Nyala Police Riot Vehicle Gearbox Installation (My Daily Doings)

Let the fun begin by turning the big bolts tight

A little back story to the story

We received a little present in the mail today. Something that has been a thorn in our side for almost 3 weeks heading on 4. We received clearance to repair this vehicle about 6 weeks ago, we overhauled the gearbox and had bull-bar repair work that was needed. We installed the gearbox, tested everything and everything was good. We then sent it in for the bull-bar repairs, that's where this turned upside down, when arriving at the business to retrieve the vehicle it had no forward gears only reverse gear, it was tightly packed in a cranny corner and seeing that its an 8 ton monstrosity we were left with no option but to hire a towing company and make our problem their problem.

Luckily for us we were able to reverse the Nyala back into the workshop. Removed the gearbox and sent it back to the oaks who repaired it, we outsourced the job because of work overload, made things go a little bit faster, well until it was a disaster.

Today was the day we finally got the gearbox back and without much delay We quickly put her back into place! With minor hick-ups along the way

The guide through of what I did

Please keep in mind some steps were left out
If I have to mention everything I would have an extremely long and exhausting post

Ready for installation

But first I had to make us some coffee, it was a cold night and an even colder morning with the workshop being extra cold and working with metal tools can get quite frosty in the winter! So a coffee was well needed and wanted.

As usual I sort all of the bolts, clean all of the seals or o-rings that might need to be fitted back into place. Double checked if all of the bolts are still in good condition

We also repaired the prop-shafts for this vehicle and gave them a nice coat of new fresh black paint. Yes they are quite big and very heavy.

I am very glad I saw this before installing the gearbox, this would have been a lot harder to repair while the gearbox is mounted to the engine. Even though someone else rebuilt the gearbox for us I don't think they would have knowingly left 2 of the 6 converter nuts stripped. I am assuming that they must have gotten bumped during the courier service.

Got the correct taps for the job now its only down to problem solving the problem! Always double check if you have the correct thread pitch and bolt thickness, causing more problems for yourself is never needed.

At first I thought I was going to break the weldings off, because of the thick thread pitch it took quite a little bit off pushing force to get it going in its original thread. Putting a drop of oil on would have made it a bit easier.

Seal off all the extra add-ons to the gearbox properly preventing leaks from happening prematurely and tighten properly to torque specs.

Got the gearbox nice and center placed on the gearbox jack which has a much wider platform meant especially for big gearboxes like this one.

Once the gearbox was jacked high enough I aligned it up perfectly making way for a very clean and easy installation with minimum effort.

Once bolted into place make sure you have entered all of the bolts before torquing one bolt to spec, I feel its better to tighten each one at least a little bit and then torquing all of them.

After I torqued all of the bolts it was safe to remove the jack from underneath the gearbox. Yes this gearbox does not have any mountings, it is held in place by its weight of the engine

Let the nightmare begin. This is probably the worst and least liked part of working on these vehicles for me personally. I don't mind converter bolts or nuts or entering them. But on this specific vehicle, its really a pain, and its very uncomfortable.

A tiny little hole through which you can bolt the converter to the fly-wheel
Trust me its nerve wrecking, what if the bolts falls out of the socket into the bell-housing. Well if that happens we call it a day. JOKES

Give the final touches to the gearbox, we sometimes joke around putting the jewelry on her, finish it off nicely and everyone is happy. Put in more effort then what you're getting in return.

Add your propeller shafts and we are almost done and dusted with this job, only a few more bolts and nuts to tighten, and believe me the last few nuts and bolts on this job is time consuming. There is only space for a spanner and its tedious work turning and turning on that fine pitch thread, a 0,50 if im not mistaken.

Seeing that its an automatic gearbox we give her some ATF - Automatic Transmission Fluid. Always use the correct oil for the type of box you have, make sure you have the right viscosity and dextrosity (always) It can play a big part in the functionality and longevity off the product you offer.

There we go, We finally arrived at the finish line! Vehicle is now ready to be tested and re-checked for leaks and possible loose bolts.

Always leave your workplace in a good condition, CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF!
Make sure to clean your tools and store them in the correct manor and in the correct place when someone else needs the tool they can find it where it is intended to be. Be more aware of how that can affect your overall speed and effectiveness in the workplace.

After all the work was done we took a breather, I made us some fresh coffee, we each had something to snack on. We then proceeded in cleaning up the shop, rearanging the cars in the shop, getting the jobs next in line ready to be worked on.

Preparation is the best weapon!

To everyone who made it this far into my lengthy post Thank you for the read and the support.

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