On my journey home suddenly could no longer get second or fourth, in fact it was a struggle to get first or third! Managed to limp home in third (3 miles) not daring to change gear in case, luckily only had to slow down once resulting in lots of clutch slip and a horrible burning smell when parking it on the drive, just a relief to get the bus home..... So the lever does not seem to physically move down enough to select 2, 4 or reverse (it remains in neutral) - have checked all of the normal things, removed gear shift assembly, cleaned and reseated everything (all the parts looked ok and not that worn or damaged). The shift rod, front bushing and rear coupler all look ok - the rod seems to move back and forth, only thing that could be concerning is the oil around the nose cone to chassis seal (not leaking heavily though).... I guess it points to an internal gearbox problem, any feedback appreciated. Cheers
Get an assistant to "waggle" the gearstick while shining a bright torch on the coupling... bet the rubber in it has broken down... it's the usual cause!!
Most likely the rubber cheeks in the coupler or the pin has worn out or come undone. I would recommend that you get one with polypropylene cheeks and you check the fixing of the collar of the coupler to the cage. The original coupler on mine was tight but the cage was twisted so I replaced it. I had to weld the replacement as it started to twist. And then it fell apart aa the pin came undone. Try three .. empi with polypropylene cheeks but with welding from day one . This one decided to loosen because I did not have the little fixing bolt centred in the dimple on the gearbox shaft ...while bogged down at the Volksworld show . A lowered bus sunk in the mud..
Finally got around to replacing the rear coupling (the original was mucky, but did not look that bad) and also the front bush. Unfortunately it has made no difference, can still only select 1st or 3rd....it was worth a try though. I guess it must be the gearbox itself, any other suggestions please, before I ask Fellows to send a flatbed to pick it up?
Don't think so, before the problem the gearstick moved in a wide arc between each gear, now the movement seems very limited - can't see why as the shift rod itself seems to move freely, perhaps the shaft/selector on the gearbox itself is the problem (rear of the coupler)......
Wonder if the spring loaded pin on the gearstick has come adrift and jammed in the bottom of the shift rod cup. A badly worn pin certainly has the pudding stirring effect anyway.
disconnect the linkage from the gearbox end. move the selector on the gearbox, if you have all gears its the linkage or the shifter. if you have no gears then its in the box
The clutch is new, was replaced along with the engine conversion back in January, movement, bite etc all seem fine....
Nice idea....perhaps a dumb question, but how much movement should there be, back and forth and circular rotation? Thanks.
You probably won't need a new gearbox, it's possible either the plastic/metal selector ball or the carrier is broken inside the nosecone. Very easy fix, but gearbox out to do it.
Thanks Zed, beyond my basic mechanical skills and facilities at home, just need to find/decide who to fix. Fellows (who did the engine conversion) would be my preference, but they are over 100 miles away, any recommendations closer to the Ruislip/Uxbridge area (and able to collect)?
