Installation of Roamer Drive in 74 Series III - Any Advice?

[AustinK]

I recently purchased a Roamer Drive to replace the failed Fairey Overdrive in my Series III. Does Anyone have any experience with this and any tips/tools I should make sure I have beyond the normal sockets, wrenches etc. Also any tips on Gear Oil - Synthetic vs non? Any tips on getting good seals on covers? Also when troubleshooting teh problem I removed the top cover on the gearbox and now I need to get the shift forks back in place. Any recommendations?
Thanks in advance!

[jac04]

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.

[AustinK]

Hylomar - What is it and where can I get it?

[I Leak Oil]

I had to put mine in in two halves as the entire unit wouldn't clear the cross member to go in as a single unit. If you have to do this be careful of the syncro parts. They fall out as there is nothing to hold them in. I used some grease to hold them in place until it was buttoned up.

[jac04]

Hylomar - What is it and where can I get it?

It is a non-hardening gasket dressing/sealant and you can get it from our hosts.

[pitchrollyaw]

Happy w/ my Roamerdrive.

I had one installed in my SIII earlier this year, planned on doing it myself but ran out of time w/ Summer schedule.

Wish we had heard of the swarf experience earlier, but we looked at mine pretty closely and d/n notice anything out of the ordinary. The sealing surfaces appeared fine and the product appeared to be very well made overall. Not surprised at your experience given the nature of this: niche, low production, oddball product.

The only real kink we ran into was that the shift lever and knob foul the center seat w/ OD disengaged. We tried adjusting the actuating rod but that just moves the throw arc and there isn't much room on either end. See the pic, this is with the OD disengaged and shift lever in 2nd. This leaves about 1/2"+, a little more than a knuckle, between the OD knob and the shift lever in 4th. You could bend the OD lever outboard and up to gain more clearance, but that would also lower the knob. I could also try a straight lever to get more clearance to move the arc forward, but I don't see that much utility in the middle seat and the OD lever is perfectly located for me now. I removed my middle seat and cut in some rubber matting.

Otherwise, I am very happy with the Roamerdrive. Added a bit of gear whine, but nothing too obtrusive and it does noticeably reduce noise at cruise.

Ray was very helpful on the 'phone.

For oils, Roamerdrive is very specific about oils, essentially you need to use oils safe for yellow metals. Synthetic is OK and probably a good idea here. They supply a list, I went with Redline MT90.

[tmckeon88]

Seconding the gear lever issue. Mine got in the way of 4th and reverse when engaged. I had my HS shop teacher heat it and put about a 15 degree bend in it, so when screwed in it hugs the top of the tunnel a bit more closely and doesn't get in the way of the main gear lever.

I didn't have any issues with build quality, but it does tend to make a tiny bit of grind when I shift it in. It might well be an oil level issue, since my transfer case is leaky. I ended up getting one of their aluminum transfer case bottom covers which was helpful.

Mine runs very quietly and is a great addition, after my whiny Fairey gave up the ghost.

Tom