Gearbox replacement in Mayo

[CJ]

A mate of mine (Nigel - some of you may have met him) had the misfortune of having the 4-speed Tip gearbox in his GPX go bang recently. He's having difficulty finding someone in Mayo who would be willing to drop in a new 'box (its not rocket science FFS, when people hear 'FTO', they think its gonna be an awkward job). The car is currently stuck in Foxford, if anyone can recommend a competant mechanic in the locality, I'd appreciate it.

CJ

[Speedyboy]

Im ringing around for him now i know a few people up that way, I have a customer if foxford whos sound enough if he needs to put the car somewhere for a day or two

[CJ]

Im ringing around for him now i know a few people up that way, I have a customer if foxford whos sound enough if he needs to put the car somewhere for a day or two

Cheers Ralph. The car is in his folks place at the moment so storage isn't a problem, getting someone with the ability to change more than an oil fillter is!
He even approached the local Mitsi outlet and they said the couldn't do it. At the end of the day, swapping a 'box in and out of a Galant or a Charisma is no different from doing the same thing in an FTO. The lack of customer service and mechanical ability out of some of these garages is just ridiculous...

CJ

[Speedyboy]

Yeah its very like that once you leave Dublin, I couldnt get a garage to change my tip box oil in galway becuase they couldnt understand why i would want to change the oil in a gear box?

Anyway back to the point Eamonn O Malleys Garage outside westport said they would do it. THey said it would take 4/5 days and they dont want to be rushed on it because they want it done properly,

One of the mechanics there drives an FTO and they changed a cam belt for me before so they should be fine

Their number is 098 21417 if he wants to give them a bell

[Speedyboy]

Oh i forgot to say they said make sure its a good condition box he's putting into the car (I have no doubt it is but i thought id better ad that!)

[Myfeckin FTO]

Would now would be a good time to consider getting a manual gearbox conversion??

Though there should be a few second hand Tip boxes around.

If there isn't any huge difference in cost - then I reckon it would be worth it - The Tip boxes do seem to give a lot of hassle - When I had a Tip I was always waiting for something to go wrong - it frequently had little niggles and a few trips to the garage - never completely failed though.

Suppose it really comes down to how comfortable the garage is with doing a conversion and the availability of the parts. In saying the above I am not exactly clear on the amount of work needed to do a conversion - I would think (aside from the gearbox) you would need clutch kit - new brake pedal - gear linkage - gear stick surround - & possible changes to wiring??

Still is this a lot more work than replacing the Tip box and probably still wondering when its next gonna give you trouble??

[CJ]

Nice one Ralph, I've passed the info on, he's gonna give them a call in the morning. He got a quote of €400 off A&M for the labour so it 'll be interesting to see what they come back with.

Oh i forgot to say they said make sure its a good condition box he's putting into the car (I have no doubt it is but i thought id better ad that!)

It'll be a Kerry gearbox so I've no doubt its in good condition The box went on the previous owner about a year and a half ago, A&M did the work at the time but you just can't be sure of the condtion of whats going back in.

Would now would be a good time to consider getting a manual gearbox conversion??

Two problems with a manual conversion are:

1. Getting someone competent enough to do the work
2. Price. The clutch and ancillary parts would also be needed so you'd probably be talking a min of €2k all in. It would probably be cheaper to bring the car over to Japco and have the work done there.

CJ

[Speedyboy]

Ah so he's putting in a re-con box not too bad, I believe Japco wont take on anymore manual conversions coz they've such a que.

If the car needs to go back to Dublin to get the box fitted let me know as theres someone I know who might be reasonable

[steelroe]

Just so as he does not get screwed over for labour, it should only take about 10-12 hours max to replace the box (less if the mechanic is competent). I have removed a couple of them and thay are actually easier than the manual to remove.

[Daz]

Ouch i know how this one feel's good luck in him getting it done , i was waiting 6 months and tried 3 garages before i finally did it myself.

Daz...

[Daz]

Two problems with a manual conversion are:

1. Getting someone competent enough to do the work
2. Price. The clutch and ancillary parts would also be needed so you'd probably be talking a min of €2k all in. It would probably be cheaper to bring the car over to Japco and have the work done there.

CJ

On point one i totally agree

on point two i know someone who's engine has given up the ghost so he is actually getting a new engine plus getting a gearbox conversion done while he's at it importing it all at once , and he's importing everything himself and it would intotal including getting someone to do the work cost around 2k.

Daz...