bj7 hard shifting into 1st & 2nd gear

[Roberte]

On my BJ7 I am having difficulty at random times in shifting into 1st and (or) second gear. I often have to shift through 3rd and 4th gear first before it will shift. It's as if the shift lever is locked out of those 2 (1st & 2nd) gears.

Any suggested causes?

Robert

 

[Randy Forbes]

Look to see if any of the lever retaining bolts have worked loose, or if the bushing at the bottom of the lever has been dislodged. My initial reaction__before reading the whole post__was that you were getting inadequate clutch travel, as if you're either low on fluid, or there's a problem with either/both the master and slave cylinder.

That's about the best I can do from here...

 

[Roberte]

Randy,

Is the clutch lever the one connected to the clutch pedal?

 

[Randy Forbes]

In a roundabout way, yes; the clutch is hydraulically actuated, so pushing on the pedal forces a piston into a (master cylinder's) bore, displacing the fluid. The displaced fluid, in turn, forces a piston out of the slave cylinder's bore, which acts upon the clutch lever. Moving the clutch lever, causing it to pivot inward decreases the clamping force of the pressure plate, allowing the clutch disc to spin freely, disengaging itself from the driven force of the flywheel/engine.

If for some reason, you're not getting enough travel of the clutch lever, then the clutch isn't fully disengaging, making it hard to shift into, or out of a gear.

That's one (1) possibility, but the nature of troubleshooting is to eliminate things that aren't contributing to a problem, until you get to the one that is.

Not so easy from here, but have to start somewhere...

 

[Roberte]

Randy,

So is it your conclusion that the problem exists between the pedal and the slave cylinder as opposed to within the clutch itself?

Could the problem exist within the clutch itself, or within the transmission?

I do not get a grinding noise when attempting to engage 1st & 2nd gear they just seem blocked.

I recently installed a new slave cylinder, and fluid reservoir. Could improper bleeding of the lines create the situation?

Thanks for any assistance as I am not much of a mechanic and have very little money to spend on repairs through a shop.

Robert

 

[Randy Forbes]

I make NO CONCLUSIONS during online troubleshooting! How could anyone?

If the problem started happening after you replaced the slave cylinder, then yes, inadequate bleeding is the likely cause.

That's why it's beneficial__for anyone seeking help on a forum__to provide as much detail as possible, otherwise you're leading everyone (that's attempting to help you) on a wild goose chase.

 

[TimK]

itself?[/COLOR]

Thanks for any assistance as I am not much of a mechanic and have very little money to spend on repairs through a shop.

Robert

Uh, this makes owning a Healey a big problem. I have occasionally had the same symptom(blocked gear), but have a fully functioning clutch. It doesn't happen often, but letting the clutch in and out usually cures it, I think maybe the gear teeth are head-to-head or side-to-side and can't mesh. But clearly, Randy is the expert.