2nd Gear, Please Don't Go Away!

[theleisure]

It's so sad... I have a transmission that doesn't like to stay in 2nd gear anymore. There's a 2nd gear cog for sale somewhere on ebay for $50 but I also know that there are a ton of decent replacement boxes out there. What do you guys think, repair or replace? I posted a WTB message over at the mgexperience forum but I'd really appreciate your opinions.

Thanks,

Sean

 

[Pythias]

This happened to me. I had been dealing with a speedo gear that needed to be fixed as well, so when we took the tranny out, we put in a 5 speed. Perfect excuse!!!

 

[jlaird]

Rebuild it.

 

[theleisure]

I found a decent box for a good price on another forum but before I go and buy it, tell me--what should I expect for a rebuild? What is an average cost to rebuild a box that slips out of second and what would the minimum labor time be? I'll probably multiply the labor time by 3 to figure out my actual time.

Somebody said it's probably the synchro not the cog... whatd'ya think?

 

[ChrisS]

If you can drive it with your hand on the shifter it is probably just the detent ball and spring for the shift rod. Is it grinding when doing into 2nd (syncro) or making noise while in 2nd (gear)?

You should be able to deal with the detents in a day be it will require that the gearbox be removed from the car to get good access to the side cover and really clean everything out.

 

[theleisure]

Thanks Chris,

As of right now it's only popping out occassionally when decelerating in 2nd. Never pops out any other time and it doesn't ever pop out if i try to keep my foot on the gas a little bit while I slow down. No grinding or unusual noise.

s

edit: (more info)
I am also able to keep it in gear if I hold the shift lever back.

 

[jlaird]

Ha, if you buy another I will take that one off your hands.

 

[ChrisS]

You don't need a new second gear just a good cleaning on the detent balls and springs. I suppose you could have a bad shift rod or fork but I doubt it.

 

[theleisure]

Now i really regret the fact that we rented a house without off street parking. One good thing about getting a replacement was that the entire swap could be done in a reasonably short amount of time. Repairing it sounds like a two weekend kind of job and it'd have to sit on the street without a motor the whole time. I'll have to think this one over a bit.

Jack- Thanks for the offer, I'll keep that in mind.