The gearbox in our 1995 Rover 214SEI has just gone AWOL (has been noisy for some time) and is now in need of replacement. I have been quoted £ 400.- plus VAT and fitting for an exchange
re-conditioned gearbox (sourced from Black Diamond Warrington) but is this really the best way to go ? Any advice would be much appreciated.
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These gearboxes are garbage so one from the scrappie could be just as bad. A cheaper fix may be to have your box repaired but the labour costs removing and fitting will be the same of course.
Andrew
Happiness is a T70 at full chat!
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Tj did say reconditioned not secondhand. So on that basis I would say yes, however I think the price is a bit steep. I had my 800 VS gearbox rebuilt in Coventry for £340 all in (all the labour plus lots of bits). I agree with Andrew about secondhand though.
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My dad had one of these nasty cars and was quoted £1200+VAT for a new one or £700 for a reconditioned one from Rover. He found a gearbox specialist in Port Talbot, south Wales, who I think would do an exchange for something like £250.
Instead he sold the heap to the trade - as I understand it the dealer bought the car for his grandson to drive to college.
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Speak as you find, eh?
It'll only be a bearing failure.
£400 for the recon box? Aslong as it is from a good company with a warranty, then I say go for it.
MG-Rover Problems? forums.mg-rover.org
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second that one dave
this is not a common problem with this car and a good recon unit can be got for around 400 quid
not too sure about some of the comments about these units been carbage maybe a little too harsh,like i say gearbox problems are not too common. compared to some french and italian crud on the market.
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The good thing is the bearings can be replaced fairly quickly and cheaply on the Rover R65 gearbox.
MG-Rover Problems? forums.mg-rover.org
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As an ex-Rover engineer of some 15 years, the R65 gearbox is a pretty robust unit and the likelyhood of picking up another knackered unit from a scrappie is pretty slim. £400 for supply & fit is quite reasonable and you do have a warranty (I presume). So if it goes up, you can take it back and say \'fix it\'. There is always the sale of goods act too should you need to get awkward but as I said, these units are good gearbox\'s.
Robin
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I've only had limited experience - the dealer my dad took his to said it was a known problem. They also suggested we consider scrapping the car; at the time (summer '99) it was probably worth £2k in a private sale, so I wouldn't take their word as gospel.
The Sale of Goods Act on a second hand, non reconditioned gearbox will be next to useless, amounting to, "It got you home, didn't it?" On a recon unit, you'd probably get not much more than a month before there was some uncertainty - it really is a last resort or when the garage has messed up big time and won't accept responsibility.
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Not strictly relevant I know but I've seen a convertible version of this car and wonder what they are like to drive? Do they suffer from scuttle shake or feel flimsy? Do the doors stay shut over road humps etc!?
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Yeah, the convertible 200 is OK!
Yes, it does suffer from the age-old scuttle shake but in general it's a fine car.
Look out for Tahiti Blue - the best colour IMO
Check the hood pivots and folds down smoothly - as with any under-used hood the pivots can and do seize causing untold damage which is often not obvious. Buyer beware!
Honda D16 SOHC and DOHC plus 1.4K Series engines available - I'd (out of preference) go for the frugal 1.4 K engined one. The Honda units are robust but thirsty.
MG-Rover Problems? forums.mg-rover.org
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