1951 Peugeot 203 gearbox mount replacement problem.

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bathst

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Tadpole
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I have to replace the gearbox mount on my early 203 and i have disconnected what i believe to be necessary.
The main 4 allen key bolts going through the union behind the universal had nuts at the other end which got me for a bit but i got on to those.
The engine is not dropping as low as i would like as i would prefer a straight line to the torque tube to withdraw it. Anyway i pulled it back a bit and then had a look and realised the universal was coming out of the gearbox and i can sight the speedo drive gear perhaps?
I have stopped at this point to try and rectify the problem but i think i need to get the engine down at the bag to get it in line and i may need to loosen off the engine mounts or perhaps the exhaust brackets need removed first.
Has anyone had any experience with the early 203 setup? I intend to replace the gearbox mount and the seal from the diff.
Hopefully i am in the correct forum.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Regards John
 

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What you're seeing (I think) is the knurling on the universal joint which acts as an oil thrower. This joint is different to the later models. The earlier series had knurling on both ends. Pay careful attention to wear in this joint. I had to replace mine not long after everything was back together. The quality of the steel on the crosses isn't all that resistant to wear. So a little wear quickly becomes a lot. The tunnel is terribly tight. Mine pulled out easily both times I had it out.
 
Ok, so there is no bolt holding the universal to the gearbox end? I will try and get it to go back in to some degree and get the gearbox to come down to line up to being in line with the torque tube and then will try and get a bar in there to stop the universal coming back with the torque tube/drive shaft?
 
Don't worry about the universal coming out with the shaft, you need it out to inspect it anyway. The fact there are no tyres is increasing the angle. If it isn't coming back easily there is pressure somewhere. Perhaps raising the diff slightly on a trolley jack might help. Consider if you should replace the pillow blocks that hold the head of the torque tube at the same time. The job isn't quick, the Peugeot time book allows 5.25 hours to replace a torque tube.
 
The large shells that hold the head of the torque tube are described as pillows and pillow blocks in my parts book. They are more like bearings with a copper lining material that has usually worn through. The unit from the 505 wagon fits although the SASIC part has a couple of external edges that have to be rounded off for a 203.
 
thanks Russell,
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- re the 'knurling' of one side of the uni.
 
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My early model has knurling on both sides of the universal. In 1951 only the gearbox side was knurled. If there is any wear or looseness around the assembly dust or slurry can get in and cause all sorts of problems. I suspect Tubman withdrew from the 1954 Redex not because of clutch failure but from problems with the universal. I once took a 403 through flooded tracks in outback SA and suffered subsequent failure of the joint from slurry penetrating.
 
I managed to get the torque tube to withdraw this afternoon. I put orig wheels back on the back and changed the jacking height at the back and also jacked up the front to reduce that angle. I needed to pull down on the back of the box at the same time for the yoke to clear the tunnel and the universal did stay with the box even though it had come back quite a bit.It was still niggly but the problem was definitely jamming in the tunnel with the yoke if that is what it is called.gearbox mount was very bad so i have reassembled new one to the casting and will next split the diff from the torque tube to replace the seal.I imagine it will be niggly getting it back in but at least i know i can do it.I also loosened of engine mounts but i think maybe the exhaust is holding the box up.Thank you for the kind advice. Will let you know progress!
 
The transmission tunnel is terribly tight. I had great difficulty getting the box back in.
 
Yes i am nt looking forward to the reverse procedure but i will have to be pulling the box down to get it to clear the tight tunnel.I am now going to pull the driveshaft and disconnect torque tube to replace the seal at the diff.
 
I put the seal in and pulled it in with the main nuts and then put in the retaining screws for the plates. Then the torque tube. Seems to be ok but want to make sure before i bolt it up. The driveshaft does spring back at me if i push it in at the universal end and it is in about the position i would expect it to be but i was wondering how to test that what i have done is ok before i bolt it up to the universal??
 
From memory all I did was rotate one of the wheels to check everything was moving freely.
 
So the driveshaft is connected at the diff end and not the gearbox end still.
If i jack up both wheels at the rear and turn one then the other does the opposite direction no issue but if i only jack up one wheel then and turn the other wheel will still just try and turn not the driveshaft! This suggest there is an issue in how i have put it back together i imagine? If i push the driveshaft from the gearbox end it does spring back at me so it must be to do with the replacement seal perhaps somehow fouling the driveshaft or shaft on the diff from turning?
 
The thrust spring may be displaced stopping the drive shaft from engaging. Best strip it down again (slowly) looking for anything obvious. A word of warning - the plate at the front of the diff that carries the seal is brittle, I cracked one once.
 
If that were the case though i would still be able to turn one of the rear wheels with the other on the ground. I will first disconnect the torque tube and then repeat to check then remove the plate at the front of the diff. The plate on mine that the carbon seal runs against is very thick steel. Are you talking about a different plate?
 

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That's the one, I had one crack on me after replacing the diff bearings. Must have been tightening unevenly, something you don't forget.
 
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