• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Transmission Problem

Share this page

D

DougF

Guest
Guest
Offline
I was in the midst of trying to prep the new engine and tranny for installation into my TR6 when I was forced to take a break. After a couple trips to the chiropractor and several days of rest along with melting a few pounds of ice, I now find that sitting and bending while working on my transmission is somewhat therapeutic for the spasms.
So much for the physical distractions and on to the problem...
I find that the transmission, which by itself turns freely, when bolted to the OD becomes tight. The adaptor plate I am using was purchased about 8-10 years ago from Moss. When I bolt it up, it seems the transmission bearing and retaining ring cutout clearances are too shallow. Once the OD is in place, things really become hard to turn.
Does anybody know if there was a problem with these adaptor plates or could this be a transmission problem? Once things get tight, it can be shifted into reverse easily, but not into any of the forward gears.
The tranny and OD both functioned well for me until a thrust washer broke and ate up the annulus.
Any ideas?
 
I forget offhand where the common problem is, but I suspect that means the shaft is not going all the way into the OD. Lots of adapter plates have been distorted and ruined by folks forcing things together.

Assuming this in a A-type, are you sure the pump roller cleared the cam?

The retaining ring for the gearbox bearing is supposed to be clamped firmly against the housing, so even if the bore in the plate was too shallow, it should not cause the gearbox to bind up. If it does, it may indicate a problem inside the box.

Assuming the pump roller was suitably restrained, I think my next step would be to rig something to clamp the rear gearbox bearing into the case, and see if that makes the gearbox bind.
 
Thanks for your response Randall.
The pump roller was pulled beyond the height of the bronze bushing in the housing, almost fully retracted. I was using the bushing height as a reference to the height of the low side of the pump cam.
This is an A type OD.
The adapter plate has been on the shelf since purchased new. Everything slid together smoothly.
The retaining rings at both ends of the transmission housing, I believe, are both flush. I will pull the OD and inspect it.
Thanks again
 
Doug,

What happened to the original adapter plate?

Scott
 
I bought the one OD transmission years ago with plans of putting it into my TR3. It was in pieces, minus the plate. I had to swap transmissions a few years ago because the thrust washer broke and damaged the annulus. When the second OD was put together, the old plate was used.
I purchased this plate years ago. It has the Stanpart name in the casting, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's an original. It could have been cast from an original plate...
The OD I am installing is one I had in my TR6 for several years. I didn't want to disassemble the other OD, so I finally am using this new plate.
 
The transmission is finally bolted up to the engine and working properly.
There were a couple problems. Somewhere along the way, the spacers behind first gear and behind second gear were reversed. The larger OD of the one spacer caused my problems.
The other problem was something that was going to show its nasty head soon after the car was put on the road. This transmission had been gone through 10-15 years ago. Somewhere along the way, the needle bearing grease had dried up and the bearings weren't moving.
The engine is going back into the car tomorrow. At last!!
 
Doug,

Glad to hear that you found the problem (and caught the second issue as well!).

Scott
 
Back
Top