You have to go up the road to Halesowen for that sort of greeting these days!

To far away for me now
almost 2000 km.

Quick question: just overhauling the drum brakes and cleaning up the gearbox on my van. The input shaft feels kind of loose. Does that signify excessive wear, or is that to be expected?
Also, when I tipped the gearbox on its end (ie input shaft facing down) to clean it, gearbox oil came out from around the shaft. Does that signify anything bad?

I will go and check my two spear gearboxes as soon as it stops raining.( AT LAST we have some rain !!!!!)
As nobody else is responding .
I am not sure if it is "normal "or just wear and tear .
But since there is no seal in there , the leakage could be a normal effect if you tip the gearbox over.

Just checked both gearboxes.
No play on both input shafts, no axial and just a tiny bit sideways.( less than 1 MM )
Tipped them both over , no oil leak.
They are of AZU and Dyane

I think you can expect oil to leak by standing it on its end like that.

there is no seal, but has a spiral on the shaft to pull oil splash from the spinning gears back into the gearbox.

Thanks for your help, both!

Currently getting the white special back on the road - it's been in a shed for a couple of years and has needed some bodywork repairs. Will get back to the van soon, hopefully.