Gear Selection Problem

[Leeds Sprint]

Hello

After picking my car up from being serviced I noticed that I was not able to lift the gear level to select reverse. In fact I could not lift the lever at all. Instead I was able to select reverse simply by pushing the leaver in to the top right position. I mentioned this to my mechanic as the shop was shutting and he said that it was probably due to wear but not to worry as it did not mean that the gearbox was on its way out.

On the drive home I noticed that some other gear selection problems:
- Stiff and notchey shifting
- Considerable difficulties selecting third
- Seemingly smaller neutral area
- Grinding of gears as they select
- Jumped out of first once as I pulled away

Prior to the service, gear selection seemed fine. Now it seems that I have to select gears very carefully to avoid grinding (3rd and reverse in particular). It almost seems as though the linkage is out of whack or maybe that the clutch is not disengaging completely.

Could my garage have done something to my gear box by mistake when doing my service? I think they tightend/repositioned the exhuast clamp near the gearbox as it was blowing a bit when I took the car in. Can this clamp interfere with the gear linkage?

I'm going to phone my garage tommorow and see what they say. Can anyone help me to diagnose things a bit better, so that I sound like I know what I'm talking about.

Thanks

Chris

[1300dolly]

sounds as so they knocked the linkage or have tightened the clamp too near the linkage. have a look underneath as someone moves the gear stick. you may be able to do this without jacking the car up.

[george]

sounds like the bush has come out from the bottom of the gear lever
or the pins either side of the lever but gear lever will need to come out to check anyway

[slant4]

Sounds like the sliding mechanism has jammed on the gear lever. If you struggle, get in touch as I work in Leeds. Can soon have a look.

[Leeds Sprint]

Where are the sliding mechanism and bush located? Can they be accessed easily? How do I check?

Thanks

Chris

[george]

unscrew lever knob, next your odments tray around the lever and remove and your left with the four screws around the lever rubber remove that
just twist off the lever cover and lift out the nylon bush is at the bottom on the selector shaft check the pins at the sides of the housing also check the lever seem to recall having a few faulty levers but cant think what hapened to them at the moment

[tinweevil]

Carpets in the way insn't it? Mine goes up the lever.

Pop off the gear lever cap, theres a screwdriver slot to do this.
Disconnect wires
Below the knob there is a chrome nut with two flats on it, turn this clockwise until loose, a turn or so.
Inside the knob is another nut which will now be loose, remove this using a small screwdriver.
Remove knob and chrome nut.
Remove odments tray (screws around perimeter IIRC)
Remove carpet
Remove chrome ring (4 screws)
Remove rubber gaiter.

You can now see the bottom of the lever and begin assesing how loose it all is. The cap comes off by pushing and rotating a bit, like removing a lightbulb. See how knackered the plastic parts are, kits are cheap. There are pins protruding into the ball joint left and right, that'll make sense when its in front of you. The right one is threaded and held by a lock nut to allow some adjustment but it'll be a bugger of a job to adjust because the tunnel will still be in the way.

That said it's more likely they've changed the fluid in your clutch and not bled it correctly.

Tinweevil

[george]

thought it was an 1850 not a lower rent one dont think the carpet goes all the way up the stick but i aint removed one for some time.
surely they only do a fluid change if it's requested ??
wires / cap only if its o/d didn't say so assuming it's not

[Leeds Sprint]

It is an 1850. I'm sure the did not replace the clutch fluid. They did top it up though and they commented that it was lower and darker that it should be, and that this would indicate that at least one of the clutch cylendars might need seeing to at some point.

Chris

[Jon Tilson]

to change the slave seals and bleed the clutch on an 1850. You should feel around the slave rod to see if any sign of fluid leaking and on the inside of the car where the pedals are to see if the master is leaking.
If you have any loss of fluid this will impare gear selection but you should notice the peddle being a bit spongey...if it still feels good from the start of travel then you have a gear stick/selector bush issue.

Jonners

[2F45T4U]

I've bled my clutch a million times, rebuilt the master, bled it a million times more, rebuilt my slave, bled it a million times more... And now I just live with it

Could the gearbox mount of disapeared causing the box to drop down and the hole through the tunnel isn't allowing full travel in to all the gears?

[slant4]

the carpet gear lever gaiter is on the earlier cars without the odiments tray / console. 1850's have the single or 3 rail boxes, opposed to the tr / stag type on a sprint. If i recall the single / 3 rail, the sphere section is nylon and slides up and down on the lever? Known the exact same thing ona t2000. Sometimes with the gaiter off a good dose of quirt. Doesn't sound like clutch

[Jon Tilson]

dolomites have the console tray...
Carpet only is for the cheapskate varsions.
3 rail boxes have a lot of nylon bushes...base of gear lever and middle of selector rod. The whole selector gubbins unbolst form the top of the box...reachable from undr the bonnet. Same as mk3 and 4 spits and vitesses so parts are available from Moss...rip off price for a single bush which would be all thats needed, they g ive you a boxed kit of everything.

Think Chris's car is a later one with single rail box...in which case its one cup bush at the bottom of the stick. the rest of the selector is internal and if it ever goes wrong (unheard of) its box out to fix it.

Check oil level. If the box mounting is shagged you will get bad clutch judder symptoms as you move off.

Jonners

[slant4]

My sprint had a carpet one from new (as did fwd)

How very dare you!!

[Leeds Sprint]

I have always got a bit of cltuch shudder when I pull away. And my garage has warned that one of my gearbox moutings looks like its on its way out. Possibly if the gearbox is not suspended as securely as it should be, this has put more strain on the linkage, thereby wearing out the bushes........

My gearbox is a non-overdirve model fitted to my 1978 1850 HL. As it is my main source of transport, I have put over 8,000 miles on my Dolomite since I bought it in February. I think this is more miles in one year than it has traveled in the 10 previous years. I am greatful for the reliability the car has achieved, but with the millage im racking up I'm not surprised that I am finding issues such as this develop.

As I only have a limited amount of cash to spend on the car, the challenge for me has been to make repairs on components that will make the biggest improvement to practicality and usability.

I want more gears!

If the cost to repair the linkage, replace the gearbox mountings etc begin to mount up, I need to decide if this is the time to go for an overdrive gearbox. There is no point on spending £200 on garage costs to fix my 4-speed gearbox when £325 will get me the overdrive box that I want so much.

What do you all reckon? Is now the time to bite the bullet?

Thanks

Chris