R72 Gearbox Output Shaft Bearing Removal

Thanks OlaGB & Yakuza.

I guess I'm still non the wiser about whether new bearings will fix the problem Keeping it topped up properly with fresh oil seems to be all one can do.

I had my g'box drained down and refilled (but not flushed) There were metal particles present, but I dont know how much or how big they were as unfortunately I wasn't shown. (In aviation, we have magnetic plugs on engines or g'boxes and any particles go off for spectral analysis to determine where in the component the metal is coming from which helps determine the remaining life and functionality of that component, and avoids future component failure while in use)

At the moment I have no perceptible bad noises coming from the g'box, but then the car is that damned loud (soft top Jimny) I cant hear much anyway! :laugh:

My only worry is that I sometimes feel a bit of difficulty getting it into first or reverse gear; it just doesn't feel very positive; then when I lift my foot on the clutch I think "yep I didn't think that was fully engaged :dry: " but this may be a separate issue

Is the g'box plug magnetic? if not, I will attach a very strong earth-magnet to it to keep any metallic debris in one place

I believe the issue is entirely due to lubrication, hence the replacement bearings often being a sealed type. I'd be very surprised if it was related to the load on the bearings. Many people are running bigger engines with these gearboxes and we see no evidence of this accelerating the wear or causing premature failure.
Also the problem does not seem to be present in the more recent Jimnys (I believe Suzuki fixed the problem around 2008/9?), even though they are still using the same gearbox.

Yes the drain plug is magnetic. Mine was covered in fine mettalic swarf and parts of the bearing cage.

Some people attribute the problem to a leak from the intermediate prop on early VVT models. This was the cause of my R72 failure initially

Thank you Zukracer, Busta & Riccy

My Jimny knowledge is ever being increased!

Although debris was found in my g'box and its making no nasty noises (that I can tell) , at least not yet at any rate, what would be the best thing to do bearing in mind that this is my daily drive to work...
Should I hold tight and hope that no bad noises start and if they do, deal with it then?
Or should I find a convenient moment to get the g'box stripped down and the offending bearings replaced before they fail? I am assuming that they are going to fail at some point; unfortunately I dont have much history with this car other than service stamps in the book mostly from some Ford dealer.

Run it and keep checking everything for leaks! The prop leak is from a bad glue seal on the gearbox end connection cap.

Redline MTL oil is commonly used to try and make shifting easier. Its normal to sometimes need a second go on the clutch pedal to get going. The clutch cable could be worn/out of adjustment, worth checking maybe?. its easy to adjust. plastic cover on the side of the gearbox with a plastic nut on the outside where it goes in. cover just pulls off.