Contributed by Tom Riddell.
Neil Sharpe’s instructions See this page are really helpful. Additional notes on my experience are:
At Neil’s step 6, when removing the transmission cover, don’t be surprised if it needs quite a bit of force – mine had to be deflected quite a bit to get it out, but it sprang back to shape
For steps 11 and twelve, it is convenient for the whole job if you put the car on stands or blocks so it is stable and you can turn the tail shaft around to undo/do up the bolts at both universals from above, get under the car to get at the lower gearbox housing bolts, and have the car at a constant height when you are adjusting the supports under the engine and gearbox when you remove/replace the gearbox
At steps 17 and 18 it is easiest to take out the bracket which holds the gearbox mounting altogether – there are 8 bolts fixing it to the longitudinal chassis members but they are easily accessible for ring and socket spanner when the floors are out. A long socket extension put across the chassis and under the rear flange of the gearbox is exactly the right height to support the rear of the gearbox (photo attached). This makes it easy to control the gearbox when it is slipped back off the spline
At step 19 you can do it single handed if needed. The main issue is not that it is too heavy, more that it is at an awkward angle for lifting and controlling. Neil’s suggestion of a fanbelt to hold the rear works well, and once it is a little bit back but still on the spline you can tie a short rope loop through the holes in the top of the bell housing (see photo attached). If you have blocks of wood under the front of the housing to take the weight as it comes off the spline, and a bar such as the socket extension under the rear, then you can take your time about lifting it out of the car. If you want to save 2kg weight, and you intend to change the gearbox oil anyway, you can drain the gearbox before taking it out
At step 20 and 21 when you are replacing the gearbox, if you have blocks of wood ready just below and under the plate at the rear of the engine, extending six inches or so back, then the gearbox can be put resting on the blocks and on the bar across the chassis at the rear, and you can take your time to line up the spline exactly. To do this put a jack with a protective block of wood under the middle of the gearbox and use a torch to check the spline alignment, looking through the hole in the top of the bell housing. If despite seeming to have it aligned it still won’t slide on, turning the engine slightly using the crank handle can help. You might have to adjust the jack supporting the engine and the jack supporting the gearbox to get them aligned at the same angle.
Final points, on my LD10 there is a small oil pipe from the rear of the head on the left hand side, going down outside the block to the sump. This prevents one of the gearbox bolts from being taken out, but the gearbox bolt can be undone enough without actually being removed, to allow the gearbox to be pulled back on the spline. On the right hand side the bolts are really fiddly to get at, and so it helps if you take the linkage between the accelerator and carburettor off the mounting on the bulkhead near the regulator.
It's a lot of work for a simple oil seal, but it is very satisfying when the flywheel no longer drips on the garage floor, and hopefully there will now be long intervals between topping up.
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