6 replies to this topic

[BEN99W]

Hello

 

I have a 69 850 that I believe has previously been upgraded from magic wand to remote gearchange. The gearchange is rather loose and vague and makes finding gears a slow deliberate process. Also it is difficult to get 3rd gear without a crunch, when coming down from 4th. I am under the impression that the remote change should feel better than this.

 

Im taking the engine out at the moment to upgrade to an A+ 998 however Im not sure what to do about the gearbox. 

 

Option 1 I take the opportunity to get the gearchange right and refresh whatever is wrong with the early remote box. Can anyone take a stab at what this might need or entail? is it likely to be an issue with the shift mechanism or something within the gearbox? I think I need to change the drop gears to fit this to the A+ engine?

 

Option 2 I change to the A+ gearbox and add a rod change and replace the rubber couplings with pot joints. On the downside, I hear that the rod change is inferior to a good remote change, and I presume I have to change driveshafts and hubs which is more hassle?

 

I think I'd prefer option 1 but Ive never dabbled with a gearbox before so its the unknown for me - would problem areas likely make themselves obvious if I start pulling it all apart?

 

What are your thoughts please?

 

Thanks

 

Ben

[Spider]

Check the knuckles that sit on top of the diff housing are tight. There's also a toggle on the shift shaft inside the gearbox, you can see it when you take the engine off or remove the speedo drive housing, they can also work loose. The other one to check is the knuckle on the long forward shaft in the remote itself, it's the one the gearstick inserts in to.

[slidehammer]

I seem to remember those remote gearchanges were vague at best even back in the day as they didn't take long to wear and start to get sloppy. The other thing you could think about is going back to the magic wand gear change (a real classic feature of the older Mini's) it is what my MKII 850 has.. 

[BEN99W]

Check the knuckles that sit on top of the diff housing are tight. There's also a toggle on the shift shaft inside the gearbox, you can see it when you take the engine off or remove the speedo drive housing, they can also work loose. The other one to check is the knuckle on the long forward shaft in the remote itself, it's the one the gearstick inserts in to.

 

Thanks can you be a little more specific when you say the knuckles on the diff housing should be tight? The splined joints are both solid, the articulated bit has a small amount of lateral movement (maybe 1mm) but both the shafts entering the dif/gearbox slide in and out maybe 5mm or more. Ive  not had chance to investigate the other bits you suggested.

[BEN99W]

I seem to remember those remote gearchanges were vague at best even back in the day as they didn't take long to wear and start to get sloppy. The other thing you could think about is going back to the magic wand gear change (a real classic feature of the older Mini's) it is what my MKII 850 has.. 

 

I thought Id read that the more substantial casing of the remote change made for a better action - perhaps my expectations are wrong - its certainly much looser than I remember my old rod change minis to be. I do see the value of returning it to the more authentic magic wand change, but I suspect this would make for even worse shifts and thats not what Im currently trying to achieve.

[floormanager]

I find the remote gear change more positive than the later rod change. might be just me. Here's photo

in the one i've just rebuilt if this helps with the understanding

 20211229_161044.jpg   56.13K   9 downloads

 

One thing the bushes in the diff housing can wear.  They are easy to replace and quite cheap.  The ones I took out were quite worn. 

Edited by floormanager, 13 January 2022 - 07:00 PM.

[imack]

I think the remote shifter has the best gear change of all the mini boxes - when it's in good condition. When it's worn it's pretty vague.
There's a lot of linkages and rods that wear and a little bit of movement in each part causes a very vague gear change.
The remote housing itself can wear where the long shift rod slides and rotates. The 'cup' in the remote housing that the gear lever pivots in wears, the bolt that stops the gear lever rotating wears aswell.
The balls on the 'wishbone' in the diff housing wear(I've built them up with weld then ground them to size with a dremel)
The shaft that the wishbone pivots on wears - it could also wear the bores diff housing if it seizes in the wishbone.
The ball on the end of the vertical shaft in the diff housing wears - again, rebuild with weld. The bronze bushes for the vertical shaft in the diff housing wear, they also wear the shaft.
The external knuckle joints wear, once again the ball can be built up with weld.
I've not seen significant wear in the gearbox case in the bore that the shaft passes through but it will need checking.
Worn selector forks within the box add to the vague feel as do worn detents in the selector rods.
If you can eliminate/ repair worn components you'll have a superb gear change and an engine that doesn't rock about like a rod or wand change.
Spare parts are getting difficult to find.
NOS selector forks and shafts turn up occasionally along with some knuckle joints (reproduction selector forks are a bit hit and miss in my experience).Ball ends can be built up with weld and reshaped, bushes in diff housing can be replaced.
It's worth a bit of time and effort to get it working perfectly.

Attached Files

•  20201221_142507_resized.jpg   57.97K   5 downloads

Edited by imack, 13 January 2022 - 08:15 PM.