Some newbie questions

G

ga.spyder

Daily Driver
Hey gang, I have had a couple days to sort out the new addition and have some questions.
Keeping the stock Chromo wheels,will a 195 or 205/60x13 tire fit?It has 165/70's on there.I have eaten bigger bagels:) Is this a popular mod?
Looking from the rear of the car,the pass. rear seems leaned in more than the drivers side.Normal? Can this be rectified,after I get new rubber?It does have a 'pull' in that direction,although some of it is tire related.It changes by rotating them around.The tires are 10 years old!
The tranny shifts very smoothly,and is really quiet.However...in reverse it sounds like a dump truck! Any thoughts?
Thanks for your feedback to the first of many questions.
Craig
 
ga.spyder said:
Hey gang, I have had a couple days to sort out the new addition and have some questions.
Keeping the stock Chromo wheels,will a 195 or 205/60x13 tire fit?It has 165/70's on there.I have eaten bigger bagels:) Is this a popular mod?
Looking from the rear of the car,the pass. rear seems leaned in more than the drivers side.Normal? Can this be rectified,after I get new rubber?It does have a 'pull' in that direction,although some of it is tire related.It changes by rotating them around.The tires are 10 years old!
The tranny shifts very smoothly,and is really quiet.However...in reverse it sounds like a dump truck! Any thoughts?
Thanks for your feedback to the first of many questions.
Craig
Click to expand...


Welcome to the addiction.

The tire size of choice for these cars is a 185/60/13. There are very few choices in this range. The Sumitomo HTR 200 is a decent tire and does not cost too much. The Toyo R888 is race rubber with a price to match.
Your car probably needs an alignment but you should also check your suspension components, ( shocks, springs, ball joints, upper mounts).

The reverse gear in these cars is a known weakness. It is easily damaged. You will need to take it out your transmission to fix it.

Keep in mind that this car is easy to work on. I had a lot of fun rebuilding mine over the last few years and alot of things I had never done before.
This place will be one of your most valuble resources.
 
Robert,thank you for the response to my querys.I have ordered 4 Sumi's from Tire Rack,and should have them on by next weekend.I got the 185/60x13 size.
I have spoken with another X-pert(Kevin B),and will leave the reverse as is unless it should get worse(fingers crossed!) than it is now.It slips into reverse fine,and stays in.It's just noisy.
The rear is definitely 'out' on the pass. side.I will attempt to align it in the near future,once the new tires are on or possibly before.I also need to get the timing belt on there.
Craig
 
Reverse

You didn't mention what year car but the 79 was the first year and worst for reverse problems. If you car goes into reverse and stays there when you push on the gas the reverse idler shaft isn't bent. If it makes a whining noise chances are is that it has been repaired but someone didn't do a tooth count on the idler or 1-2 reverse gear sleeve, so the mesh isn't perfect, just live with it.

Never shift from 2nd to 1st gear with the car moving. Come to a stop then shift into first gear, I know it sounds like a PITA to do but the car's transmission has a flaw in it and down shifting into 1st when moving will cause things to get worst. Never push start the car in reverse either as you run the risk of bending the reverse gear idler shaft.

Best of luck.

TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
 
Welcome!

Fill out your sig with the vehicle info, makes it easier for others to offer advice, for year-specific concerns.

Any pics of the car?

My rear tires also lean in at the top - upper strut mounts can cause this. We are currently waiting for stock of these to become available on US shores :grin:

Tony - I didn't know about the 2nd into 1st shift thing - I thought is was just me :rolleyes: - I'll have to avoid that in the future!
 
Welcome Craig...

Do listen to everything Tony K wrote...

Give us some specifics and FOTOS of your new ride too... and Kevin will be a great help to ya I'm sure.

Good move on the tires... but ya can easily fit larger tires in the rear if you are not into rotating them. THe 185s all around will be a great start and you will be happy with the handling and braking they provide.

As for the RR being slanted IN... (at the top?) If so, I suspect a bad top mount... probably could stand new struts all around also. C. Obert is about to release some new top mounts that are alledgedly better that NOS! For struts, when you are ready, its hard to beat Summit's pricing...

Anyway, if ya take some fotos and post them here we can help ya walk through the problems... Do check here FIRST before doing ANYTHING... we'll save ya time, money and frustration!

