stevemersey

Yes, my conclusion too. Put the money towards LSD.

Flywheel now off and weighed and it appears lighter than I expected at 5.5kg including ring gear.

You already have the lightest of the standard flywheels on the 1800. Phil, Thanks, useful information I did not know.

Myles, Yes, by lightened, I meant lightweight, made by someone who knows what they are doing, not modified by me or others. Though I am sure I could make a reaonable job of lightening a flywheel I have no ambition to conduct that experiment, as that circular saw lives too close to my legs. MOCA2CV Thanks, I will check out Burton power.

While I have my engine out, 1800 Zetec, I am thinking of changing the flywheel for a lighter one. I have not removed and weighed the old fly wheel yet, but at a glance it looks original Ford. The car is for fast road and occasional track days so I am not wanting to go too exotic, so can anyone recommend the best source for a lightened reasonably priced flywheel? The engine is fitted with mostly Raceline parts so they will be my first option unless anyone can make a better suggestion.

Thanks for checking, shame about that inch.

That might be useful! The one currently fitted is: Overall length is 660mm 26" Ford 25 spline to ford 4 bolt 109 mm flange

I am just about to order a new propshaft and suspect that the old one I have is a little short for the job and could be improved upon. I have about 50mm of gap from the U joint to the gearbox and about 55mm of nose going onto the splines going into the five speed gearbox. Anybody got any idea of how much deeper the nose could go into the gearbox, or is 55mm enough?

millsn, Thanks for the benefit of your experience.

Yes the prop came out from the rear after I removed the diff. In theory it seems a little easier to line up the prop, which I can manouver with one hand, with the gearbox once that is in place, rather than trying to manouver an engine and gearbox to line up with the prop.

Well the gearbox has gone off today to be overhauled and the longer 1st gear fitted. Whilst it is away I will replace the clutch and bearings and get the prop serviced. As I have the prop shaft and diff out, I get the impression it should be easier to rebuild by putting the engine and gearbox back in first, then reinstalling the prop and diff in last. Or am I mistaken?

Mine happily idling just under 1000.

Richard, Thanks for the advice. Yes it probably does make economic sense to buy a car upgraded by someone else, and I am sure that will come in time, when I get fed up having oily hands, but for the moment I am having a lot of fun making my own improvements. Steve

Phil, Thank you for the contacts, I will make a few calls on Monday. My car is a De Dion but with respect to the box I am not sure of the origins and what ratios I have other than the fact that first feels a little low and a long way from second.

I am a new owner with a 1991 Series 3 with race line 1800 zetec running on twin 40's and five speed box. I currenty have the engine, gearbox, propshaft and diff out to service and eliminate a vibration at higher speeds in fifth gear reported here This seems to originate from a worn gearbox output shaft bearing and I suspect some wear in the splines of the prop nose. We have had one cold track day at Oulton Park and apart from the vibes everything felt pretty good save poor grip due to carp tyres. So I would appreciate a bit of advice on our prioritising the work we intend to do as funds are limited. I intend to send the gearbox to Road and Race for overhaul. Q1. Is it worth raising the T9 standard 1st gear ratio if it is only for normal road use and the occasional track day ? Q2. I want to replace the prop, who is recommended, or should I go to Caterham? Q3. I fancy putting in some form of restraint to protect in case of prop failure in the future, whilst everything is open. Has anybody got any suggestions on an easy way to do this? Q4 Finally, are there any other jobs I should be doing while it's all in bits. (I can't afford an LSD at the moment! as I want to buy tyres) Thanks in advance.

Sevenspeed do a adhesive backed carbon sleeve to go round steering rack ends if your into Carbon of course I wish I had not looked at that link..not a great fan of using carbon willy nilly but some of that stuff does look good.

An update and request for more specific help. Quick recap. I have recently acquired a 1992 7 with Raceline Zetec 1800 and 5 speed box. It runs very nicely apart from a drumming vibration in fifth gear only at motorway speeds. I reduced this effect, but have not eliminated it, by tightening up differential and engine mountings and replacing missing bolts in the bell housing. I have now found what may be the cause. There is significant play where the propshaft enters the gearbox. Grabbing the U joint and wiggling results in visible movement and a knocking feeling suggesting the rear gearbox bearing is worn. I intend to take the gearbox out and replace the bearing as soon as possible, and replace or repair anything else worn in the drive train but cannot get onto this for a week or so. So my questions are. 1. Is this a common problem? I cannot seem to find a reference to it in search. 2. I have had motorcycle boxes apart before, but not a car. How tricky are they to rebuild yourself? 3. With the engine and gearbox out, will the prop shaft be removable with the diff in place?

The former...the bellhousing was tight to the engine at the top but not quite snug at the bottom. Missing bolts being the cause. Fingers crossed there is no damage to bearings or gearbox as a result. All feels pretty good and quiet now it is tightened up, but if I do get any problems later on I know where to start looking.

Just an update. During an overall examination of the car we found a slight misalignment of the gearbox and engine. After rectifying that and tightening some loose differential bolts, the vibration has been all but eliminated. I do not think I would notice it now if I was not looking for it. I suspect the barely perceptable residual vibration is due to uneven wear at the clutch caused by the misalignment, and it remains to see if this will get better or worse as everything settles in to it's correct alignment. Either way, the car is running beautifully and at worst might need a little clutch work at some time in the future. Let the farkling commence!

Hi Phil, see you are also in Liverpool.

Also experienced vibration issues at aroun 70 mph which felt like unbalanced wheels but was fixed by replacing the engine mounts during other upgrades. Could be a cheap fix. Found the nearside mount to be quite loose and the bracket to the engine the same, so I met yet have found the problem. Also one wheel bearing was a bit sloppy. I love this car already, so much play value. Just need the chance to road test.

Thanks for more constructive ideas. I am going to eliminate the easy ones. I will get the wheels balanced in the next couple of days and have another look at the tyres, and nipple greasing is always fun. I have a tiny cheap video camera that I thought I might be able to fix in the transmission tunnel to see if I can see anything obvious in the prop shaft, and if I can identify the frequency that should give me clue.

John, I am in South Liverpool, Grassendale, so the Ring of Bells is a short drive when the bridge is flowing. I will probably take you up on that offer, though I would like to hope I have it fixed by then.

Thank you for the warm welcome I am rather hoping this is not a gearbox problem - my suspicion is of the prop shaft, though this is more based on optimism rather than facts.

Hi all, I have just bought a nice old 7, 92 vintage with 1800 Zetec and five speed box. I have been pleasantly surprised at how few rattles and gremlins this car has for its age, and it drives really well - but it does have one problem. In fifth at steady motorway speeds there is a drumming vibration like driving over a rough road surface, you feel it rater than hear it. It disappears if I change down. So it is not related to road speed. Similarly, there is no vibration at the same rpm in another gear. The car is sweet and smooth all the way through gears 1 to 4. Any thoughts on where I should start looking to sort this problem would be gratefully received.