I'm pleased to announce I can now supply steel caged gearbox bearings and seals for all versions of the Rover PG1 gearbox. These can be supplied in kit form or as individual items (please PM me for further details). All bearings are premium Japanese bearings supplied by NSK/RHP or NTN.

Unlike the (more expensive) kits from other online suppliers or ebay, the kits on Rovertech contain all the bearings you require to rebuild your box. Choose between shaftset bearings only, differential bearings and seals or mix and match to get the kit you need.

I also have the remaining UK stock of 4/MJ28 in steel caged format for NASP boxes.

Steel caged Shaftset bearings



U SPEC (Turbo) boxes £150 inc UK delivery*

Includes all five bearings + input shaft seal:

3/MJ28 - Input shaft (lower)
3/LJ28 - Input shaft (upper)
RJ2024 - Mainshaft (lower)
3/LRJA25 - Mainshaft (upper)
43/LJ25 - Mainshaft (upper)

X SPEC (Turbo) boxes £140 inc UK delivery*

Includes all five bearings + input shaft seal:

3/MJ28 - Input shaft (lower)
3/LJ28 - Input shaft (upper)
2/LLRJ33 - Mainshaft (lower)
3/LRJA25 - Mainshaft (upper)
43/LJ25 - Mainshaft (upper)

NASP boxes £130 inc UK delivery*
Includes all four bearings + input shaft seal:

3/MJ28 - Input shaft (lower)
4/MJ28 - Input shaft (upper) Waiting on stock
2/LLRJ33 - Mainshaft (lower)
3/LDJK25 - Mainshaft (upper) (polyamide cage only)



Steel caged Differential bearings

I can currently source a pair of premium quality 6208 differential bearings for £40 inc UK delivery*






Differential Seals

Rubber (early) driveshaft seals (pair) £20 inc UK delivery*
Metal (later) driveshaft seals (pair) £30 inc UK delivery*




Individual bearings

Bearings and seals are available individually, please contact me for a price.

I can also supply the limited remaining 4/MJ28 NASP bearings for £29.00 each inc UK delivery, while stocks last. Once these are NLA you will need to machine your gearbox housing, use a larger bearing and surface grind it to fit, or find an alternative gearbox. Currently no longer available.

Full kit discounts

Discounts are available when purchasing a full kit or combining orders (saves on postage), please contact me for specific pricing.

Prices exclude paypal fees, please adjust accordingly.
* price includes UK postage only by RM special delivery or recorded delivery. Standard RM restrictions apply, contact me for international or special shipping requirements.

Note:

Please note that although uprated bearing sets are commonly referred to as "steel caged" only the ball bearing units are available with steel cages. The roller bearings units such as RJ2024 and 2/LLRJ33 use a grey polyamide cage, which is often mistaken for steel. These have never been available with a steel cage.

All the ball bearing races supplied use steel cages with the exception of the NASP box 3/LDJK25 which, again, was only ever manufactured with a polyamide cage.

There is a lot of misinformation from suppliers regarding this point, please be aware when making your purchase.

The following information may be useful for identifying the kit components you require

Identifying your bearings

There are three different kits of bearings fitted to the shafts in the gearbox.

NASP (standard) - fitted to naturally aspirated models.
One bearing is present at each end of the shaft.

X (turbo) - fitted to most 220 turbos. X Spec boxes offer the following additional features over the standard:
Bigger bearing fitted to upper end of input shaft
Double bearing is fitted to the upper end of the Mainshaft
Different spline for 5th gear.

U - (Uprated) - fitted to 600s, 800s and diesels. U Spec boxes offer the following additional features over the standard:
Bigger bearing fitted to upper end of input shaft
Double bearing is fitted to the upper end of the Mainshaft
Different spline for 5th gear.
Longer and larger 35mm journal for lower mainshaft bearing with a bearing retainer plate and shotpeened gears.

If the box still has the original barcode sticker you can easily identify the gear set used by checking the gearbox code.

The first letter identifies the ratio set in the box (e.g. C, K, S) the number following defines the final drive ration (e.g. 6, 7, 4) The rest of the code gives the configuration type of the box. If this includes "X" you have the "X" type box. If it includes "U" you have the U type box. If there is no X or U present it will be a standard NASP box.

