Good and Bad

First the good news:-

I took the car to the 2000 Register National this weekend, where it won the Best Restoration award - thank you all.

Now the bad news, 2 problems have come to light,

Firstly, the power steering pump is leaking from the front seal - that's easily rectified, despite having rebuilt it, so I have ordered another seal kit, which after a quick strip down and rebuild should rectify the problem. I presume the problem is the front seal.

Secondly, and far more serious, there's a nasty noise from the gearbox / transfer box - not sure which at present, but its certain that the whole gearbox assembly is going to have to come out. I know I took a chance with the transmission by not stripping it completely, but I thought it was worth the gamble. I should have known that 30 years stationary in a damp barn was going to cause issues, but the inspection looked OK. The noise is worse in first gear, than in reverse, so it could be the rear epicycle gearset

I am hoping that by disconnecting the prop shafts and the rear gearbox mount, that I can unbolt the FF unit from the gearbox and remove that. This will then leave room to remove the gearbox from the engine. If this doesn't work then its engine out, which I think will be 2 days work with the front diff and drive shafts.

I'll let you all know, but it will be 2 or 3 weeks before work can commence due to pressures of paying work, then look forward to a blog dedicated to stripping and rebuilding a BW35 which I suspect is the culprit. if not its rust in the transfer box bearings, which are going to need some special tools to remove. I am going to drain the gearbox oils, so it will be interesting to see if there is anything nasty in the oil.