On Tue, 21 Oct 1997, DRVABTRCR wrote:
> I have a early series overdrive trans non-synchro 1st which has some bad
> components in the overdrive assembly one being the planet carrier part 61 in
> the workshop manual. Would like to know if a rebuild is available or where to
> obtain replacement parts and possibly which other cars had this Laycock D
> unit.
>
> Thanks, Bob
Bob
Nearly all the british cars and some scandanavian cars (such as
Volvo) used the D type overdrive. Many of the parts are interchangeable
to the Sunbeam The annulus and the tail shaft are two pieces that were
found only in the Sunbeam overdrive. All the other D type overdrives were
identical. The planetary gears should be interchangeable. I have opted
to replace the blown up overdrive (I didn't blow it up, I bought it that
way) with a Volvo unit. This requires changing the drive shaft to an MGB
shaft, but the result is actually a better design. Having the drive shaft
slip inside the overdrive, which is trying to build pressure to engage the
gears, is a really stupid design. For this reason, Rootes had to put the
balance tube between the front a rear chambers of the overdrive to keep if
from clunking in and out of gear while you are merrily bouncing down the
roak. I was talking to a friend of mine over the weekend and we wondered
how much more it cost Rootes to have the overdrives retooled to make their
one off design, when they could have gone with the MGB tail shaft and the
standard Laycock design. No wonder they went belly up.
Bill Lewis
Arm Chair engineer
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