6 replies to this topic

[Minicarter]

Evening everybody,

 

Since swapping my engine for a 1275 unit some time ago i have had a rather frustrating issue with deselecting 2nd, 4th and reverse gears. 1st and 3rd gears select and deselect very easily, 2nd, 4th and reverse however are about as easy to select but very difficult to deselect  It almost feels as if the gear stick gets stuck and needs and extra jolt of force the move out of gear.

 

I have been driving it like this for many miles hoping it would ease, but although it hasn't got any worse, it certainly doesn't seem to have got any better. 

 

I had initially suspected that this could be the reverse idler bush running out. However as I understand this would mean that the gear stick would be stiff moving from left to right, which it isn't  I have disconnected the selector rod from the box to confirm and can easily rotate the rod into the gearbox left and right with very little effort.

 

I currently have a KAD quick shift fitted, however from memory the issue was also present when the standard stick was fitted.

 

Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this?

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited by Minicarter, 15 May 2013 - 08:59 PM.

[Dan]

  Did you change the whole power unit including the gearbox but keep the old selector?  Are the selector rod and selector steady rod the right length?

[Minicarter]

Yes, I kept the old gear lever housing and selector rod/steady from the 998, just replaced the engine & box. Are there different lengths for the 998 and 1275 engines? Could this cause such a problem?

 

If it helps, the front sub frame was originally from a 998 1987 City E.

Edited by Minicarter, 15 May 2013 - 09:38 PM.

[Dan]

  No but there are different lengths for different subframes.  In the early '90s when the HIF carb and injection models were introduced the engine was moved forward 1/2" in the subframe to gain more clearance.  This meant all the steady rods and everything had to change length too.  If you kept the original subframe and the engine, whichever engine, is in the original place then it shouldn't be this causing the problem.

[Minicarter]

The subframe is the original unit from the 1987 998 City E. The engine mountings are the two-piece poly type. Are there likely to be different mounting holes in the subframe for different engine variants?

[Guess-Works.com]

The engine mountings are the two-piece poly type. Are there likely to be different mounting holes in the subframe for different engine variants?

 

No they fit the same, but they are utter crap so I'd replace for some standard ones....

 

I suspect your problem may be with the selector mechanism and not the gearbox, maybe something as simple as roll pin catching on the gearbox casing, however it could also be the selector rod being bent by some heavy handed grunt when it was removed from previous vehicle.

 

Best thing to do is remove the selector from the back of the gearbox, and see if you can change gear just with the rod out of the back ( it's push in for reverse, 2nd and 4th ) If you get the problem then it's the gearbox and hence, engine out... and a chance to replace the engine mounts while you're there.

[Minicarter]

 

The engine mountings are the two-piece poly type. Are there likely to be different mounting holes in the subframe for different engine variants?

 

No they fit the same, but they are utter crap so I'd replace for some standard ones....

 

I suspect your problem may be with the selector mechanism and not the gearbox, maybe something as simple as roll pin catching on the gearbox casing, however it could also be the selector rod being bent by some heavy handed grunt when it was removed from previous vehicle.

 

Best thing to do is remove the selector from the back of the gearbox, and see if you can change gear just with the rod out of the back ( it's push in for reverse, 2nd and 4th ) If you get the problem then it's the gearbox and hence, engine out... and a chance to replace the engine mounts while you're there.

 

 

OK, so I think it's the gearbox.

 

I disconnected the selector mechanism today and tried changing gear manually. It was fairly difficult to select all gears to be honest, but certainly easier to select and deselect 1st/3rd than 2nd/4th/Rev. Once pushed in, i had to lever the rod back out of the box into neutral using a screw driver.

 

Should it take much effort to select/deselct gears manually like this?