TF160 Gearbox bearings - reasonable.

[stackmonkey]

Impartial advice, please.

A friend with a TF160 on a 54 plate with the PG1 gearbox has had a quote for fitting 4 steel caged bearings in the gearbox for £550 including oil and seals, but excluding the cost of the bearings themselves. Apparently this is about 12 hours work and the mechanic is an ex-MG engineer.

All replies gratefully received and passed on. Ta

[chris watton]

If that is the case would it not be better to buy a brand new gearbox and have that installed?

(Assuming the MG guy isn't ripping you off with his quote..)

[MGSteve]

The majority of that quote will be labour, as most internal gearbox jobs on the TF require the rear subframe/engine/gearbox to be dropped from the car, which is not a quick or cheap task. Fitting a new box doesn't make sense, as the cost of the box would just be added onto the labour, leaving you a bill of almost double the quote.

I would however recommend having a new clutch kit and an aftermarket clutch release arm (one with a grease nipple) fitted at the same time. The release arms are notorious for seizing so its makes sense to me to try and prevent that issue while you have the opportunity.