A Series Mini

[Guest craig030774]

hi lad has had the mini 1990 1.0 on the road for a couple of weeks and now the problems start

 

could only get 3 and 4 as well as reverse with either engine running or not . have adjusted verto clutch as manual says and bled air from slave cylinder.

noticed the exhaust was pushing the gear selector over so removed that and now we cannot get any gears .

 

any ideas guys or anyone got a 1275 laying around

[Guest woolly]

on older ones the linkage at the rear of the box (splines & Knuckle joint )used to come loose and miss gears.

 

 

woolly

[Guest craig030774]

it is rod change . held in place with roll pins on gear box side

[Guest scrabster]

hi craig,seem to remember donkeys years ago i had a similar problem which was due to a broken engine mount,i could be totaly wrong but its worth a try.also check the engine tie bar bushes,they produce similar probs,especially if the clutch is worn and not engaging properly.hth.

jess.

[ibrooks]

As mentioned dud engine mounts can make it jump out of gear when running but won't generally cause a problem whilst the car is stationary.

 

What can cause a problem is if the relationship between the selector and the box changes as the stick is moved so....

 

The top rod is just a steady. There's a small rubber bush where it connects to the diff housing if the rubber has gone it can allow the whole selector to move and reduce the amount of movement that the selector rod actually makes in relation to the amount the stick is moved. It's not usually enough to cause a problem on it's own.

 

The bottom rod should rotate and move fore-and-aft as the stick is moved. There are two cotton reel type bushes that connect the selector to the floorpan - if these have gone soft then again the selector can move rather than turning and pushing the rod.

 

Look underneath whilst someone else moves the stick and see if the selector is moving around. You can also drive the pin out of the selector rod on the gearbox - when the hole in the gearbox part is horizontal moving the rod into the box puts it in 4th and pulling it out puts in in 3rd with neutral in the middle.

 

If all this shows nothing then it sounds like there might be a problem with the selectors in the box.

 

Unfortunately 1275 lumps are getting pricey and fetching money out of all proportion with their condition and history.

 

Iain

[Guest craig030774]

right had a good look this morning and found the two bobins under the selector had in fact split . while these are on order i put a solid bush in and i can get 1st and 3 rd but need to hold the lever in place to allow 2nd or 4th gear as it just pops out . have not tried with engine running or whilst moving as no exhaust fitted.

 

also do you know seal number for selector shaft as that has started to weep

 

there did seem a bit of play on the bush that connects from selector to gearbox but had a spare and is the same dimensions. changed roll pins as a matter of course.

 

thanks

 

craig

[Guest craig030774]

oh and engine mounts were renewed and tie bars tight top and bottom , there is a bit of play in engine movement but no more than i would expect

[ibrooks]

MSSK050 is the seal kit from Minispares - less than a fiver for the bush with O-ring, oil seal and gaitor or the seal on it's own is AHU1672 - just over a pound. The seal kit is well worth fitting though as the extra support from the bush makes the seal last longer. Don't be surprised if you find a second seal that has just been pushed in with an extra fitted on top as it's a quite common "fix" when they start changing their own oil through the selector shaft seal.

 

Iain

[Guest craig030774]

fitted selector shaft oil seal and spacer news cotton reel bushes but still no gears . noticed that the pin on gearbox selector is not horizontal more 10 to 4 . could it be selectors in box . if so am i right in thinking new mill

[ibrooks]

The selector twists back and forth as the gearstick is moved left and right. Horizontal is just where it should be with the stick in the 3rd/4th plane. 1st and 2nd will have the selector rod in the 10/4 position and reverse will have it in the 2/8 position.

 

Get under there and look what happens when someone works the gearstick (obviously with the car safely supported). As they move the stick left and right the rod should turn clockwise and anti-clockwise. As they push the stick back and forth the rod should be shoved in and pulled out of the box.

 

I'd drive the roll pin out of the selector rod on the gearbox end and shove the rod out of the way. Now with a small screwdriver through the roll-pin hole you should be able to work it through the gears. So long as it's not in a gear there should be little or no resistance to turning the rod - if there is then there is a problem inside the box. If the slot is in the 10/4 position pulling it out from the box will give you 1st whilst pushing it into the box gives you 2nd and neutral is in the middle of the two where it can be turned to horizontal where pulling it out gives you 3rd and pushing it in gives you 4th (again neutral is in the middle of the in/out travel). With the rod turned all the way anti-clockwise pushing it into the box will give you reverse. It can sometimes need a turn of the road-wheels to let you select the gears this way as you don't have the lever advantage of the selector mechanism but you should be able to get everything by hand under the car.

 

If the box is dud then it's replacement time and since it lives in the sump on a Mini then the engine has to come out anyway (far easier to leave it in the subframe and lift the body off than trying to squeeze engine and box out through the bonnet opening). You can the split the engine and box and get the box sorted if the engine is a good one but they rarely get split when someone is upgrading or breaking a car so a replacement 998 engine and box is going to be easy to come by and they don't carry the same sort of premium as a 1275+ (yet!) so they are cheap enough to just throw a complete engine and box pair in there rather than mucking about but obviously you want to either drive/be driven in the replacement one or get some sort of assurance that it's good as it's a lot of mucking around to find that it has a similar or other problem once you've got it fitted.

 

Iain

[Guest craig030774]

well managed to get 3and 4 and reverse no problem but no way of getting 1 and 2

 

option 1 . take engine out and replace or repair

 

option 2 . try a little tap with the hammer to see if can get it into gear

 

 

 

option 2 worked so forced into 1 st then into second several times until it worked smoothly . now got all forward and reverse gears and lad is well happy.

 

thank you for all your help

 

craig