Horrible gearbox

Anonymous · March 24, 2004, 00:06

Had my 2 just over a week now and im hating the gearbox the more i use it. Its so stiff and clunky. Going from 4th to 2nd quickly is a nightmare! s:evil: :evil: s:evil: Missed third gear the other day when chaning up quickly which annoyed me.

Although i do find it fine for everyday driving, if you want to challenge someone, i think id take just about anyone else'e gearbox than the one in the 2.

Sorry for moaning by the way.

Anonymous · March 24, 2004, 00:27

Is it a new car? if so I guess it will loosen up a bit.

Anonymous · March 24, 2004, 00:34

done 19k on a W plate so i would think everythings all run in by now

markiii · March 24, 2004, 00:57

has it had a short shifter fitted?

Anonymous · March 24, 2004, 01:04

no i wouldnt say so, the shift travel isnt that short so id say its definateley stock

markiii · March 24, 2004, 01:10

m http://www.mr2roc.org/content/articles/ ... ifter2.php m

could be that the ball on teh shifter shaft has dried out. Might be worth investigating to see if you need to regrease it. I'd see if you can meet up with someone else in your area and compare shift actions to see if it's normal.

Anonymous · March 24, 2004, 01:23

just seems to be 2nd thats the clunky one (the gear you just about always drop down to for some fun s:wink: :wink: s:wink: )

It may loosen up over time as the car hasnt been used much, as i said, 19k on a 4 year old car suggests its spent most its life sitting on a drivway.

markiii · March 24, 2004, 01:25

best tip I can give, as 2nd is the stiffest on my B&M as well, is don't actually try to get it into gear. Just let it finds it's way under gentle guidance. If I try to force it in it just sticks more.

Anonymous · March 24, 2004, 01:30

it only annoys me when im changing up/down fast and when doing so you dont really want to mess about gently guiding it in do you

markiii · March 24, 2004, 01:35

theres gentle and gentle :-) :-) :-)

just more finess than muscle was the point I was making :-) :-) :-)

I'd definately pop the shifter cover off and regrease teh balls in there if I was you, as teh first and least expensive place to start.

Anonymous · March 24, 2004, 01:38

yeah i might have a proper look, just a bit of a pain that the seats have gotta come out

markiii · March 24, 2004, 01:45

seats aren't as bad as they look, takes me 5 mins per seat, much easier than doing it with them in place.

Slacey · March 24, 2004, 08:11

Tomr2, you are welcome to come over (Telford, not far) and I'll take a look for you if you like... I have had the seats out and fitted a short shifter, so know what I'm doing!
Also, you can try my B&M and see if you still think yours isn't right.

Anonymous · March 24, 2004, 08:14

Having tried the B&M, if you hate the stock box you will REALLY hate the B&M... while it got better as you went along and its very direct i dont think i could live with it day in day out as its very mechanical to its movements. Probably superb once you get used to it, but not my cup of tea.

Slacey · March 24, 2004, 08:17

It's even more 'direct & machanical' now the brass shifter bushings are in s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:
Feels loads better and is easier to shift now though.

Anonymous · March 24, 2004, 08:19

Quote from: "Slacey"It's even more 'direct & machanical' now the brass shifter bushings are in s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:
Feels loads better and is easier to shift now though.

I'll have to give it a try at north weald then! s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

Darth Paul · March 24, 2004, 11:02

Never had a problem with the 'box. Slightly off topic, we took delivery of a C-Max last week and the 'box on that is the sweetest I've ever used! s:shock: :shock: s:shock: The throw's long, but the action is a dream. The rest of the car is brilliant as well. When did Ford start making proper cars? s:? :? s:?

DP

Anonymous · March 24, 2004, 13:57

I know they started making decent 'boxes with the Puma s:)

s:)

Missus has my old Puma, and I still love the feel of the gear change in that. If only all 'boxes were so nice and precise..... Still feels as good as new as well.

Anonymous · March 24, 2004, 22:55

i agree with you on the puma box, had one for nearly two years. Was a joy to use. The 2's 'box feels pants compared to it

Anonymous · March 26, 2004, 18:20

You have got to match the revs before slipping into gear, I have the same problem with 1st, but that doenst matter, I only use 1st from a standing start. To match your reves when changing down slip out of gear, peak the revs then switch into 2nd just as they are passing the 'perfect' number of revs for shifting. Basically double shift with precision if you want to shift smoothly and 'with finess'. I have a feeling you will still be fine tuning your drive in your spyder... it takes 5000 hours of practice to become an expert at anything! s:D

s:D

Then again there might be something up with your gearbox... s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

Anonymous · March 26, 2004, 18:30

Quote from: "markiii"regrease the balls

s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

Out of context, but had to laugh. Sorry, back to topic s:oops: :oops: s:oops:

Anonymous · March 27, 2004, 00:01

what is 'double shfting'? and yes i am still finding my way with the car - not as smooth as id like to be yet! s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

Was having some fun the other day as it was quiet. Going round some roundabouts pretty quickly! lift off for oversteer, gas for slight understeer. All very interesting and exciting stuff i can tell ya.

I used to do a lot of karting a few years ago, and if this car didnt have as much body roll it would be one of the closest things to it!

aaronjb · March 27, 2004, 00:43

I tell ya, if you want to feel a horrible gearbox - take an MG TF 160VVC for a drive s:shock: :shock: s:shock: s:? :? s:? That really did have an awful gearbox - I kid you not, it was so vague, I couldn't actually tell what gear I was in - or even if I was in a gear at all.

Then again, it was a salesman's car, so it could have been a ropey example. Handled well, at least, probably less bodyroll than the '2, too..

Although I didn't think the '2 had much - I suppose it has a similar amount to my Japanese 300ZX (the UK one that replaced it had/has ropey shocks, so it's a bit bouncy bouncy s:shock: :shock: s:shock: ).

Anyway - I imagine vibratingsky was referring to double declutching - i.e. to go from 3rd to 2nd:

Depress clutch
Shift to neutral
Release clutch
Blip revs up to matching speed
Depress clutch
Engage 2nd
Release clutch

Sounds long winded, but it's possible to do it quickly ish..

I've never had a problem getting into 2nd quickly, although mechanical sympathy never was my strong point - it does go in easier though if you heel-toe though.. Or perhaps I'm just shifting slower while I'm heel-toeing, so it just seems to go in easier.. (No double clutching there, just a blip of the throttle).

Just my, very long winded, 2penneth s:)

s:)

Anonymous · March 27, 2004, 00:50

this double clutching business sounds like it takes ages to do! by the time your through messing about depreesing/releasing/depressing/releasing/yawn etc you'll have been left standing!

What i do is depress the clutch and 3/4 throttle at the same time, stick it in 2nd gear and whip the clutch back up and floor it. Works for me s:D

s:D
Just gotta get a little smoother now...

aaronjb · March 27, 2004, 01:08

Sounds like the basis of heel-toeing, certainly if you're doing that while braking at the same time it is.

Still haven't quite mastered that myself - my big feet seem to make it awful awkward s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

The closer you match the revs, the smoother the shift s:)

s:) (The less likely you are to lock the rear wheels and spin.. heh s:)

s:) )

Horrible gearbox

Darth Paul