4 replies to this topic

[fourvalleys]

Hi all - I've got a late 70's Mini 1000, and I've recently started having some issues shifting.

 

I changed my oil, and went for a drive.  Shifting 1-2 and 3-4 were smoother than ever.  2-3, not so much!  Here's a video I took of what happens. The behavior is the same with the clutch in or clutch out.

 

 

It feels like it's getting hung up, almost like the teeth weren't meshing quite right.  I thought maybe it was an issue with the oil (AMSOIL Z-Rod 20W50), so I chose a different one (Valvoline VR-1 20W50) and changed it again.  The issue continued with the new oil, so I went poking around a bit.  Must have been a coincidence that it surfaced during the oil change.

 

I took off the shift boot and noted that there was a lot of motion in the gear lever assembly.  

Video 1: 

Video 2: 

 

I'm guessing that's not a normal amount of play.

 

Next, I got under the car and started tinkering with the linkages.  The lower bar is exceptionally loose, and the front roll pin is either very worn, or completely missing!

 

(Excuse my accent  )

 

 

My next steps are to see what the mounting hardware for the gear lever looks like (if it's loose), and to see how I can patch up the shift linkage and the roll pins.  Since I know at minimum the roll pin needs to be done, I have a few other remaining questions....

 

- How can I tighten up the movement of the gear lever itself on the assembly?  As far as I can tell, there's no hardware to secure the retainer cup to the top of the gear lever assembly, and it's quite loose.  What are the chances this indicates a problem with the gear lever assembly?

 

-  Can I remove the gear lever assembly (with the linkages) easily?  I haven't flipped through my Haynes manual yet, but should I be able to get the whole thing out if I just unbolt the box and take out the fixing pins near the front?

 

-  Any other parts I should be replacing at the same time?  I'm looking into the gear bias barrel, but I'm also considering a quick shifter.  Any thoughts on those?  

 

Thanks for any advice you can offer! 

[Blatherskite]

The retainer cup should have a couple of pins to lock to, like a bayonet fastening. Looseness may be due to wear under that, or missing bits if it is unclipped.

I haven't tried, but removal should be simple - out with the roll pin & unbolt the box at gearstick end. Haynes is your friend here!

A quickshifter only moves the lever point so that you move your hand less to change gear. So, not really quicker, but if you do shove fast, can wear the synchro rings rather quickly. I would stick with the standard.

[Guess-Works.com]

I would renew the two rubber mounts (cotton reels) which should be holding the remote part of the rod change to the tunnel of the shell...

 

http://www.guess-wor...play.htm?id=334

Edited by Guess-Works.com, 02 July 2015 - 09:21 AM.

[Craig89]

My gear selection used to be really poor, hit and miss for gears and when in gear you could still move the lever around alot.

I rebuilt the gear change assembly. Its not the most straight forward of jobs but well worth doing. The first main area for wear is the 'yolk' that the gear stick sits in and is connected to the rod. The stick should be snug in this but mine was slack from wear. You can buy new from minispares but i machined and sleeved mine. Next the rods can wear out where they slide in the housing (the holes in the housing also wear) this creates further play. I repaired the rod on mine to restore the correct diameter. In the housing there are bushes in the holes that the rods ride in, i removed these and made and pressed in some new ones.

As John has said the cotten reel mountings should be replaced, also check the sleeve that connects the change rod to the box isnt worn.

Yours may or may not have these problems but i suspect they do and it made a world off differnce sorting everything out.

Hope that helps,

Craig

[silver_toes]

Craig,

 

I'm just about to undertake this job of stripping the gear change assembly due to excessive play. Have you got any pictures of the work you did/specific advice/things to look out for when doing this ?

 

Cheers

 

Liz