Again... welcome to the dark side!
 
Reverse idler.

The flaw in the transmission is that the reverse idler gear is engaged when the car is in first gear and spinning. You then shift to 2nd and the 1-2 sleeve leaves engagement with the reverse idler gear which spins down. Now you go from 2nd to first gear but the problem is that the 1-2 sleeve is spinning and the reverse idler gear isn't, so the 1-2 sleeve is mashing the reverse idler gear trying to get it to mesh and spin up. The higher the RPM's in 2nd to 1st puts more stress on the reverse idler gear and idler shaft. Little chips break off of the reverse idler gear and float around in your transmission.

Don't shift from 2nd to 1st when the car is moving or the above happens and keeps getting worst.

TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
 
My MG is non-synchro in 1st and reverse, meaning you must be stopped or they grind, or you double clutch and/or clear the gears by going into 2nd briefly....that's a 60 year old design. I didn't know about avoiding 2nd to 1st while moving though, that's a shame, I was really enjoying not having to be at a dead stop to go into first and so far I haven't heard any complaints from the gearbox. I have an '81.
 
THe later models are an improvement over the '79...

... but 1st and 2nd are so tall anyway... it really isn't necessary to go into first without being completely stopped.

Its a NEW habit I hadta learn on my first early '79, even after the trans had been rebuilt at 40,000.

I believe the heftier reverse componants in the later models somewhat MASKS the problem Tony K describes... but the overall design is the same and the issue still exists. As he says, its just best NOT to shift into first unless fully stopped and as I said, I don't feel its really necessary to do it either.
 
Tires & Rear End

This is my first year with an X, which happens to be a fixer upper...

I got the same tires & size you ordered and have been relatively pleased with them.

I have a similar (from what it sounds??) problem with my car's rear end. The upper strut mounts are worth checking out, all of mine need replaced. Here's a link for the replacements Tony N. mentioned: http://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/8666/ ...supposedly should be available soon.

Maybe check out your rear control arms too... mine are bad so that when you jack up/lower the rear of the car you can see them flex a little from the weight change, and the ball joints can wear out too. If one side is worse than the other it can definitely make that side sit lower, and will affect the handling.

Struts were mentioned too, which might be worth checking. Cheapest I could find them including shipping was on ebay.

I'm not an old pro like most of the helpful people on here, but these are just my thoughts from my recent experience with mine.
Good luck and have fun with the car!
 
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Wow, that explains it

I've always wondered why I get a little crunch no matter how slow I am going when I shift into 1st. Occasionally it will give a little grief going into gear (embarrasing when the light turns green and I'm struggling to get into 1st). I was wondering how the teeth on 1st could be worn enough to do this, now I can see it's probably the reverse gear causing it.
 
Thanks guys,great info.I noticed the little crunch when going 2nd to 1st,even when barely moving.Wont be doing that any more.The car is a 81.1 owner car w/ 50k on it.Runs excellent,looks great,but in need of tlc.To date,I have buffed out paint,changed oil,installed new Sumitomo tires,replaced the completely worn out wheel bearings.Still need to do the tranny oil.What is rec. for the X.I have changed my Spider to all synthetics(oil,tranny,and diff).
I have a blown out rear strut,pass. side.It is leaking it oil out.I will have to get 2 new struts.I have seen a camber bolt available for the rear struts,that is cammed to allow adjustment.Any experience with these?I am hoping replacing the strut will take care of the tire leaning in at the top.Have some pix up this evening
Craig
ps...the Sumis have completely transformed the car.The other tires were shot!!
 
Good to hear it's at least handling better with the Sumi's - my car handles much better with the Sumi's, too. :grin:
 
Here are some pix(I hope).
geoffcollege137.jpg

geoffcollege139.jpg

geoffcollege136.jpg

geoffcollege135.jpg

geoffcollege140.jpg
 
Congrats Craig...

I would suggest ya buy a set of four KYB struts from Summit Racing and a set of Plaia Pivots from C.Obert.

You'll wanna a cut a coil to lower the front end a bit also and when yur ready we can go through the details or search for my thread and others...

As for the trans... Redline MTL... its like MAGIC and a bit expensive but worth every penny. www.myoilshop.com if your local supplier doesn't carry it... settle for NOTHING else. About 10 bucks a quart and you'll need four.
 
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