Alloy Gearbox Casing

[Rally Pack 2000]

Quaife offer a alloy gearbox casing for the 4 Speed Type E or Rocket box. Its 3.7 kgs lighter than the cast ones and claim it is an substantial increase in gearbox stiffness.

 

In Real terms is there any real improvement to warrant spending money for? Quieter etc? It has a drain plug which is useful over standard at least. Anyone ever bought such a beast? Your thoughts would be most welcome.

 

[Vista]

I would think that if you're using a car competitively then you might see worthwhile gains but I can't see it being a cost effective upgrade for road use.

[katana]

Agreed - lugging a cast iron box in and out, whilst lying onyour back, on the ground, at night, in the middle of nowhere during a stage service - any weight saving is a time saver. And pushing more power through a box reliably is the name of the game in Motorsport so stiffness helps.

[colr6]

Apart from the drain plug a complete waste of cash for a road going car.

[Rally Pack 2000]

Apart from the drain plug a complete waste of cash for a road going car.

 

Not being able to drain the old oil out was always a concern for me. It went for a decade and half with same clutch and gearbox without ever having the oil changed. I could only top it up every now and then. Very awkward original set up. So I cant deny that feature sparked my interest but didnt put me over the line cost wise. there would have to be some other tangible benefit.

[eeb43]

i have got a box full of drain plug holes

[colr6]

As per normal if no facility for draining the syringe it out using vacumn pump to change oil

[HotRodMatt]

Or get the box out of the car and and tip it upside down.

[colr6]

Why bother it's only an old car just put it on its roof and drain, kill two birds with one stone and protect the underneath with the old oil !

[eeb43]

Why bother it's only an old car just put it on its roof and drain, kill two birds with one stone and protect the underneath with the old oil !

if it had a vauxhall engine in the engine oil would already be there!!!!! as an aside what grade of aluminium does a vauxhall sump have to be made of to stop the antifreeze corroding through it?

[colr6]

Better quality than a Zetecs made of !!!

[Rally Pack 2000]

As per normal if no facility for draining the syringe it out using vacumn pump to change oil

 

Ive tried this but the tube combined with the weird side entry never gets deep past the gears to ever get the majority of it out.

 

Or get the box out of the car and and tip it upside down.

 

You make it sound like an easy service arrangement as if its just as simple when also changing the engine oil! LOL

 

Some jobs are simply not viable in my driveway and beyond my own strength to undertake by myself and getting a gearbox out is one of them. I did take the engine and gearbox out with a friend once but I dont have car friends any more. Wives prefer their ex car enthusiastic husbands to hang out with friends that she knows wont encourage him back into cars again.

 

 

Why bother it's only an old car just put it on its roof and drain, kill two birds with one stone and protect the underneath with the old oil !

 

Im familiar with the Rally Boys oil change method but having read the thread on here about the "Roof Swap Dilemma" Ive been cautious not to go down that route. A fancy alloy housing with a drain plug seems the lesser of two evils to me. But then again thats possibly because I cant weld.

[Danish]

as an aside what grade of aluminium does a vauxhall sump have to be made of to stop the antifreeze corroding through it?

 

You can get some sealant stuff to go on porous cast alloy. I haven't used it myself, but a friend had a problem with a porous engine block.

 

 

 

Some jobs are simply ...  beyond my own strength to undertake by myself and getting a gearbox out is one of them. 

 

I have a similar problem. When we had a new roof on the garage we fitted a steel I-beam and put a chain hoist on it. Now I can change the engine by simply taking the weight of the car, loosening the sub-frame bolts then lifting the front of the car up and rolling the engine, gearbox and sub-frame out. 

 

We had a cluster of neighbours watching when the steel was delivered, wondering what on earth we were doing.

[fat boy slim]

any weightsaving on a classic ford is a worthwhile excersise as it makes it easier to push when it breaks down and we all know it will

[Rally Pack 2000]

any weightsaving on a classic ford is a worthwhile excersise as it makes it easier to push when it breaks down and we all know it will

 

My mum still bitches that the only time she ever got to go in my Twincam was to pop the clutch when the battery went flat. Talk about ungrateful I could have made her push!