Posted by Neil on September 02, 1998 at 10:39:51:

In Reply to: SIII Gearbox posted by Mike Davenport on September 02, 1998 at 05:07:58:

By selector forks I am assuming that you mean the ends of the selector shafts that come out of the top cover of the gearbox and not the actual forks that move the gears on the layshafts
Don't know why it only does it on an incline, but would suggest it is the ball on the end of the gear stick being worn. It could also be the pivot pin/hole on the gear stick being worn. Both of these probs could cause the gear lever to come out of the selector shafts.
Another possible is that the bolt that holds the reverse fork to its selector shaft is worn, the fork has moved on the shaft (which would also cause difficulty in engaging) so the selector shaft has to move further to engage reverse, allowing more gap at the gear lever end of the selector shaft thereby allowing the end of the gear stick to come out of the shaft.

The adjuster on the flap is to hold it up in a psoition where the gear lever can push against it at an angle that allows it to move out of the way. Try taking the adjuster all the way out and see if you can engage reverse then!!. Too far in on the adjuster and you would have very little to push against to stop you selecting reverse by mistake.

A possible reason why it only happens on a hill. I see this all the time on the farm here on older tractor gearboxes where the end of the gearlever ball is a bit worn/missing. If you are on a hill after a failed climb you are probably trying for a quick gear change into reverse and not moving the gear lever as carefully as you should. IE moving it almost diagonally to reverse as opposed to straight out of the forwared gear into neutral, sideways into the reverse selector shaft and then into reverse?

Remove floor panels and transmission tunnel and check out the condition of the gearstick ball and pivot, and the end of the selector shafts

• Photos

Follow Up Messages