Calling tech Gurus, Quaife reverse box problems, I need help!

[DANMAN]

Hi guys.

I am new to this forum but not new to Lotus 7 type vehicles (I have two), however I am new to repairing Quaife reverse boxes! I am a member of an Aussie 7 forum (I'm an Aussie.....yes, yes, G'Day mate etc!) and a UK forum but so far no-one has been able to shed any light on what might be causing my dilemmas. This is how the story goes:

 

I decided to pull out the Quaife reverse box as it has seemed a bit noisier of late and thought I would pull it down so I could check the bearings etc. Well the bearings looked fine, quite new in fact and the internal gear sets seem to be in good condition so I started thinking that maybe the extra noise is just my imagination? But then I found this:

 

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/GURUDAN/null_zps9277b841.jpg

 

 

The black hex head screws where at different heights because it turned out only one of them was actually tight. This isn't a major deal and hasn't caused any damage from what i can see but I dare say it may be contributing to the extra rattling coming from the box. The other side (output shaft) was fine, all the hex screws were tight.

 

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/GURUDAN/null_zpseeab8725.jpg

 

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/GURUDAN/null_zps843796f5.jpg

[DANMAN]

I have had to split the post up due to the limitation on the picture quantity:

 

Continued:

 

Well I'm not sure what I've done but there is definitely something wrong, I took it for a spin and it is fine under load to a point but when you back off it makes all sorts of horrid sounds. Don't get me wrong, they are a bit chattery at light load but damn! Definitely not right. The only thing I really did was tighten up the screws that were loose pictured above. There really isn't anything else I can think of, unless I jumbled up the planetary gears and didn't put them back in their original spots and they have all worn drastically differently?

The oil is exactly the same (as in from the same bottle) as the stuff I had in it before. The planetary gears just drop into place with no shims or bearings so I don't believe I've left anything out there.

Whilst putting it back together for the second time I thought I may have figured out what the problem might have been:

 

Here is the gear that fell out of the shifter fork when I originally pulled it apart (I didn't see which way it was in), one side is straight cut and the other side is V cut:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/GURUDAN/null_zpse19a0ce3.jpg

 

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/GURUDAN/null_zps8ec1dec5.jpg

 

Here is the other gear that fits into it:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/GURUDAN/null_zpsf4d3d2f7.jpg

 

I had it in this way:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/GURUDAN/null_zps2e8b2fb5.jpg

[DANMAN]

Continued:

 

Pretty sure it should have been in this way:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/GURUDAN/null_zps7ef38d9c.jpg

 

Put it all back together and still the same horrid noises.

 

So I took it back out and pulled it apart again and at this point I am stumped.

Here are some pics of the input shaft dummied up:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/GURUDAN/Quaife1_zpsa76535cd.png

 

The selector fork in "forward" mode slides gear "C" which locks gears "A" & "B" together like so:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/GURUDAN/null_zps7955ab24.jpg

 

When gears "A" & "B" are locked together the collar of gear "B" sits against the copper bush that the input shaft slides through:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/GURUDAN/Quaife2_zps585db829.png

[DANMAN]

Continued:

 

But there seems to be a fair bit of play between the input shaft gear and the dog plate:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/GURUDAN/Quaife3_zps9e15d45c.png

 

I'm not sure if that is supposed to be the case but I haven't seen any shims or other bits that have popped out on the bench when I pulled it apart?

 

 

Reverse engaged:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/GURUDAN/null_zps3186ffef.jpg

 

The only other thing I can think that might be different is that I originally marked the front propshaft with a marker so I could align the front uni-joint back onto the splined shaft again and now I can't find the mark so perhaps the balance is out but I doubt if that would make the horrible noise I'm hearing and it doesn't seem to be suffering a lot of vibration.

(Ignore the sizes and what not, they are on there for a mob I am trying to get a TRT shaft through.)

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/GURUDAN/c42468ba-3828-43ac-9201-e530237ea4dc_zps25dc185e.jpg

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[rzempel]

I'm not familiar with this box, though it certainly looks like a simple mechanism. What's the condition of that front shaft U-joint?

[DANMAN]

Uni joint seems fine and it was all working before I pulled it out. I'm really stumped as to what is going on.

[bsimon]

Pretty sure it should have been in this way:

 

That is correct. The beveled tooth lead-in chamfers should be facing each other so they feed together smoothly when engaging.

 

Is the noise experienced when in reverse, direct, or both?

[DANMAN]

That is correct. The beveled tooth lead-in chamfers should be facing each other so they feed together smoothly when engaging.

 

Is the noise experienced when in reverse, direct, or both?

 

Both. It only happens at light throttle or decellerating.

[rzempel]

What sort of noise is it...grinding, rattling, whining, etc.?