If the box is missing the sticker the only sure way to check what bearing set is required is to disassemble the box and physically identify the bearings used.

• The NASP box will use 4 bearings only.
• The X box will use 5 bearings, you can identify the X box from the lack of retaining plate on the lower mainshaft bearing and confirm by measuring the diameter of the lower mainshaft journal (33mm)
• The U box will use 5 bearings, a retaining plater on the lower mainshaft and a journal diameter of 35mm will confirm it is a U spec box

Identifying your seals

The seal type will depend on the driveshafts fitted, later shafts have a larger cutout to accept the deeper seal. It should be possible to identify the type of seal required without removing the driveshaft by carefully examining at the edge of the larger seal. If a metal lip is present it is the later metal type. If a lip is not visible it is likely to be the early rubber seal.

Two types of driveshafts were fitted to the PG1. Although the change was made dependant on year it is possible to interchange them providing they are matched with the correct seals and the outer ABS rings match.

Early driveshafts have a shallow step and use the early rubber type seal, later driveshafts can be mated to the early seal, although success rates vary.

Later driveshafts have a taller step and use the later metal type seal, early driveshafts cannot be mated to the later type seal.

Early driveshaft

Note the shallow step









Late driveshaft

Note the larger step designed to clear the later seal, an additional groove is machined on the outer.









Seals

hi can you tell me the number for the bearing Bearing-roller (NO INNER) - the one i have just took out of my box is 60x 33 x 22 the ones i have seen are 60x35 x22 NSK VP35,what is the correct number for the above,I need at least 3 manage to get all the other in steel versions

Not available in steel cage.

can i get a kit for my MK2 420D box

As ASHY says, the roller bearings are not available in steel cages and never have been (see note at bottom of original post). Confusion stems from the fact RHP used brown polyamide and NSK use grey which looks a lot like steel at first glance. Only the ball races are steel caged.



Yes certainly, diesel boxes should use the U spec box, but please confirm if possible.

Diesels use either the U spec (if intercooled) or lower spec if non intercooled. I can't remember if they are the X spec or the original NASP spec.

Edit: Also when I work out what bearings I need for my latest rebuild I'll be in touch!

????? its a D turbo non intercooled

will try and finde out but i'm not to sure

Then it won't be a U spec box, just a standard spec one (Whether that is X or NASP I'm not sure though).

I've already had one bearing off null and it was one that was hard to find and had no problems with it at these are of a high quality!

The roller from the X spec gearbox's can be had with a proper steel ring, no different code or anything from the polymide ones so no way of ordering this in, and there is no benefit gained from having one anyway.

Is there any difference between the outer race size on the Main shaft roller bearing that sits in the bell housing??

As stated there are 2 different sizes depending what size journal you have. Would the bearing for the 33mm journal fit the bell housing of the 35mm journal without problems?

Thought this was the best place to ask

Jay

I must admit, I have never seen a steel ring on a roller yet, I'm not entirely sure how it would work - the ring of the roller bearings needs to be flexible to a certain degree to allow the rollers to pop in. I never really gave it much thought until somebody asked me about it. So to be sure I disassembled one to double check and scratched it with a knife to reveal it was polyamide as opposed to steel. NSK may have changed the design though, and there is simply old stock still floating about.




The nasp/X bearing(33mm) is 2mm shorter than the U bearing (35mm). I don't believe there is any major difference in the gearbox casing, so yes it should certainly fit. The only difference is the U spec casing has the two bolt holes tapped and a retaining plate fitted over the bearing.

Is it a good idea (worthwile) to upgrade to later shafts ?

Can the (CV?) joint be split so you use the later parts which go into the gearbox with all the rest of older driveshafts ? (I happen to have a later set to stop the oil coming out of a spare box I have here.)

Consider me down for a full 220 kit once my rebuild gets to that stage.

I'm assuming these kits can take the extra ponnies (300+bhp) over normal kits?

The gearbox on my 1997 820 Coupe Turbo is whining its nuts off, although it drives ok.

Will this kit of bearings fix the whine

Cheers

just saw this, i bought the bearing from you 18 months ago and i run a U 620 Turbo box but with MGF drift shafts

The seals, std 620 turbo 100100 and 100110 iirc part nos rubber ones, leak

Am i using the right / wrong seals, if the latter what should i be using ?

