Gearshift control question

P

pdxgeo

True Classic
First and second gear are getting much harder to engage on SplitPea. ive adjusted the "lollipop" once before when i first bought the car with good results. Is this difficulty the result of some new mis-alignment of that system or could there be other factors to check?

I tried to re-adjust it earlier today with no success. My manual says to set it so it's in a perfectly vertical position then re-tighten it but there is always a considerable amount of play in the shifter itself and it's very loose. Might I be missing a part(s)?

Thanks and Happy New Year!
 
Is the rubber in the lollypop squishy? You might have to put a couple bolts through the plates and rubber.
 
the link "lollipop", wears out, so does the step bushing, if there is play there, you need to replace those both.

a small amount of play there = a large amount of play in the shifter
 
Checked the lollipop

The rubber doesnt look too bad at all. I took the end linkage apart as it was flipped upside down from what my manual shows and i had a 2 flat washers in there instead of a spring washer. My neigbor had a spring washer so i swapped it in but no luck. i mean first is VERY difficult to engage and reverse is sounding like its grinding into place.

Could the issue be with the gear lever and its many components or should I keep trying different positions in the slotted holes of the lollipop linkage?
 
Sounds more like.........!

pdxgeo said:
..... i mean first is VERY difficult to engage and reverse is sounding like its grinding into place......
Click to expand...

.....you have a clutch problem - moreso than a gearshift lever problem!
Have you checked the clearance down at the slave cyl/clutch lever by the bell-housing at all?

cheers, Ian - NZ
 
bleed your clutch? I agree, sounds you're not disengaging enough, not enough throw; air in line?
 
Hmmm, we may be on to something guys. I believe the "engagement" position on the pedal was getting progressively closer to the floor...would that point to one of these clutch issues? I can spend some time examining both options this weekend. Can anyone explain the clutch bleeding process or point me to a prior thread that might explain it?

Thanks so much!

George
 
SplitPea is a 128, right? The 128 did not have hydraulic clutch, so no bleed procedure. If this car has manual clutch adjustment (I'm pretty sure it is manual on the 128), try tightening it up. There should be an adjusting nut at the transmission end of the clutch cable.
 
Yes, 128. Good news, the cable issue seemed easier to work on!

I found an old thread relating to the thick/thin clutch discs and how they affect the cable ends etc... will be sleuthing this out.

Thanks again
George
 
Sounds like a stretched clutch cable. There is a rubber end where the cable attaches to the transmission that might be shot or the adjustment nuts have loosened up. Do you have a good ground strap running from the car body to engine block? The lack of a good ground strap will cause the clutch cable to work as a poor one thus heating the cable and causing it to fatigue and melting the rubber on the trans end of the cable. While you are down crawling around check where the eye end of the cable slips over the lug on the clutch peddle. I had a couple of cars where that lug was almost worn through.
 
So if it a stretched cable is the remedy to swap in a new one or can I make an adjustment. If so can anyone explain the process in a bit more detail? this is the first time Im messing with a clutch cable at all...

thanks
 
pdxgeo said:
So if it a stretched cable is the remedy to swap in a new one or can I make an adjustment. If so can anyone explain the process in a bit more detail? this is the first time Im messing with a clutch cable at all...

thanks
Click to expand...
The hardest part is getting the outer cable abutment off and on the firewall. If I remember right the brake booster makes it hard to get to the two bolts holding it in place. Then getting under the dash to disconnect the inner cable eye from the clutch peddle. Be sure to see if the stud that the eye goes on is not excessively worn. When installing the new cable get the peddle end hooked up first and then the trans end. There are threads on the trans end of the cable allowing you to tighten the cable. If you do try tightening first be sure the threaded end does not protrude far enough to rub a radiator hose or even the rad its self. Thing are pretty close down there. Also remember to leave a clearance between the throw out bearing and the clutch splines.
 
I removed the locknut and adjusting nut and added a spacer so there would be enough threads to adjust properly. Worked like a charm so Im pretty certain that was the issue but just now I noticed it starting to get tough again. the clutch cable looks quite old but is still intact. Do they just stretch? I will try to tighten the nut a bit more.
 
Cables do stretch, but a more insidious problem is that the shaft holding the release fork can twist. At lest on the X1/9 it can (right, jvandyke?)
 
Really? Will it be obvious if that happens or is it very gradual? What is the remedy if that is the case?...
 
This
http://xwebforums.org/showpost.php?p=152793&postcount=57

from the last page of this thread
http://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/18564/

I'm still not 100% certain that's what went wrong but it sure seems like it, I can't see how the hydraulics (or cable in your case) could exert enough force to bend things but apparently it does happen as others claim to have seen it. I will attempt to fix it probably the next time the gearbox has to come off but the first time in (before I knew it was likely bent) I could not get those pieces apart, Hussein had to heat and beat to separate his fork and lever I recall. The whole thing seems way too beefy to bend but, well, it can I guess.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
pdxgeo said:
I removed the locknut and adjusting nut and added a spacer so there would be enough threads to adjust properly. Worked like a charm so Im pretty certain that was the issue but just now I noticed it starting to get tough again. the clutch cable looks quite old but is still intact. Do they just stretch? I will try to tighten the nut a bit more.
Click to expand...
Maybe a couple strands of cable wire is knotting up inside the cable housing or it could just be dirty. You might have to take the cable out for inspection. The fork that holds the throw out bearing is held onto the shaft by a single bolt. I think it is something like 6mm with a 10mm head. maybe it is twisting there. You could try some silicone spray or BP blaster on the bushing where the shaft goes down into the bell. The bearing could be binding on the input shaft housing. Check the clutch peddle shaft for stickiness.
 
I adjusted the cable again but need to examine everything more closely. Btw this is a 128. It is the same as an X right? It is working again at the moment... when you mention something bending are you referring to the pivoting arm that the cable goes thru? That seems very beefy!
 
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