of things happening with my car(s) and anything in life I find interesting, unusual or worthy of sharing! Please check back regularly to see what's been happening in the world of Simo 
Gearbox Change & New Toys!
Posted 30th August 2008 at 23:42 by Simo
Just before the French Car Show myself and DannySp8 fitted a new gearbox to my VTS , as the old box had suffered from a damaged crown wheel (again). It was a bit of a rush job to colelct a gearbox and fit it before booking the car for an MOT.
Unfortunately whilst fitting the box the clutch release bearing moved and became mis-aligned... meaning that the clutch was slipping constantly when driving - the car missed the FCS event
Anyway... in preparation for TRAX I am doing the same job(s), only this time, instead of the luxury of a ramp in a garage, I'm fdoing it on the driveway at home
Myself and Graeme went to collect the parts we needed yesterday, including a new clutch release bearing, as my previous one has been in situ for about 4 years. I treated myself to a new set of axle stands and a proper garage-style trolley jack! It wasn't cheap, but I'm absolutely chuffed with it! I can't believe Ive gone without a proper trolley jack for so long!
Once back at home, we began to raise the car... it needed to be pretty high to be able to swing the gearbox out of the way - I must admit though, at one point, with the car balancing I thought it was going to go horribly wrong
The car was made secure with 4-axle stands, then we dove under to rip off the driveshafts and begin to get the gearbox removed. The removal was the wasy bit!! Once the gearbox was off, we noticed the new clutch release bearing was nothing like the existing one! It was oging dark and we needed to make a quick decision... After checking with yerdusk he confirmed the one I picked up from Citroen was a std VTS bearing... so we went along with the thinking that the existing bearing was an uprated jobbie installed by GMC Motorsport... I do think & hope this is the case, as the existing bearing was re-fitted!
To be honest, myself and Graeme struggled to align the gearbox during re-fitting and the light was fading fast. At about 9:30pm we gave up, with the box held on by one bolt!
After I got back from work today I tried to re-fit the gearbox on my own. Being concerned about the alignment of the release bearing I sneeked a look inside the box with it hanging in place. It looks and feels like its right, but only time will tell I guess! It better be aligned right! LOL.
After messing around for a while with the height of the engine and the semi-installed gearbox, I finally managed to get the bolts to line up. Its a tricky job whilst lay on your back beneath the gearbox, as you;re in the wrong position to lift!
Tomorrow I need to re-fit the driveshafts and put the oil in the box... then fit the new oil cooler and hope its installed OK.
Then I'll have to book an MOT, hope it passes... then tax it and then hopefully it will be at Silverstone on the 7th September for TRAX.
Why do I always end up doing everything last minute?!!
Everyone cross your fingers!
Unfortunately whilst fitting the box the clutch release bearing moved and became mis-aligned... meaning that the clutch was slipping constantly when driving - the car missed the FCS event
Anyway... in preparation for TRAX I am doing the same job(s), only this time, instead of the luxury of a ramp in a garage, I'm fdoing it on the driveway at home
Myself and Graeme went to collect the parts we needed yesterday, including a new clutch release bearing, as my previous one has been in situ for about 4 years. I treated myself to a new set of axle stands and a proper garage-style trolley jack! It wasn't cheap, but I'm absolutely chuffed with it! I can't believe Ive gone without a proper trolley jack for so long!
Once back at home, we began to raise the car... it needed to be pretty high to be able to swing the gearbox out of the way - I must admit though, at one point, with the car balancing I thought it was going to go horribly wrong
The car was made secure with 4-axle stands, then we dove under to rip off the driveshafts and begin to get the gearbox removed. The removal was the wasy bit!! Once the gearbox was off, we noticed the new clutch release bearing was nothing like the existing one! It was oging dark and we needed to make a quick decision... After checking with yerdusk he confirmed the one I picked up from Citroen was a std VTS bearing... so we went along with the thinking that the existing bearing was an uprated jobbie installed by GMC Motorsport... I do think & hope this is the case, as the existing bearing was re-fitted!
To be honest, myself and Graeme struggled to align the gearbox during re-fitting and the light was fading fast. At about 9:30pm we gave up, with the box held on by one bolt!
After I got back from work today I tried to re-fit the gearbox on my own. Being concerned about the alignment of the release bearing I sneeked a look inside the box with it hanging in place. It looks and feels like its right, but only time will tell I guess! It better be aligned right! LOL.
After messing around for a while with the height of the engine and the semi-installed gearbox, I finally managed to get the bolts to line up. Its a tricky job whilst lay on your back beneath the gearbox, as you;re in the wrong position to lift!
Tomorrow I need to re-fit the driveshafts and put the oil in the box... then fit the new oil cooler and hope its installed OK.
Then I'll have to book an MOT, hope it passes... then tax it and then hopefully it will be at Silverstone on the 7th September for TRAX.
Why do I always end up doing everything last minute?!!
Everyone cross your fingers!
Total Comments 13
Comments
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unlucky simo
bet you're gutted!
at least you tried though!Posted 5th September 2008 at 23:40 by Viper 
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did you find a replacement gearbox??
hills scrapyard in skemlersdale will more than likely have one if you are having trouble finding one locallyPosted 16th September 2008 at 15:27 by Ocego_VTR
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think you'll ever get that thing to the ring? lol
Posted 23rd October 2008 at 20:13 by Steve
