I'm about to install a new Roamerdrive in my IIA 109. Any advice? Tricks? Don't-forget-to-do-or-you'll-bugger-the-lot?
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I'm about to install a new Roamerdrive in my IIA 109. Any advice? Tricks? Don't-forget-to-do-or-you'll-bugger-the-lot?
Follow the directions? :p
There is a bronze (synchro?) ring which is loose in the rear of the housing- use some axle grease and sort of stick it in place so that when you mate up the rear part of the overdrive to the front part, that piece won't get crunched. Found that out the hard way! I like my Roamerdrive; it works quietly.
Tom
Check the fit of the lever vs. a center seat or whatever you have there and also the gearshift lever in 2nd and 4th. Can get tight, but you have some adjustment.
You will enjoy the Roamerdrive, it will probably howl for the first few hundred miles as the new and old gears wear to each other, but it quiets quickly. I find myself using mine around town as a 3.5 gear.
w
I installed a Roverdrive on my SIII Lightweight. The installation is fairly straight-forward - just follow the instructions.
Here are some suggestions:
Before installation:
1) Inspect the inside of the overdrive thoroughly. I highly suggest flushing it with oil a few times prior to installation. Then inspect for contamination again. Keep flushing until clean.
Why? My Roverdrive was contaminated with aluminum chips from machining. These chips were not apparent at first inspection. After installation, the chips embedded themselves in the surface of the syncro ring, making grind-free shifting impossible after only 2-3 shifts into OD. The OD had to be removed, cleaned, and the syncro rings carefully decontaminated with a dental pick and razor blade. Not fun.
2) Inspect all the sealing surfaces (including o-ring groove & sealing surfaces) for damage and dress them as required.
Why? Most sealing surfaces on my Roverdrive left a lot to be desired. They showed nicks & damage, like the parts weren't handled carefully after machining.
During installation:
1) Use Hylomar on the x-fer case to OD gasket.
2) If the o-ring seating surfaces have damage, it might not be a bad idea to use some Hylomar on the big o-ring as well.
3) Use a torque wrench. You don't want to crank down too hard on the OD since it has an aluminum case.
4) To locate the hole in the tunnel for the pivot: Take a bolt that threads into the lever pivot bracket and cut the head off. then grind to a point. Thread it into the pivot threads, then install the bracket. Reach in and unscrew the bolt with your fingertips until it just touches the tunnel. Then whack the tunnel with a rubber mallet. This will put a center punch in the exact location of the hole you want to cut in the tunnel. Worked perfectly for me.
5) I found that the shift lever needed to be bent significantly to place it in a good spot.
After installation:
1) Shift with caution. According to Ray Wood, the Roverdrive is not designed to be shifted quickly.
2) Put a little run time on it, then drain the oil hot. If any signs of contamination still exist, you will need to drain the x-fer case as well (since the OD and x-fer case share oil). Do this a few times. I did this 2-3 times just to be sure everything was clean.
Overall, I'm happy with the performance of the Roverdrive. It makes the vehicle much more enjoyable to drive.
However, I am a little disappointed with the build quality of the unit. Damaged sealing surfaces & contamination don't give me a good feeling. Yes, I took care of it, but I went though a lot of trouble to install this unit and for all that trouble Ray sent me a new syncro and a new set of gaskets. Great, but I probably have 10 hours into installation, removal, troubleshooting & re-installation. Then several gallons of gear oil for flushing. Oh, and it leaks out of the selector shaft seal, which Ray tells me is normal. As you can tell, this doesn't make me happy. In hindsight, I should have just sent it back for exchange as soon as I noticed the damage to the sealing surfaces.
Where did you purchase the Roverdrive?
I purchased it directly from the folks at Roamer, in BC.Quote:
Originally Posted by cedryck
I really appreciate the tips, exactly what I was looking for!
I am poised to install the Roamerdrive that I purchased several weeks ago for my Series 2a (Series 3 gearbox). I posed some questions to the members of a series enthusiast website. One of the answers confused me. Specifically, I asked a question about the castle nut and the tabbed washer holding it in place...two responders mentioned reusing the tabbed washer(s) and grinding down the tab slightly. Maybe they are talking about a previous model? My understanding of the instructions is as follows (can anyone confirm if my understanding is correct?): the Roamerdrive installation guide does not mention reusing the washers. It mentions removing the main shaft gear, the castle nut, as well as two washers through the PTO aperture. It then mentions taking a splined coupling out of from within the gear end of the Roamerdrive unit (it would appear that this splined coupling replaces the main shaft gear). It then instructs the owner to loosen 3 set screws on the periphery (outside perimeter) of the coupling and to remove a hex nut from within the coupling... then tap the coupling onto the main shaft (roller end 1st). Finally, the manual instructs the owner to fasten the hex nut that was removed from the inside of the coupling onto the main shaft, torque it to 110 ft. lbs and then tighten the 3 set screws on periphery of the coupling. It would seem to me that the 3 set screws would serve the purpose of keeping the hex nut in place (serving the function formerly served by the washers with the locking tabs). If that is not the case, I am confused, since there is no mention of reusing the washers. I hope my understanding is correct, thanks.