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Gearbox - 144

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Old Oct 12th, 2020, 17:29   #1
rm0rgan
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We were on a HERO rally this weekend our 144 (4 speed) and found the gear ratios way too long to keep it on the boil, especially up some of the steep hills and on some of the auto-tests.

Someone mentioned that the 240 5-speed gearbox will fit without any modifications needed - has anyone done this / know if this is correct?

Very grateful for any help. Photo for attention

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Old Oct 12th, 2020, 18:52   #2
142 Guy
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Are you thinking about the M47 (a true 5 speed gear box) or the M46 with external overdrive? If you do a little research, most of it will yield the result that the M47 was not a spectacularly durable gearbox. Early ones had lubrication problems on the 5th gear as I recall which they sort of fixed by relocating the oil fill plug higher. If you are thrashing about in a rally the M47 may be a bad choice. Volvo never fitted the M47 to turbo equipped engines. In both the M47 and M46, '5th' is an overdrive ratio (less than 1.00) so the M47 is definitely not a close ratio box.

The M47 and M46 were meant for the post B20 tilted designs. You may be able to 'make it fit'; but, I expect it will require modification.

If you have a 140 with the M40 gearbox, you likely have a 4.1 final drive ratio. The lower cost solution to keeping the engine on the boil might be to fit the 4.27 final drive ratio which came with the M41 equipped cars. For extra zoom you could fit the 4.56 final drive; but with an M40 and 4.56 final drive you will be spinning the engine really fast if you need to drive any significant distance above 110 km/hr - really noisy.

The sweet spot solution might be to fit a 4.27 rear drive and a salvaged M41. With all the correct parts in hand it would be a no modification required installation. However, finding a donor M41 may be the difficult part.

There is the T5 solution; but, that most definitely requires modification and the typical ratios are not great for a 4 cylinder engine. The T9 would be a better solution. Both T5 and T9 retrofits require significant fabrication and modification.
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Old Oct 13th, 2020, 13:37   #3
rm0rgan
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Originally Posted by 142 Guy View Post
Are you thinking about the M47 (a true 5 speed gear box) or the M46 with external overdrive? If you do a little research, most of it will yield the result that the M47 was not a spectacularly durable gearbox. Early ones had lubrication problems on the 5th gear as I recall which they sort of fixed by relocating the oil fill plug higher. If you are thrashing about in a rally the M47 may be a bad choice. Volvo never fitted the M47 to turbo equipped engines. In both the M47 and M46, '5th' is an overdrive ratio (less than 1.00) so the M47 is definitely not a close ratio box.

The M47 and M46 were meant for the post B20 tilted designs. You may be able to 'make it fit'; but, I expect it will require modification.

If you have a 140 with the M40 gearbox, you likely have a 4.1 final drive ratio. The lower cost solution to keeping the engine on the boil might be to fit the 4.27 final drive ratio which came with the M41 equipped cars. For extra zoom you could fit the 4.56 final drive; but with an M40 and 4.56 final drive you will be spinning the engine really fast if you need to drive any significant distance above 110 km/hr - really noisy.

The sweet spot solution might be to fit a 4.27 rear drive and a salvaged M41. With all the correct parts in hand it would be a no modification required installation. However, finding a donor M41 may be the difficult part.

There is the T5 solution; but, that most definitely requires modification and the typical ratios are not great for a 4 cylinder engine. The T9 would be a better solution. Both T5 and T9 retrofits require significant fabrication and modification.
Thanks for all that - great info. We have an LSD fitted (not sure of the ratio) and it's only making 102 bhp approx (pretty standard really as has been built for long distance endurance events). What we want are shorter ratios 1, 2 and 3 and then maybe some longer gearing for 4 and 5 to cruise....

I also heard the old Type 9 gearbox can be fitted with an adaptor plate - I have a standard T9 in my Zetec powered Seven and think the ratios in that would be pretty good...any views/experience on this route?

Thanks again for the replies :-)
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Old Oct 13th, 2020, 15:24   #4
Derek UK
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The 4.56 axle would be the easiest fix. Talk to Rob at Amazon cars. No. it won't give you quiet cruising but the engine can take it and you can always use ear plugs or headphones if you and your nav are wired up.
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Old Oct 13th, 2020, 17:48   #5
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I've never really had issues with the M47. They have been very reliable under high RPM and high strain with towing.
Where they do struggle is when you put them behind a turbo engine. They can then tend to start jumping out of gears.

