Okay, had a look at the Haynes and looks a fairly simple job. Just have a couple of questions about acquiring a 5-speed box:

Do the 1.4 and 1.7 use the same gearbox? (mines a 1.4)

Roughly whats the going rate for one?

How many miles are they good for? (don't want to buy one too knackered)

Some info would be appreciated guys. If anyone knows of a place to get decent Volvo bits in the Leicester area that would be even better!

yes

buggerall if you get one from someone who is splitting a car - maybe £20 or so

not really relevant - i've seen them go well over 200k. just check (if you can) that the shift action is fairly smooth without *too* much play. they tend to be easier to shift after 80k or so

Another thing to look for is make sure there is oil in the box. They do have a habbit of leaking and running low on oil.

Dai

The swap is quite easy to do. I did the same. The 1.7 and 1.4 have different boxes, but are interchangeable. When you fit a 1.7 box in your 1.4, like I did, the revs are going to be about 5% lower, cause the reduction in the diff is 3.81 instead of 3.64.

I fitted in a 1.7 box on purpose, because I like it quiet on high speeds.

Everythin else (propshaft, driveshaft, gearlever and stuff) can be reused, so you only need to change the gearbox. For your shiftstick, just pop out the 4-gear pattern plate and change it for a 5-gear pattern. Just leave the stick where it is !

I payed 25 Euros for mine. Is not 100% though, the second gear is somewhat hard to select when cold.

If any questions, feel free to ask.

You say the revs are lower, did you have to adjust the idle to compensate or is it not that significant?
May be other questions once i've got one. Oh, and do the gearstick knobs just screw off? Don't want to give away its been modified or my insurance might go up

Idle will not need to be changed.
It's the diff in the gearbox gives more revolutions of the wheel for a given rpm. So when you are moving(in gear) the engine reves will be a little lower for a given speed.

The gear nob pulls off.


Dai

seems to me you call these two bolted together "gearbox" difference is about final drive ratio, i guess. all M47R boxes have the same set of gears etc.

Some types are not bolted together AFAIK, being one piece. Anyhow, yes, I call the complete unit a gearbox, as you should replace the unit in one piece. That way, it always fits and it´s a lot easier than separating the final drive from the box.

Chris, I may have a box for you. I've sent a PM with details.

Cheers,

Gavin.