Gearbox (Tranny) Removal

[jamieandthemagi]

Does anyone have any Gearbox removal info, as I've cooked the bearings in my series 4 1990 Spider & need to install a reconditioned gearbox ?

[Roadtrip]

Pretty unusual to burn out bearings in an Alfa transmission. Are you sure? What are the symptoms?

[jamieandthemagi]

I did a roadtrip around Scotland over Christmas & was on a bit of a rocky road, I hit a rock & it put a hairline crack in the housing.
This then made it lose over 2 litres of gearbox oil, so I've cooked the bearings !!!

Symptoms:
Whining in all gears.
Whining stops when dipping the clutch.
really nasty metal on metal noise over 2000rpm.

[Roadtrip]

Jamie- Bad luck on that gearbox. I'm afraid it's probably really fried. Sounds like you're going to need is a new case half and bearings at a minimum.

I've never removed just the gearbox. I've always removed the engine and tranny as a unit, which many Alfisti will recommend. I think you can remove just the gearbox, but it's difficult due to the tight clearances and need for a specialty transmission jack.

The best course would probably be to get a salvaged gearbox and give it a rebuild. If your syncros are still good in the trashed gearbox, you could use them.

[CarPoor]

I recently R&Red the trans in my '78 in order to do the clutch... Some of the bolts are really hard to get to, but it's do-able. 1 tip- you can get extra clearance on the fasteners for removal by removing the exhaust hangers and letting the exhaust tip the engine back on it's mounts. (With the car on jackstands, there's enough room for you & the tranny under there). A floor jack helps to lower the trans once it's loose, but it's really pretty light. When I put mine back in, I just sort of "bench-pressed" it into place. Some folks remove the studs fom the block and swap them out for bolts. That way, the trans doesn't have to come so far back before you can lower it.
Mind you, your car is much newer, so some of this may not apply to you. HTH, CarPoor