Rover then T5 Box - When

[johno]

Can anyone guide me on when the Rover box was discontinued in favour of the T5 box on the Griffith.

I understand that it won't be a clear date but some guidance would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Mark

[jamesk]

As far as I know none of the pre-500's had the T5 and all 500's do.

Probably wrong tho..

[sipow]

Johno,

1994 was when they swapped to the T5, and i believe ther where about 130 500's built 1993 but whether the where registered in 1994 i dont really know.
Hope this helps.

Simon

[RichardSteel]

My 500 was registered October 93 - Rover box, of course.

[simont]

My 500 registered 21st April 1994 - T5 box

[Jamesk]

That'll teach me

My 6/95 500 is T5 - obviously :P

[vodkakid]

whats so bad about the rover box?(might be getting a griff so it would be nice to know)
cheers

[simont]

Not as strong as the T5 box I understand. Try Steve's bible for the detailed info

[DIGGA]

quote:
whats so bad about the rover box?(might be getting a griff so it would be nice to know)
cheers

Not as easy to use, and if you're looking at cars, the most expedient way of telling which 'box is fitted is by looking at the gear stick:

T5 - Reverse is opposite 5th gear (i.e. bottom right)

Rover - Reverse is somewhere off to the left (I should know this, as I did have a 4.0l Griff), I think on a dog-leg, next to first gear.

The T5 is probably stronger too - it's used in the Cerbera and Tuscan racers etc. too.

[shpub]

quote:
whats so bad about the rover box?(might be getting a griff so it would be nice to know)
cheers

Different gearing that makes the T5 box a bit quicker in the higher gears. In terms of reliability, the T5 is a better box but the 520 has to run an SD1 box and with several hundred pounds worth of fettling from Tower View I have been putting close to 400 bhp through it with no problems. I have also declared gearboxes a consumable which may have had an additional effect in that nothing so far has gone wrong yet.

Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk

[johno]

quote:
whats so bad about the rover box?(might be getting a griff so it would be nice to know)
cheers

Got a friend with a 400SE who has just spent a considerable amount of money having his Rover gearbox rebuilt after not too many miles. I have driven the car and the change was awful compared to my 90000 mile S2.9 !

I was interested to gauge general opinion as with the good chance of me changing to a Griff I wanted to know what I was looking at in terms of gearboxes and views on them.

I am siding on the side of a 4.3 rather than a 500 and was told (correctly) that they only came with the Rover box.

I am sure there will be examples of high mielage Rover boxes without issue but the general opinions I have gained suggest that the T5 is a stronger box with a better shift.

Cheers all for the info.

Mark

[shpub]

T5 has a better shift.....,


Hmmmm... Not so sure. It is very notchy and can be a swine if the gearstick is not moved with absolute precision which means I find it difficult to change gear really fast in the Griff compared to the 520. Doesn't mean I would say that the T5 box is to avoided but it is not anywahere near as good as the V6 boxes fitted on the S series. But they start to die if you start sticking V8 power/torque through them.

However you can get a sequential version of the T5 box which would be fun but costs around £5000 but it is just a small step to a integrtaed ECU controlled semi-auto gear change....

Hmmmmm.... sequential...... now there's an idea!

Steve

[simpo one]

Rover box vs T5?

I have had both - a 1992 Griffith 4.0 (Rover box) and a 1997 Griffith 500 (T5). The Rover box was slick and easy to use and worked perfectly; by contrast the T5, as Steve Heath says, is notchy and must be used precisely. At high revs changing from 2nd to 3rd (eg a runway sprint), it can baulk completely (I know another owner who has found this - and while you struggle with it the 4.0s go past!

The T5 might be stronger technically but it certainly wouldn't influence my choice of which car to buy. The Rover box took everything I threw at it perfectly and that was after 50,000 miles. If I had the choice of late 4.x or early 500, I would take the former.

[MATHEW]

Dont know if this helps but the Rover box has its reverse gear in the top left corner and the BorgWarenr T5 box is in the bottom right corner of the box. Steve Heaths book says that it was at the beginning of 1994 that they changed to the T5 box.

[chrish]

I seem to remember it was July 1994 when I drove a Chimera demonstrator with one of the first T5 boxes they had just got in at my local Sussex dealer. So safe to assume Griff 500s were about the same time.
They have since expired or I'd ask them.
Take my advice and go for a "serpentine" engine car that was 95 onwards.