Land Rover Series 3 Suffix A Gearbox Rebuild 

A typical Series 3 gearbox with noisy bearings in First, Second, and Third. The clutch release bearing also squealed from time to time. The gear change, however, was good, despite the springs having gone on the reverse gate.

Filthy and covered in overspray. The photo on the right shows that one of the reverse gate springs is missing.

These metallic objects were found on the main gearbox sump plug. They turned out to be springs from the Third/Fourth gear synchromesh unit.

Out it comes, and onto the bench it goes. Before stripping and cleaning, the worst of the dirt was scraped off.

The worst cleaned off, but still a lot of room for improvement. 

As well as a few remedial repairs, a thread insert was fitted in the left hole shown in the photo on the right.

Cleaned up nicely. Reassembly will be carried out using OEM-spec parts where possible. Fortunately, other than the damaged springs on the third/fourth synchromesh, the only area of concern was that several bearings—most notably the one supporting the main input shaft in the bell housing—were badly worn.

With everything cleaned and painted where necessary, it was time to reassemble. The logical place to start was rebuilding the main gearbox.

Slowly but surely it all comes together. New reverse gate springs fitted, and not forgetting the placement of the gear selectors detent pins. 

The Main gearbox lever being fitted. I took the Photo before greasing and locating the lever in the selectors. 

Now for the turn of the Transfer Box. The Shim Pack for the Speedo Drive can just be seen in the top of the Photo. 

Now for the turn of the Transfer Box. The Shim Pack for the Speedo Drive can just be seen in the top of the Photo. 

A change of scenery with the transfer box nearing completion. With the transfer box sump fitted, the gearbox is ready to be installed.

Gearbox in. Driveshafts, speedo cable, and clutch hydraulics all fitted. The handbrake will wait until after the seat base is installed. It can’t clearly be seen in the photo, but new rubber grommets were fitted in the clips for the speedo cable, as the originals were little more than sticky goo.