To fit the M47 you do need to have a prop made and also sort a gearbox support beam as the mount is further back than the M40. I would go M47 over a M41
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Old Oct 13th, 2020, 18:18   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rm0rgan View Post
Thanks for all that - great info. We have an LSD fitted (not sure of the ratio) and it's only making 102 bhp approx (pretty standard really as has been built for long distance endurance events). What we want are shorter ratios 1, 2 and 3 and then maybe some longer gearing for 4 and 5 to cruise....

I also heard the old Type 9 gearbox can be fitted with an adaptor plate - I have a standard T9 in my Zetec powered Seven and think the ratios in that would be pretty good...any views/experience on this route?

Thanks again for the replies :-)
I suggest that you remove the differential cover and count the teeth on the ring gear. With the available pinions you will be able to make a very educated guess at the final drive ratio. Or, if you have a GPS unit or an accurate speedometer record the engine RPM at various speeds in 4th gear. With luck tirerack.com will list your tire and provide the tires revolutions per mile. If they don't select a similar sized tire and use that value. You can then use rev/mile, engine RPM and speed to back calculate the final drive ratio. At least you have a starting point - no point purchasing a 4.27 or 4.56 rear drive if you already have one fitted.

Do you want 'shorter ratios' or do you want closer ratio spacing? If you want shorter ratios, changing the final drive is the correct solution. If you want closer ratios most 5 speed transmissions are really 4 + OD. I bet if you check the M47 you will find that the 1-4 ratios are approximately the same as your M40 with 5th being an OD. If your engine can't haul the 144 up a hill in 3rd or 4th with the M40, the M47 (or most other transmissions where 5th is an OD) won't fix that problem. A close ratio 5 speed where 5th is 1:1 might fix that problem; but, I am not familiar with any common 5 speeds where 5th is a 1:1.

I know very little about the T9 because they are very rare on this side of the Atlantic, the last appearance being in 1989 in the short lived Merkur xr4ti (Sierra).

I have a 142E / M41 and I have a 4.56 final drive. I also have 185/65 tires which makes for a higher revolutions per mile than the original tire sizes and 'effectively' further increases my final drive ratio. This combination effectively turns the M41 into a 3 speed transmission (2nd, 3rd and 4th gears) because you will run through 1 st gear incredibly fast. Because I don't rally my car I am planning to switch to a 4.1 final drive which will effectively return it close to the 4.27 final drive (with my smaller radius tires) that the car was originally equipped with.

If you have a rally course where the speeds are between 25 km/hr and 100 km/hr then the M40 with a 4.56 might be a good choice allowing you to use 2, 3 and 4 to cover your speed range while running the engine around its torque peak (around 3000 RPM). Not the hot ticket if you also need to use the car for a daily high speed commute because of the engine noise and the higher fuel consumption.

Last edited by 142 Guy; Oct 13th, 2020 at 18:21.
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Old Oct 13th, 2020, 23:38   #7
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Hi All,

Until recently I had a M41 / 4.10 combination, albeit in an Amazon estate. I’ve recently converted over to M41 / 4.56. I agree with Derek, the car is a lot easier to keep ‘on the boil’ ; I’m able to use overdrive in far more situations, which takes the edge off the noise.

Tom
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Old Oct 14th, 2020, 13:15   #8
Derek UK
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4.10 in an Estate? Tell us more. I've run an M41 with a 4.10 in a Stromberg/twin down pipe B18a 4 door and liked it very much. It ran sweeter at 70-80 than my Estate with B18B/M41/4.56.
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Old Oct 14th, 2020, 18:25   #9
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The Issue of fitting a M45/M46/M47 to a B18/B20 is the bellhousing. They are getting very rare now. I have done it, and if you have the correct bellhousing its pretty easy a little machining to accommodate the selector rods may be required on especially the Aluminum casing.

Personally i would prefer a M46 with a P type overdrive which i ran on the london - mexico and london - sydney rallys but a M47 is much lighter.
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Old Oct 16th, 2020, 17:16   #10
rm0rgan
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Derek UK View Post
The 4.56 axle would be the easiest fix. Talk to Rob at Amazon cars. No. it won't give you quiet cruising but the engine can take it and you can always use ear plugs or headphones if you and your nav are wired up.
It's actually Rob's original 144 that he did the Peking Paris / LD - CP Rallies in...I think it has a 4.56 (just need to check). It's a closer gear ratio I'm after really, the steps between 1st, 2nd and 3rd are too big to keep it on the boil, especially on tests and anything involving steep climbs like Porlock Hill last weekend!
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