Also in 2nd and 4th the box whines, has done since it was built (been built twice by Drew and Matt Parker) any ideas ?

Rubber seals will fit either type of shafts. Metal shielded seals will only fit the later shafts with the recess for them

If it whines in gear then either a bearing is broken or more likely the gears themselves have worn. Once the gears are worn and whine you can never really get rid of it without replacing the gears themselves.

Cheers, will put up with the whine in that case as i would assume its the gears not the bearing

As for the seals if they go again i will check the shafts

Thanks for the post

The inner CV (it's actually a tripod) can be split, you have to bend the retaining clip to remove the tripod. I'm not entirely sure how well one tripod would match with another outer casing, especially when worn. I've never tried to swap them, but I would assume it is possible.

AFAIK the only difference later style shafts bring (aside from any changes in ABS rings) is the deeper groove to accommodate the later style seals. The later style seals do tend to be more leak free than the early ones and a lot easier to fit. As to if this is a worthwhile upgrade, depends on how easily you can obtain the parts/change the shafts. If your early seals are causing no problems I would leave them be, to be honest.



Depends, is the magic word here.

The PG1 was never designed to take this sort of torque (I think the max spec according to powertrain was something like 177ft/lb). If you hammer the box it is possible to break it with just a standard engine. The differential bearings are prone to failure at about 90k (IME) anyway when used with a TORSEN diff, I really believe this is down to a poor design choice by Rover in moving away from the original spec taper bearings.

That said, with the exception of these diff bearings, bearing failure is pretty rare in the PG1 as they are not really a common weak point. It is debatable as to if a steel cage offers more strength. However if you are building a 300bhp engine, it would be madness (in my opinion) to put that through an unknown box without first rebuilding it and changing the bearings - they are the part that wears the most, and at least it then has a fighting chance.

I have personally put 320 ft/lb of torque through a rebuilt and steel caged NASP spec PG1 box (the weakest of the three), and run it as a daily driver for several thousand miles without any problems. But I was considerate in how I treated it (no dropping the clutch and drag style starts).

Steel caged bearing kits for the PG1 are actually (surprisingly) cheaper than the OE style polyamide or nylon cage bearings. The steel cages are more robust (although more noisy in operation) - however the cage of the bearing is not normally a highly stressed part of the bearing unless operating outside design parameters. Steel caged bearings are far more tolerant to heat though, while the OE spec plastic cages tend to be quieter in use.

In either case, when installed correctly a set of new bearings is going to offer an advantage over an old worn set, regardless of the cage material used.

Personally, if I was building a "bullet proof" box, I'd use a (preferably new) U spec box with steel caged bearings and consider machining it to fit tapers or similar for the differential. Even then you would not eliminate the chance of failure from a split housing, stripped gear or a knackered syncro.




It might seem a daft answer, but only if the bearings are at fault!

If the box is whining due to worn teeth or excessive play then new bearings will not solve this. If the differential bearings are on their way out then replacing these (sooner rather than after you've spat a shaft) would help.



The seals are matched to the driveshaft rather than the box. As Dan says, you can use the early type of seals with either shaft, whereas the later type of seal requires the deeper recess in the driveshaft. So you would have to check your shaft to work out if you have the correct type of seal (see above for how to identify).

I'd have to say (much as I don't like to add weight to the myth that rovers leak oil) that the early seals do tend to leak more than the later ones. Presumably Rover had their reasons for changing the design, and it certainly seems the later style of seal have less problems and are a lot easier to fit correctly. That said it is possible to install a set of early seals and have them work just fine.

I once had a chronic leak from one of my driveshafts with early seals fitted - I was quick to blame the seal, but it actually turned out that when I had painted the shaft I got overspray where the rubber seals against the shaft. After cleaning this off and refitting with new early style seals I had no further leaking problems. So I would say it is also well worth checking the shafts before assuming the seal is to blame.

With regards to the whine, it should be noted that steel caged bearings *will* make more noise than the plastic caged types. however it shouldn't be intrusive, if it is something is wrong.

If you have had the box rebuilt twice with new bearings fitted and the whine is still present, it would seem highly likely it is down to a worn gear or possibly incorrect shimming. As stated above, there is little you can do to fix this other than replace the gear/gear pair that is worn.

