help on gearbox removal

mcmuthafart · Post by **mcmuthafart** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 7:30 pm

tail shaft out all bolts i can find out but thing wont come off.... havnt dont this b4 so i wouldnt have a clue does it need a good bash to get it off?

Post by **wedgenut** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 7:46 pm

If you are positive you have all the bolts out of bell housing (dont forget to remove the starter motor) then it should slide back. The only thing that can stop it is the dowel pin at the top slightly to the left of the centre bolt. You could try putting a sharp pointed bar or screwdriver in the joint at that point and giving it an experimental tap and it should split and slide back. The only other things that can stop it are seized spigot bearing on the input shaft or glued up spline on the clutch plate. If it is either of those you are in the shit and need a bigger hammer and lots of little wedges that you can place around the bell in as many places as possible to force it back evenly, otherwise you might crack the alloy.

mcmuthafart · Post by **mcmuthafart** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 7:49 pm

ahhh starter motor still attached thanks for that ill go try it

Post by **wedgenut** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 7:58 pm

No wurries, let me know how you go, remember to turn the effing thing on its right hand side as it comes back, that lets the starter bulge in the bell clear the tunnel and it comes out a lot easier, same putting it back but you have to have the rear cross member mount off to rotate it of course but it makes the job a shit load easier. Send all donations to the forum, we will accept money, beer, willing young women with no morals and did I mention beer! Oh and some beer as well.

mcmuthafart · Post by **mcmuthafart** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 11:54 pm

starter off and was a breeze thanks again

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 12:11 am

oh no, HAVE FUN GETTING IT BACK ON!!!!

Let me know if you have problems I may have a few tips for you

Post by **wedgenut** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 6:01 am

Nah Chris its dead f...ing easy, especially if you are drunk. There is actually a very sneaky trick to it which is particularly appropriate for the Auto box. If you ever get that one from up North down I will tell you how to make it easy.

mcmuthafart · Post by **mcmuthafart** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 10:24 am

well the gear box is stuffed have to get a new 1 so wont be putting 1 on for a while.... unless some1 has a good manual gearbox cheap???

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 10:27 am

can't reco the old one?

Post by **wedgenut** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 12:32 pm

Chris is right, check out what it needs. be very careful, GOOD and CHEAP don't usually go together that often and expensive doesn't mean good either unless you can trust the source. Its not something you wanna do twice so it may be cheaper in the long run to have it overhauled. If it is just bearings it would definitely be worth it but if all the selectors and synchro rings are stuffed or gears are chipped it may not.

Bugle · Post by **Bugle** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 3:41 pm

Yea gears are expensive.
When mine blew up I got a quote for a countershaft, main shaft 2nd gear, couple of synchros, 1st/2nd shift fork and it was like 1.5k and they'd have to order it from Japan..

You can put a Gemini 5 speed gearbox in there to get the car going again.. However you will need the front tailshaft modified to suit the Gemini spline. Can't just swap the sliding yoke over because the Piazza uses different uni joints which can't be rebuilt.. When you find another Piazza box you can swap a Gemini auto sliding yoke onto the end of the modified tailshaft as it's the same as the Piazza manual spline.
You just have to swap the drive gear bearing retainer off the Piazza box onto the Gemini one so that you can use the push fork for the hydraulic clutch. Also the holes on the rear part of the gearbox case where the remote shifter bolts to are in a slightly different location. 1 of the holes will line up and it seems to work ok with only 1 bolt holding it on there.

Rodeobob · Post by **Rodeobob** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 5:36 pm

Easy.
If you just want it going again, head off to the wreckers. One of the help yourself joints.

Look for a Holden Shuttle bus with the 2L motor. Its exactly the same box and will bolt straight in, the only issue will be the ratios, it wont make the car as nice as it was to drive. If you go to Pick-a-Part they are $89. Bring your tools coz you do it all yourself. lol. I just had to say that.
Or you can look for a {b]KB29[/b] Rodeo, only that model not the earlier ones. If its got the 2.3L motor in it its the same box too. If its a 2L (G200) it might not be, im not sure as i havent had a look at one yet. Best thing to do is rip the tailshaft out and have a look, if you cant tell by looking find any Trimatic tailshaft and shove that up its bum, if it fits its the same as the Piazza.

If your wanting a box with the right ratios. You will be looking for a 500kg rated Rodeo. They had the same ratio set as the Piazza. I know the LS spec Space cab was 500kg rated i would imagine the LS spec Dualcab would be the same. The single cabs no matter what spec level would all be rated at 1 ton i would think.

One thing to keep in mind is that the boxes are all the same as far as the way the internals work. So your taking a punt as to how worn a used one will be. Most are worn in the input cluster and that stuffs the shaft. Ive got one box here out of my ute that im going to strip and send the shaft off and see if someone can rebuild and retreat if for a fair price.
From what i can tell the Rodeo/Piazza box suffers from the drama more than the Shuttle ones.

If you get on the Vic Trading Post web site theres a guy whos got a recoed Piazza box that hes been trying to sell for ages. I think the starting price was $900 or something and the last time i saw it he had $500 on it. I think it was in there last week. I havent looked in this weeks as ive got no money and dont want to be tempted. lol. If you want to get it, sort it with the guy and i can get it possibly and put it on a truck or something.

You do have another option. Get a TF Rodeo box. Its a bolt in fit, its bigger where it matters and heaps stronger. Theres two different ratio sets early and late model, the late ones are the best. Have a look in the workshop part of OZgemini coz i dont think ive posted it up in here yet.

Cheers. Bob.

mcmuthafart · Post by **mcmuthafart** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 8:39 pm

i got a gearbox of a mate another piazza five speed but it hard to get in gear any ideas?
my other gearbox has no second??

Post by **wedgenut** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 9:18 pm

Need more detail bud, is it hard to shift into any particular gear or all gears? Things to check, make sure it hasn't been filled with gear oil, it gums up the synchros, Piazzas use engine oil only in the toothbag. Also check that the lever pivot retainer plate that bolts up underneath isn't on the wrong way round or upside down and the socket washer under the plastic ball cup isn't upside down as it will make the ball hard to shift in the cup. Usually the lever assembly is removed for box change and it is easy to assemble wrong. One other thing I have seen is where some one had lost the plastic bushes and spacer from the bottom of the shift lever where it attaches to the selector rod and they had put a standard nut and bolt in it and tightened it up until the fork was locked to the lever. I have the opposite problem on one of mine, everything is so worn and sloppy it is like stirring a pot of soup and now and again a gear can be found

GeminiCoupe · Post by **GeminiCoupe** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 10:40 pm

wedgenut wrote: I have the opposite problem on one of mine, everything is so worn and sloppy it is like stirring a pot of soup and now and again a gear can be found

Exact same prob ive got with mine, the 2-3 change is abit inaccurate/sloppy and if your abit hamfisted its easy to get 5th. 5th to 4th is even worse - its all too easy to go *crunch* onto 2nd gear. Need to drive the bitch with finesse which is something im not used to - very hamfisted. Any ideas for a fix wedgie?

Nick-