Gear Change
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Thanks EJ .Hope that’s the answer as it is the easiest one . Might have to wait until spring though !
Why? You can buy gear oil anytime of the year.
Problem is I’m an old guy without a useable garage and a TF that lives under a cover on a nice driveway !
Cheers for the advice Chris but surely the clutch fluid should work the same whether the engine is hot or cold Incidentally I don’t think the fluids been changed since the car was born in 2004 !
I agree that this is not the ideal time-of-year for working "Al-Fresco", but as the car is stored in damp conditions, Chris T's point is all-the-more valid. Brake fluid suffers the same hygroscopic effects of course. In the case of brake fluid, it does not get hot and release water (as steam!!) until you are braking hard, perhaps at the bottom of a long hill or downramp from and elevated Motorway?? Not a good place to realise that you should have changed fluids earlier!
I changed gearbox oil on my 20-year-old TF and the previously difficult 3rd to 4th, and 5th back down to 4th gearchanges became smooth-as-silk.
My gearbox oil was not low (I measured the volume which drained-out), but the old oil was pretty dark in colour:
Changing the oil was an easy DIY job: a longish drive to get the oil hot, raise rear wheels on axle stands or ramps, remove drain plug (3/8" square socket driver fits nicely), then leave to drain into a 4-pint empty milk bottle or similar and go and have lunch.
Re-filling is a slow job unless you have a pump. I used a length of plastic tube and funnel from above:
Whilst underneath the gearbox, worth checking that the gaiters around the cables are not like mine used to be:
Again, it was an easy DIY job to change these.
Happy motoring next Spring!
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1,441 Posts
The container you have used is in our kitchen here (plus the funnel). There is a lot of kitchen equipment that are dual purpose...... Adds some flavour to the food!
Thats exactly the same way that I fill the gearbox, your underside is lovely and clean. Mine is always a bit oily because the nearside drive shaft seal leaks, changed it twice but still leaks. I notice that your boot lid cables seem to be in what looks like a piece of hose pipe, or do my eyes deceive me? Regards. D4KGP.
Yes its a problem when we get older (73) as to whether we can carry on sliding under cars in or out of a garage. Just had major abdominal surgery but too many jobs to do to throw in the towel yet. Not ready for the Grim Reaper
. Regards. D4KGP.
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6,736 Posts
You will often find that the gear selector mechanism (under the console/leather gaitor) has some 'slack' in it. Take a look at this and see if anything needs tightening up.
Also remember that the heater pipes run through the 'transmission tunnel' so heat can have an effect on gear change, but not in the same way that you would ordinarily expect with other cars....
Good luck.
Also remember that the heater pipes run through the 'transmission tunnel' so heat can have an effect on gear change, but not in the same way that you would ordinarily expect with other cars....
Good luck.
I suspect that this is "as delivered/as built" by Rover. There is certainly no record of any work in that area in any of the comprehensive service records, and the P.O does not seemed to have been a DIY'er.
If you & others reading this have "naked" cables in that area, I am guessing that someone has had problems with the loom in that area, and it has been exposed to do repairs.
The only other possibility that the dealer (MGF Centre Wolverhampton) did this very neat modification to prevent or at least reduce the probability of problems in that area. I would be interested to know what other TF owners with similar dated (2002) TFs.
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1,441 Posts
There are screw nut adjusters at both ends of both cables which through adjustment may help the situation. Also, fitting new rose joints may help (available on eBay).
In the light of putting those two comments together, my strong suspicion is that ALL of your gearchange problems are down to a weeping slave cylinder, which MAY have been caused by internal corrosion "encouraged" by water in old Hydraulic fluid. The Hot engine would generate gas in that slave cyl. and make clutch action spongy and too weak to overcome clutch diaphragm spring?
iv replaced the slave cylinder and bleed it several times but im not getting a good pedal ?
what next, the master cylinder, how hard is that for an old cooch like me ?
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8 Posts
I had a similar problem earlier this year. This is what worked for me:
Car shifts beautifully now.
- changed cable ends and boots at the bell crank and lubricated bell crank
- changed slave cylinder
- lubricated clutch arm (as best one can) where it enters the transmission. These needs periodic maintenance and can seize up if not lubricated on a semi-regular basis.
- tightened and lubricated shifter mechanism
Car shifts beautifully now.
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