Advice on gearbox removal please

[ronnie]

I need to remove the gearbox from my 1.3 petrol engine Maestro, and fit a new clutch.

I am about to hit 60 next month, am still relatively fit & able, but would like to know if its physically possible for me to do this job myself, as i've never done anything like it before!

I have a flat driveway, and have trolley jacks and car ramps to use.

Any advice would be welcome! Thanks!

[D87 SMW]

Welcome to the site.

You should be able to drop a gearbox easily enough if you have the car up on stands and use the jack to assist the lowering of the 'box. The hardest work is to get the gearbox on and off the engine really.

[E_T_V]

The two most difficult parts of that job are removing all the driveshaft bolts (6 allen bolts on each shaft!) - Ball ended allen keys make the job much easier.
Then the other one is refitting the gearbox as you have to both lift the box and position it so that it slides onto the clutch splines. At this point it is usually easier to have a helper to do the updown movement whilst you do the side to side or vice versa, but it is possible to do it on your own. You'll need two jacks. One to lift/support the engine, and the other to take the weight of the gearbox. You can make do with one jack if you can physically lift the box yourself but it can get tiring.

Don't do what I did once. I was underneath the car and lifted the box off onto my chest. Usually then I just wriggle out with the box on my chest, however as the car wasn't high enough off of the floor I ended up stuck under the car with a gearbox on my chest unable to move until I somehow wriggled out from under the box! It was one of those moments in life that I can laugh about how silly I was not to plan ahead a bit!

The gearbox weighs roughly 25kg so about the same as a sack of coal, to give you an idea of what to expect. If you have a trolley jack you can use this to support most of the weight whilst you wiggle it into position. Take your time and get help if you need it and you should be able to manage just fine.

[G51 NAV]

Would that be the same for the Turbo box as well Dan (sorry to hijack)?

[Peter J]

If you find oil on the clutch plate I think you will find this thread useful too (Click here) http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=7286

[E_T_V]

Yes same for all the models really, aside from the PG1 boxes having driveshafts that "pop" out so you don't have to spend ages undoing all those fiddly allen bolts, but you do have to remove the hub nuts instead which can be rather errr tight!. The PG1 is a little heavier than the VW box but not by a lot.

[G51 NAV]

Cheers :)

[G Force]

Would that be the same for the Turbo box as well Dan (sorry to hijack)?

but you do have to remove the hub nuts instead which can be rather errr tight!. The PG1 is a little heavier than the VW box but not by a lot.

I know this is strictly not answering the OP question (appologies to ronnie)

But with regard to the two quotes above, I don't go to the trouble of completely removing the driveshafts. All I do is remove the two lower strut bolts, then for the o/s drive shaft I pop out the inner joint then turn into full left lock and then the shaft can be pulled clear of the box and lowered to the floor.

For the n/s drive shaft I pop the inner joint and turn the steering to full right lock and remove the shaft clear of the gearbox. Then with the steering still in full right lock it is possible to swing the driveshaft forward and towards the wheel arch and tie the shaft to the coil spring up out of the way.

Gary:)

[steve smith]

i agree totally with that as thats what i have had to do when i took the box off the ledbury

[fred]

my brother who was a mechanic tried to change a clutch and gearbox on a maestro 1.3 the car was running when we started, he went to the scrappy and got a recon gearbox it took us most of the afternoon too fit everything but the car wouldn't fire up ,we had to admit defeat my question to anybody who has fitted a clutch to a mastro or montego,is there a sensor on the clutch that has to be lined up in order for the car to start,we tried everything to try and start the car,and i said to my brother i bet there is a sensor that we have not lined up or something that has to be reset,please can somebody let me know what we might of done wrong,the car was running when we started is there something on the engine management system that needs to be reset after a clutch change please put me out of my misery

[Austin-Rover]

Engine Management? Sensor? On a Maestro 1.3?

No such things on one of those I think you'll find. Most likely something electrical. there is a major earthing point right on the middle top of the gearbox that you really can't miss. Did you put it back? Also, as you have to remove and refit the starter, likewise did you put the wires back in the correct place? Does the car actually turn over? You didn't say.

[G Force]

can somebody let me know what we might of done wrong,the car was running when we started is there something on the engine management system that needs to be reset after a clutch change please put me out of my misery

As already mentioned no engine sensors on the clutch on a 1.3. The 1.6 has a crankshaft sensor that is posible to damage if you are careless or if the clutch pressure plate reluctor ring gets damaged, can in turn damage the crankshaft sensor. It is not possible to misalign the pressure plate on a 1.6.

If you have not mistaken the type / size of engine fitted to your maestro :o then I have come across it where the carburettor vent pipe has become blocked with "crud" or damaged in some way when the engine has been supported during the gearbox removal. Check this pipe is clear otherwise the engine will fail to start.;)

[maestro vans]

I can tell you exactly wot it is....have you left the gearbox earthing strap off
have donme this a few times before, hence the starter motor doesnt run as its earth is via the negative strap to the battery

[oseerees]

ONE HUNDRED PER CENT!!!
Earth strap.:D

Been there... more than once:o

Don't get caught out, run another spare earth lead.