Sometimes (about every third time) there is considerable resistance on the gear lever when I try to engage first. If I cautiously let the clutch out there is eventually the sound of clashing gear wheels, then the lever moves into gear easily. Does anyone know what the trouble is?
Bill
..sound of clashing dog clutches if its got synchro on first.
let clutch out in neutral, then depress foot and engage first
How can you expect dog clutches to synch and mate if both halves are static.
When moving or stationary?
I'm assuming stationary. If not going in first time, put stick back into neutral, lift clutch up to spin layshaft, then depress clutch and try engaging first again.
Not that uncommon. I can't recommend grinding the gears too often!
Both halves aren't static - there's always a bit of drag on the clutch, so the input shaft'll be lazily spinning, with no real torque on it.
But even if you switch the engine off, select first, then try to push the car, you should find it's gone in gear.
What if you try to select other gears? Does it do the same?
There SHOULD be a bit of drag on the clutch.
BUT I suspect that in this case there's a bit of drag in the gearbox..worn bearings, low oil, something partially siezed..
The trick is to do what I said.
Or get a new gearbox.
Should.
Are you pressing the clutch *fully* down ?
Is the clutch cable/master/slave cylinder in good order ?
not uncommon on old vehicles. Go into 2nd then retry first.
normal for a clutchless change. You should only do clutchless changes when you can judge well enough to avoid any gear crunching
What trouble?
NT
Sometimes (about every third time) there is considerable resistance on the gear lever when I try to engage first. If I cautiously let the clutch out there is eventually the sound of clashing gear wheels, then the lever moves into gear easily. Does anyone know what the trouble is?
Look for easy things first. If it is a hydraulic clutch. Check fluid level in clutch reservoir. If very low may need filling & bleeding. It might be the seal in the clutch master cylinder is leaking a bit (ie back into the master cylinder). Or some crap in the fluid. Clutch is not disengaging properly so preventing you from getting it into gear.
If it is a cable operated clutch, may need adjustment/replacement.
Try it before you start the engine. Does it go into first each time easily? If so, it sounds like excessive clutch drag. At one time you could tell if this was the case because it would crunch into reverse. But so many boxes have synchromesh on reverse too these days.
Wise not to do this - happy clutches work better.
E.
I second that, I had to do this with my old Volvo.
Mike
My driving instructor taght me the trick of shifting back to neutral and releasing the clutch briefly before repeating the slection of first gear. The ' try another gear' (you're not just limited to 2nd unless you just want to get the car moving straight away despite the extra wear on the clutch and reduced acceleration) is usually the last resort when dealing with recalcitrant gearboxes.
Age of car? If it's old, it's because it is old. With the clutch down, try going into second then back into first.
Surprised no one has asked if the gearbox oil has ever been changed?
If never, it could be dirty, low or contaminated, or if it has been changed, the wrong grade put in.
I had an Iveco based motorhome, and it was a bitch to get into second (first was a crawler gear and hardly used unless pulling away up a very steep hill full loaded, then engine was at 3.5k rpm at 7 mph in 1st gear, would sit at
2.6k rpm in top at 70mph)I asked iveco what oil to buy as i wanted to change it, and they asked if i was doing so because of difficulty getting into 2nd.
So they sold me a synthetic oil to replace the mineral oil in the box, an official iveco solution for stiff 2nd gear, of which about 95% of the vans suffered,
i got enough oil to do 2 changes, so i first changed the oil and drove for a a few hundred miles, so to mix the dregs of the mineral oil with the synthetic (or not mix as i believe happens) then drained the oil again and put in fresh synthetic,
The difference in gear changes was amazing, every single gear became lighter to engage, and i could now select 2nd at a stand still with the clutch down, or even go into 2nd whilst slowing to a stop at lights,
2nd was still the hardest of the gears to engage, but it was a million times better than before..... 1st couldnt be selected whilst moving (crawler gear thing again, and it was located with the stick right over to the left and back) but with the mineral oil in the box, even if i started off in 1st, changing to 2nd was a fight no matter what i did... like going into third then 2nd,i really was ready to strip the box down expecting to find the syncro chewed to pieces, and honestly didn't expect an oil change to do much, but i was glad i did try it, a 10 litre bottle of synthetic oil was better than a gearbox strip.... and likely to find nothing wrong anyway
That takes me back to an Austin 1800 which really didn't like to engage 1st when cold. I fiddled with the cable gear selectors for a while, to no avail.
I happened to change to one of the (then) new multigrade oils (engine and gearbox shared the same oil) and suddenly the problem disappeared.
Chris
Surely the 1800 came after the introduction of yer basic 20/50?
Tim
You are quite right, but it was certainly something different that I tried. I don't think it was simply a winter grade. The intervening 36 years have blurred all details of the cure, whilst memory of the difficulties of negotiating the evening traffic without a full complement of gears remains vivid.
That aspect was OK when I traded it in, though a good few other problems remained. The battery connections were a bit loose, and it didn't want to start when it came to let the salesman have a test drive. I popped the bonnet and prodded the solenoid, whereupon it burst into life. He was more than a little surprised. Turned out he had been a golf pro and knew less about cars than I did about golf.
Chris
I had an Austin 1800 MkII for many a year - and don't remember selecting first being anymore difficult than other BMC cars (or others of that era) It was a cable change one too - later cars had a rod change. Which wore out quickly. ;-)
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