Hi guys,

I'm new to the forum and was hoping for some assistance. I've just purchased a Daimler Sovereign 4.2L Series 2 to partake in a charity rally (see my thread in the Australia/NZ section) and was after some advice.

I drove the car 15 or so km home and it performed wonderfully. Auto shift was nice and smooth, although shift from D to R and visa-versa was a little rough, engine/brakes/steering lovely.

Last week I needed to move another project off the front lawn so that it could find it's way to a new owner. Given that the Daimler's got twice the power of my daily I decided to use it as a tow vehicle. I hooked up a rope and in a half dozen attempts managed to reverse tow the other car out of it's little hole, but on the last attempt reverse stopped working. Forward gears still seem fine but the engine just revvs freely in reverse. No horrible noises.

Does anyone have enough experience with the T66's to know what I've done/what repairs may be necessary? I'm hoping to do the work myself if possible.

Thanks!

 

Not sure what you mean by "T66".

A Ser II 4.2 would have the Borg Warner 65 transmission. Series IIIs used the Borg Warner 66. In any case, the two are nearly twins....the "66" being a bit more stout.....and both right on the edge, capacity-wise, for the weight and torque output of an XJ6.

Anyhow, I'll assume you have a 65 or 66 gearbox.

Might try adjusting the bands and see if anything improves. Doesn't cost a thing and might help.

A few tips:

Borg Warner 66 Transmission Adjustment


Cheers
DD

 

Thanks,
I'd come across that which is what gave me hope of adjustment. Hoping the lower adjuster is accessible once the sump is off since it has sheared and there's not enough access around the tunnel to remove the remains.

You're correct on the numbers, looking at the receipts from the car's service history the original Borg Warner 65 was replaced with a reco 66 around 10 years ago.

 

there should be a removable panel inside the cabin. you'll have to raise the carpeting and insulation over the transmission tunnel to see it, then you remove all the screws around the panel and have access to the transmission. From below the car you can check the transmission tunnel to see if you see many screw threads forming an upside down "U".

 

Screw threads forming a U?

I found the panel on the weekend and removed it, the adjuster there I didn't manage to move but didn't try too hard as I was under the impression it was the other band (the one accessible from under the car on the RHS) that was the one affecting reverse?

 

Looks like I got lucky. I dropped the sump off the gearbox and there was no foreign matter, everything looked like new, and the sheared adjuster was visible, with the brake band having plenty of play, so I reached up with a pair of pliers and adjusted the adjuster as close to spec as possible from inside the gearbox, put it all back together and I have reverse gear again Haven't been for enough of a drive to test 3rd yet, but as far as I can tell the Gearbox is happy for now.