gear box and cruising

[lukewoolfenden]

Hi guys,

I'm new to this entire thing, just bought a t25 van to convert into a camper, absolutely love it but it needs lots of work. I'm praticle but havent done any mechanics really. I want to turn my van into a camper, the flat 4 has enough power but once you are going over 40 it's just too noisey, even with sound deadening etc it will be too noisey. Is there a 5 speed gear box i can put in it to make it more leggy? it needs a new box anyway as reverse is a pig to get into. any help is appreciated. Thankyou. luke

[HarryMann]

Luke, welcome

1) The flat fours are generally considered quite quiet from the driving seat! There must be something wrong, are we talking exhaust sound/noise, mechanical or intake noise?

2) The 4-speed gbox is considered stronger than the five speed. The top-gear gearing depends on the Final Drive ratio and matching of the box, not necessarily how many gears there are.... what engine is it, 1.9 DG, DF or 2.1 DJ/MV ? What wheels and tyres (many are now non-standard)

3) If you are having trouble finding reverse, then this is usually symptomatic of the gear-change mechanism (rods/levers, joints/bushes) rather than the gearbox itself... Good boxes are not cheap items any more for these vans. Make sure you are not jumping to conclusions too quickly (out of the fire into the frying pan). In consequence, you may well have more propective purchasers of your box than sellers of good 5-speeds.

In short, take good advice, and check all the linkages and settings first...

See that link up the top, Wiki... ? That means T25 Technical Wikipedia, a compendium of all (most/many) things that you might need to read up on and how to fix your T25, so 'at least' read these two links, the first probably applies...

https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Ge ... _improving

https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Ge ... reluctance

PS. For future reference when postinga Tech Question: https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=291

Hope that helps for starters...

[lukewoolfenden]

Thanks for the advice. And thanks for pointing out what the wiki is, I had been wandering.

kind regards

luke

[Mr Bean]

Thanks for the advice. And thanks for pointing out what the wiki is, I had been wandering.

kind regards

luke

My five speed box has failed twice - the second time under warranty (not one of Aidens) The parts can be more difficult to get also. I do perceive the five speed box to be a bit fragile and even with the 2.1 waterboxer engine often drop into fourth for a long uphill drag even on a motorway. I have had to fit a rev counter as I couldn't hear my engine from the driving position so I am wondering why yours is so noisy. I would get the four speed box and the excessive engine noise sorted before going to five speed.
Cheers
Wolfie

[anaconda]

Hi

Reverse gear is a bugger on mine too. Im now used to it and can now get it first time...mostly. Before I bought ours a couple of months ago I was told by several experienced owners that there was very little difference between the 4 and 5 speed boxes and that reverse was a common 'bugger'. Its commonly awkward, needs getting used to but doesnt necessarily merit a repair........in a generous mood you might call it characterful !

[HarryMann]

I think you'll find its usually not the box or Reverse Gear at all...

It's either a slightly dragging clutch or the shift-linkage or lever-detent setup

As in my first post above, although they're not exhaustive, those Wiki topics give some good guidance on refurbing the shift-linkage - if the mechanism is not slotting the gbox change selector into the right position, and with enough travel, its not going to slot in easily