Author Topic: 4 Speed Gearbox Stuck 1st Motion Shaft or Quill Shaft  (Read 228 times)

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Offline 4129R

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4 Speed Gearbox Stuck 1st Motion Shaft or Quill Shaft
« on: Thursday,May 13, 2021, 12:07:13 AM »
I am curing an oil leak through the bell-housing oil seal, which is located just behind the clutch thrust bearing on the diff side of the bell-housing.

Gearbox oil was leaking through the seal onto the clutch and causing it to slip.

When I took out the gearbox, this shaft, which goes through the clutch plate into the spigot bearing in the back of the crankshaft, stuck in the spigot bearing, and pulled out of the gearbox.

The workshop manual says this shaft is attached to the gearbox by a roll pin. But there is no hole in the splined part of this shaft where it attaches to the gearbox.

My questions are:-

1) Has anyone else had this problem with the shaft sticking in the spigot bearing ?

2) How can I attach the splines in the gearbox to stop this happening again, Loctite?

The oil seal replacement is cheap and simple, but I think it was damaged when the PO took the engine out and had the same sticking shaft which could have damaged the oil seal when taking the gearbox out.

The manual says use graphite grease in the spigot bearing. I will do this which might help, but with the spigot bearing and clutch splines holding the shaft at the engine end, and nothing apparently holding the shaft at the gearbox end, I fear this will happen every time the gearbox is removed, which potentially will damage the oil seal as the gearbox comes away over the shaft sticking out of the back of the flywheel/clutch.

The gearbox is a 352.

« Last Edit: Thursday,May 13, 2021, 12:23:07 AM by 4129R »

Offline jbcollier

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Re: 4 Speed Gearbox Stuck 1st Motion Shaft or Quill Shaft
« Reply #1 on: Thursday,May 13, 2021, 05:00:00 AM »
The parts diagram shows the pin pretty clearly:

http://www.lotus-europa.com/manuals/tcparts/f/fg.htm

I think you are right that this caused the seal damage.

Offline 4129R

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Re: 4 Speed Gearbox Stuck 1st Motion Shaft or Quill Shaft
« Reply #2 on: Thursday,May 13, 2021, 08:40:14 AM »
No hole in either the female gearbox spline or the male input shaft from the clutch.

I am using Loctite Red to hold the splines together in the gearbox.

If I have to take the gearbox out again, and the shaft sticks in the clutch plate, I will renew the oil seal.

The spring on the inside of the oil seal had come out, and was behind the bell-housing.