Dear Peter

All information on this page has been sent in by club members in an effort to help Transit van drivers to over come any problems they may have. This information is not information that has been posted on this page by the Transit van club. All information should be checked before you carry out any work on your van to make sure it is safe to proceed and that it is road worthy on the completion work.

I get a number of E-mails and phone calls asking about exchanging gear boxes on Transits it would seem in this letter we have most of the answers. T-shirts and other stuff are on the way to Stan Wallace member 90 with my thanks.

V4,1.7 & 2.0 V6,2.5 & 3.0 2.4 york all use same box V4 & V6 use same bell housing 2.4 york & 2.5 Di use same bell housing.only difference between boxes are T/W prop bolts to box S/W has sliding sleeve. All internal components are interchangeable as are cases & bellhousings. S/W can be converted to T/W by stripping box & swapping output shafts (vice versa )

H/duty box fitted across the range from 16 OHV,16 OHC, 2.0 OHC, 2.4 york & 2.5 Di L/duty box mainly behind 1.6 HV

This box is basically the same as 4sp MK1 except tail shaft case is different. (H/duty box) to fit this to a MK1 S/W one you will have to swap MK11 tail shaft case with MK1 tail shaft case. Remember to use vans original speedo drive in new box. To fit it to a T/W you will have to change output shaft as all MK11 boxes had sliding sleeve prop.

This box is a straight swap into a MK11 but will have to be modified as MK11 to fit MK1

This box will fit MK11 & early MK111’s ’86-’88 without and problems. When you get one of these boxes make sure you get the crossmember & gear stick as they are different to 4sp. MK11 & early MK111 props fit straight onto this box as do the clutches. If you take the box out of a petrol van you will need the diesel B/housing if you are going to mount to a yorkig or Di. These bell housing are matched to 5sp box.

4sp B/Housings will not fit and can’t be modified.The good thing about this box is that you can use the same hole in the floor and retain original floormat. Visually it looks like a 4sp box when you look inside the cab. This box can be fitted behind 1.6 OHC 2.0 OHC 2.4 york & 2.5 Di. Theoretically if H/duty & L/Duty boxes are interchangeable then this box should swap with the rear L/duty box but I don’t know if a B/Housing is available to match it to 16OHV. You could have an adaptor plate made up rather like the one fitted to the OHC engines or that plate may do the job (I’m not too sure)

The last thing is always replace original speedo drive into new box to keep calibration right and lastly sometimes the clutch cable outer sleeve is too small and pulls through B/Housing.Use a couple of large washers to sort this out.

If you are willing to do a bit of work this box will fit MK11 & all MK111’s new gens, & smiley fronters.

It is a direct replacement on all models petrol & diesel from 1990 on. It can be fitted to MK11 & MK111 to 1990 as follows…

8. Selector arm & release bearing (renew bearing even if clutch is new they can rattle)

Remove original G/box Xmember & prop (advertise them someone else will need them) Unbolt xmember from legs: cut legs of MT75 xmember and bolt to legs off a four speed xmember.

Bolt box to engine (petrol or diesel) If it’s a petrol OHC you will need an adaptor plate fitted to OHC from 1990 on. Jack gearbox rear until it touches floor. It will be touching the thin xmember welded to the floor mark xmember 3-4inches either side of box. Lower jack,cut cross member vertically and either remove section or fold back. Jack up box again,bolt on 5sp xmember & lower box. Now bolt on prop. You may find you will have to move bracket slightly so that the centre carrier bolts to it. Attatch clutch & speedo cable.

Next bit is your choice. Either cut a hole in original floor for gearstick ,rivet on shroud bolt,stick on and fit gator.

(transmission tunnel is a couple of inches higher in 1990 on vans to allow extra clearance for box) Then you can use mat out of the donor van which looks a lot tidier. The mat will need trimming slightly though.

If you do leave original transmission tunnel you will have to blank off original gear stick hole. A mat from a later vehicle will fit but will not lie right with the flat floor.

It may seem like sacrilege fitting an MT75 into a MK11 but its your preference !

On the plus side there are loads of gear boxes & prop shafts available. A good smooth box.

On the down side these boxes do tend to loose 2^nd gear on high mileage. Also spoils the look of the interior if you are going for originality. It’s your choice !!!!

Have you got an early MK1 with the uncomfortable throttle pedal?, the one that feels as if it's fitted mid way between the dash and seat? Did you know that it's dead easy to change it?, and it's done in such a way that it can be put back to original?. All you need is a bulkhead mounted peddle from a late MK1 or any MK2, (don't forget the bracket the cable's fitted to) don't know about the MK3, don't mess with them, they're too new for me. Unbolt the original peddle and throw it away or keep it, whichever suits, the late peddle will fit straight in the three bolt holes, now all you need do is make a plate 2.5" x 4", (no idea what that is in foreign), drill two holes in the plate so it fits over the two bottom bolts, this covers the big hole in the bulkhead where the rubber boot was and gives a mounting hole for the fourth bolt, Now it's just a case of drilling the hole for the throttle cable to go through. When removing the "new" peddle and cable from the donor motor, mark the five bolt holes on a piece of card, mark the top hole for the cable on your bulkhead, drill it and job done. Bolt the peddle and cable bracket in place, fit the cable and off you go for a test run.

I have at last found a way to fit alloy wheels to my Transit Van, I would like to share my findings with other club members here is how… And the finished product.

First get 4 pieces of steel burnt out of a solid 25mm thick with an O/D of 205mm and a hole in the middle of 60mm.

Then get your engineers shop to clean both sides and get a proper O/D of 205mm and an ID of 65mm. Doing this job will get the adaptor concentric, i.e. round.

Then drill 5 holes at 14 mm at 160 PCD and drill one face deep enough tapered to make a wheel nut disappear and get a socket on it.

This bolts onto the hub and is held on with original wheel nuts, also on the front 2 adaptors - drill at 100 PCD, 5 holes, 22mm wide to a depth of 10mm to let the stud heads that hold the disc on fit.

This is to be done on the opposite face to the countersunk holes, and at equal distances from the 160 PCD studs.

Then on the other face – drill and tap 12mm holes at 114.3mm or 4.5inches PCD right through. I used Peugeot 205 fine-threaded wheel bolts, cut 5mm off the length or they will foul on the bolts holding the disc on. This leaves over 12mm of bolt in the thread.

On the rear – Don’t cut down the studs, as there is a recess in the drum. Just have the rear ones tapped at 114.3mm or 4.5inches PCD.

This makes it very heavy on the steering as it alters the geometrics of the steering. Also – your MOT station won’t like them as they are not commercial tyres or wheels. But I have them on my van and have just done a tour of North Yorkshire without having to re-tighten anything. But I shall monitor wear rates on tyres and bearings etc.

Possibility of original wheel studs needing a fraction grinding off because the new wheel may just sit on these - instead of