TR2/3/3A Help!..Installed new Clutch....Trans stuck in Gear?

[karls59tr]

I installed a new disk,plate and bearing...bolted up the trans....set up the slave adj....I got about three shifts in and the trans seems to be locked up?....can't move the shift lever. The cross shaft seems to be moving as it should when the pedal is pushed down.
I did remove the gearbox top cover when I had it on the bench.....I thought I might have misaligned the selector forks when I reinstalled the top cover but after removing it again the forks seem to be situated in the right place.
I must have done something wrong so I guess I'll have to pull the gearbox?....anyone have any ideas?

 

[TR3driver]

With the engine stopped, you should pretty much always be able to shift back to neutral even without the clutch. So I doubt it is a clutch problem. Most likely (in my limited experience) a top cover problem, like maybe the shift interlock wasn't assembled properly or one of the shift cups has come loose on the shaft. I've seen a shift interlock that the owner swore has been working for years, but one of the balls was MIA and the pin in the middle eventually got turned sideways and jammed the center rail in 3rd gear.

 

[mallard]

I agree with Randall and check the top cover first. I've known others that had the same problem and it had to do with those balls.

 

[thechileman]

This is something I have occasionally on my TR4. If I lift up my shifter to go into reverse, and end up in fourth, or second, my shifter locks up. The only way to get it freed up is to take the shifter off, and move the selector forks with a screw driver. Once they start moving, I can reinstall the shifter, and everything works fine. I can do it in about 20 minutes now. Happens about twice a year to me. Not sure this will help your situation, but thought I would share.

 

[sp53]

yeh you should be able to shift it with the top cover off. Is there hydraulic fluid in the reservoir?

 

[karls59tr]

Aha! Now that you mention it there was an incident with the top cover.....I had a cluttered workbench and it got knocked over onto the floor......maybe I dislodged of the the balls that was mentioned.....would I be able to see if that was the case by looking? This is a TR6 gearbox....I have two spare TR3 top covers I could use. Are the 3top covers same as the 6????
I also have a TR4A top cover which might be the same as the 6???

 

[TR3driver]

Sorry I just saw this. There's no way to see the shift interlock, but you can test it with the lever out. Just use your fingers or a small pry bar to select each gear, then try to move each other rail into gear. Having any gear selected should lock the other two rails into neutral.

There are a lot of variations in top covers, even within TR6. But the castings will interchange as long as they have the switches you need. The forks and rails are different, though, so you'll have to swap them around.

I'm actually using an early TR3 top cover casting on my later TR6 gearbox (with TR4 overdrive), to keep the dipstick functional.

 

[CJD]

The interlock balls have no where to go, unless you removed a shaft. There is a chance it never had the interlock balls installed, from a PO's handywork, though.

My bet is that the tranny is in gear, but the cover was installed with the forks in the neutral position. The reverse gear fork is the most likely culprit. The solution is to use a screw driver to make sure the gears are all in neutral ( rear shaft spins freely), make sure the cover is in neutral (shifter wiggles across center easily), and then re-install the cover.

Are you sure you did not bend a fork when the cover dropped?

 

[sp53]

Yeh probably not in neutral when the top cover was installed.