Even a "rebuilt" gearbox is still going to have done a hundred thousand miles or more, so it will never be perfect. A slight whine is not normally a gearbox killer though, if the bearings are good and it is correctly shimmed, then I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Many thanks for the reply, i think the leak maybe down to over filling......the usual if i add a little extra then it will get to the right level soon. As its stopped leaking after 500 miles or so.

Well the box has been running for over a year now and 6000 miles and its still going strong. Its a whine but nothing too bad, in 5th its quiet so not a problem. Its been shimmed correctly twice as its an Uprated Box with a k series bell housing

Just to add,

The rubber seals are originally fitted to boxes with a lip to stop you inserting them to far.

If the gearbox was a later one without this lip, then it is easy to insert the seal too far causing it to leak like a sieve. The rubber seals need inserting very carefully if you want to use them in a later style box to ensure you don't push them in too far. They should just be flush with the outer casing not below it. A smear of hylomar helps lube the seal up during fitting at the same time as sealing it when the seal is home properly.

Just placing an order at Rimmers for some parts and wondering what seals would be proper ones for a late Ti (1999) gearbox.
Aiming at the UNG100060 http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-UNG100060 ones but some kind of confirmation would be great.

Edit: Never mind.. just ordered them.. ill know in a few days if theyll fit or not

That is the later seal yes - should be fine for a 99.

Good news, ta Geoff (doh.. that avatar).. and sorry for not ordering em trough Rovertech but had some covers and stuff on the shoping list as well.

Just thought people might like to know that I have found some Steel caged Versions of the roller bearing that goes at the bottom of the output shaft, I will load some pictures up later.

Be very interested to see those.
.

Yeh , Tbh i can't believe no body has found them before.

Sorry for the delay , been busy building up my engine.

Heres the best pitures I managed to take (stupid camera focus and MUST have flash to get a clear picture or else its ALLWAYS blury)





The inner Race looks like its split to allow the roller to be fitted, I scratched the race and put a small magnet pickup thing onto it and it looks/feel metal.

Dimensions are 33x60x20 with 10 rollers

ah yeh , well I found quite a few places to get these and I think $5 extra over the Polymide caged ones better to be safe than sorry

Not looked for any bearings here, couple of big places in town here though.

All the mines and agriculture demand it.

Yeh, I couldnt source these bearings from New Zealand (well I could but would of cost $252 each) so had to get them from the states for about $28 usd each.

I think bearing supply varies very much by country and supplier and what stock happens to be floating about at the time. In the UK most of the suppliers I have used deal with bearingnet, and they will only offer what is available through this network.

I'm very interested to see this, but can you possibly take some better photos please? Are these using the same part number as the standard bearing, or do they have a different code? Are they NSK/RHP or a copy?

The one you have is for nasp/X spec box only, do they do one for the U?

These are the pics of the ones I have been using, and they are the only type I have ever seen in the UK - and I've tried quite a few suppliers now.







As you can see on first glance the cage looks a little like some sort of die cast metal - and is quite different in texture and colour to the brown resin style RHP originals - but they are not metal.

I have the possibility of arranging imports from the U.S. - so if we can track down a guaranteed supply of them, it might be possible to arrange something if people are interested?

Another problem I'm running into now is a shortage of supply on some of the bearings. I'm being told that they simply can't be got anymore in metal or plastic cages. I have secured access to about 100 units on one bearing, but currently with no ETA of a resupply. If possible I would prefer RT/Rover enthusiasts to have first access to all the PG1 gearbox bearing, even if it means buying in bulk and stock piling them (as I did with the 4/MJ28). This way at least they can be offered at a consistent price, as I'm also concerned companies will use it as an excuse to push up prices as well. I've seen one bearing supplier triple the price from last year which is concerning, as nobody is realistically going to spend 600 quid on a set of gearbox bearings for a £500 rover.

I don't think there is any major worry at the moment as I can still get a good supply of these. However, I'd be interested to look into alternative supply routes, even if it means getting them in from the states or arranging some sort of group buy.

Are we talking about these ? :~

13 Roller Type :~



10 Roller Type:~





Provided cost is reasonable i.e. around $28 USD, I'm in for 3 of each.
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