CANT ENGAGE ANY GEARS

[JOHN HAY]

Good day E Type lovers, I have just completed a full restoration on a 69 FHC, and cant get any gear to engage when the engine is running, with it off I can engage gears and start the engine and then move off, but have difficulty in changing gears.
I have set the slave rod to the correct position , have bled the slave and checked the movement of the thurst bearing and all OK and yes have the return spring attached!

Any suggestions or help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

John.

[mgcjag]

Hi John....sounds like the clutch isnt disengaging. ....either the pushrod/fork/thrust bearing isnt moveing the clutch cover enough to disengage or the clutch plate is stuck to cover/flywheel....condensation can cause this..Steve

[rswaffie]

When you say you can engage gear, start engine and move off, do you do the following:
Engage 1st
Depress clutch pedal
Start engine
Release clutch pedal and move off after reaching reasonable biting point?
Then depress clutch again but can’t engage 2,3 or 4?

Or something else? Does the car move without releasing the clutch or jerk forward when you start the engine?

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=18672

[JOHN HAY]

Firstly, thanks for your reply, yes its just as u say, I can engage any gear including reverse, then start and the car does not move until I release the clutch.

Some have suggested that the clutch plate is not moving on the spigot shaft , the engine was overhauled 6 years ago and has stood for this period until recently when i started it for the first time last week.

Does this theory sound plausible to you?

Thanks

John.

[JOHN HAY]

[quote=mgcjag post_id=151257 time=1646998608 user_id=437]
Hi John....sounds like the clutch isnt disengaging. ....either the pushrod/fork/thrust bearing isnt moveing the clutch cover enough to disengage or the clutch plate is stuck to cover/flywheel....condensation can cause this..Steve
[/quote]

Hi Steve, I have put a bore scope into the bell housing and can see the fork and thrust bearing moving, so it would seem that the plate is indeed stuck to the flywheel or on the spigot shaft.

Have run the car hot around my neighbor hood , but has not been able to free it. Hope i don't have to remove the engine and gear box.

[mgcjag]

Hi John...you can see the fork and thrust bearing moveing....but is it moveing the clutch pressure plate....if it is a clutch thats actually stuck then i have freed them by usring a hot air gun through the bottom hole in the bell houseing to get it really hot......you may need to get extreme..............with car in gear and clutch pedel depressed and brakes on try to start the car.........the jolt will free it...you may have to try a few times and make sure there is nothing in front of you....Steve

[JOHN HAY]

Thanks Steve, that's the best answer I have had, going to try it and will you know the result.

Regards

John.

[mgcjag]

John....just remember befor you start......you cant free a clutch it for example its been installed incorrectly or wrong parts....Steve

[angelw]

John Wrote:

I can engage any gear including reverse, then start and the car does not move until I release the clutch.

Hello John,
The above is contrary to what Steve is describing. Steve is describing a situation where trying to start the engine with a gear selected and the clutch depressed would cause the car to move via the drive from the starter motor. Your description above indicates that the engine starts normally with a gear selected and the clutch depressed.

I would mimic the condition whereby a gear can't be engaged and try and see, with the bore scope, what is happening with the First Motion Shaft when the clutch is depressed; is it still rotating?. This exercise would be best carried out with the car safely elevated on a hoist.

Regards,

Bill

[mgcjag]

Yes as Bill Says above....when i replied your post number 4 wasnt on my screen.( or i missed it)....the fact that you..... "can engage any gear including reverse, then start and the car does not move until I release the clutch."...... Indicates that your clutch isnt stuck.......becaus as you release the clutch pedal the car moves.......Steve

[DWW]

Hi, if it is none of the above, like the clutch plate sticking to the flywheel or travel issue due to slave cylinder requiring a good bleed then I will tell my own story....

After the restoration of my S1 3.8, I had exactly the same problem and after weeks of grappling with it and trying everything I could to no avail, I knew this was going to be an engine out job. Since I was planning to upgrade the gearbox to five speed and replace the dynamo with an alternator anyway I got the car booked in with Guy Broad (excellent people, who know their stuff) to carry out the work. They found that the thrust bearing was damaged, actually it had piece broken off it. they also checked the car over and were kind enough to correct quite a few other small mechanical issues/details missed by the original restoration shop. The main things they found were, one of the front hubs was warn and the steering rack had a bad leak, both items were replaced for new ones.

The clutch got fixed and gearbox fitted and it is all great now. I am not sure whether a wrong part was fitted in the assembly of the clutch during restoration but I heard some where that there are two type of thrust bearings, a wide one and a narrow one, I have a feeling that the guys who restored the car had fitted a wrong part during the clutch assembly, by the time I was ready to test the car and discover the issue that company went bust.

[dal2.0litrefrogeye]

As above . It well could be a broken / breaking up carbon thrust bearing seen a few go bandy that wasn't that old over the last couple of years , it is Posible to look up at the carbon through the inspection hole in the bell housing at the bottom