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5th gear impending warning signs

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#1
Jay Lutz

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My friend called me from Road Atlanta last Friday with news of his 140k mile SM gearbox stuck in 5th gear. No complaints but are there any cockpit warning signs of this problem? I wasn't in the car.

Thanks, Jay

#2
Bench Racer

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Understand you said stuck in 5th. The same shift fork does reverse and 5th. For a quick check, try this.


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#3
SaulSpeedwell

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The interlock mechanisms make it impossible for the box to be in more than one gear at once ... thus, a "stuck" box is almost always a result of the shifter "escaping" the shift selectors due to wear.

The solution:

http://youtu.be/UX4eNxaNztc

I love "The King" and his videos! But understand his "fix" is simply putting the box into neutral so that the shifter can be returned to its proper home in the 3-4-Neutral gate ... the true fix is to put in new shift selectors to keep the shifter from "escaping" in the first place.

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#4
davew

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It is very common with 1.6 boxes, especially early ones, to get stuck in either 5th or reverse. Reverse being the more common.

First, determine exactly what happened. If it is truely stuck in gear, which gear. Easily let the pedal out and see which direction the car wants to move.

Does the shifter move. Can you also engage 1st or 2nd? If so, put in 1st or second and slowly release the clutch. Car should not move as it will be in 2 gears at the same time.

If it is stuck in 5th/rev. You can remove the back up light switch and using a stubby screwdriver, pop the linkage back into neutral. This will allow the car to be shifted normally. But I recomend rebuild.

There have been numerous updates over the years to cure this exact problem. That is why I have a complete list of the most recent part#s on my website.

If this does not describe your problem, the box will need to be disassembled. You probably have broken the 5th gear hub clutch and possibly twisted the bak section of the cluster shaft.

Assuming a 1.8 diff: By the way, did he have a bad vibration just before the failure. If so, he probably broke the vibration damper on the pinion snout. This will damage 5th gear everytime if it is not addressed right away. This exact issue is what dropped Tom Brown from 7th to 12th at the Runoffs. I have written a letter to CRB requesting to allow this to be removed

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#5
Todd Tagget

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Our cars have 5th gear???
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#6
Bench Racer

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Your tracks are to short. :scratchchin:
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#7
FTodaro

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Our cars have 5th gear???

Short shift, you will find it.

Frank
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