Gear box in pieces - can't get parts:((

caroline wrote:2nd gear was increasingly awkward and crunchy to the point where no matter what it was a battle and nigh impossible.

caroline wrote:My Harmony has now been in the garage for nearly 2 weeks having gone in because I couldn't get 2nd gear.  The gearbox is in pieces and I'm told they can't get the necessary parts to fix it. It's just over a week to my annual holiday and I'm more than a little anxious now - can anyone help with possible source of parts please, or other options which don't involve a mortgage - thanks.

reenag06 wrote:Hi my symbol has just developed same problem and it only done 27000 miles
 Have u sorted problem and was it expensive???

Jeff and Di Giblin wrote:Just to say we are now two years down the line from having the same problem sorted. We weren't capable of doing the work ourselves and so took the specialist gearbox repairer route. This proved to be as good an experience as this mega repair could be! The repairer was able to source the majority of required components from their various trade contacts. Most were new but some had to be unworn second hand, because of the age of the base vehicle. The clutch was also replaced at the same time and the flywheel was skimmed. The whole thing cost £1,500, in 2012. All we can say, two years down the line, is that the problem remains sorted.
The gearbox specialist had several motorhomes on the ramps at the time we took ours in, and offered the opinion that pulling a continuous heavy load around, and using the vehicle like a car (whatever that might mean!) contributed to high gearbox failure rates in such vehicles, regardless of mileage.
We were happy in the end (once the credit card had stopped smoking!) and continue to enjoy our motor homing .
All the best to everyone

Jeff and Di

Bulletguy wrote:Not sure which base models people have been having problems with but if we are talking Ford, Germany holds the largest supply of new parts (even my mudflaps had to come from there!), and Poland has an absolute mass of 'recon' parts. Back to gearboxes, in this country we have numerous small Motor Engineers who specialise in refurbing and rebuilding gearboxes. Some Engineers have the ability to manufacture new.

This is just one example which is near where i live;

Staffs Silent Gear Company Ltd
Gear Works
Etruria
Stoke-on-Trent
Staffordshire
ST1 5PR
Tel: 01782 280136

Many won't even have heard of the place. Even a lot of local people don't know of it's existence and if you saw the building, you'd laugh......yet for years it has been the sole supplier of gearing to F1 teams. Now......if they have the capability to turn out that standard of craftsmanship, then i'm damned sure they could cope with refurbing or making any Ford gear parts!

The other natural source of supply of course is breakers yards. I have one in my area which takes in nothing but Transits. 

That's a good link bulletguy, funnily enough one of my customers in Stoke is into hillclimb/trials cars and we were talking about this company a few weeks ago, they are very highly rated.