| Hi XRV848!,
Thank you again for a very fulfilling answer. It was the oil fill plug that had a lot of metal "stuff" attached to it. And the 'box is a Midlands - I was just wondering if it was worth the trouble to actually fix the box before passing it on to somebody else. I can see on Ebay that some people sell "recon-kits" but it is difficult for a guy like me to know if the bearings offered are the ones I need. Maybe it is not really worth the trouble after all.
The "scrapyard" where I bought the box has surprisingly (to me, at least) been very helpful and will fix the problems - so I guess I am not THAT unlucky after all.
Thanks for the kind help and advice, I have already learnt a lot about gearboxes now.. :-) | 
