"Total Transmission Failure" - Help!

Need help from a fellow owner, something to air - discuss away!

Moderator: Contaminated

User avatar
Colin P
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri May 13, 2011 5:01 pm
Location: Uckfield
Contact:

"Total Transmission Failure" - Help!

Postby Colin P » Wed Jul 10, 2019 4:36 pm

I have a Westfield fitted with a 2.0 Zetec coupled to a 5 Speed Type 9 gearbox.... I was out for a drive on Saturday with my wife (.. slow "Morgan mode") , came up to a roundabout, changed down a gear, put my foot down ... and the car was effectively in neutral! Fortunately we managed to roll into a handy lay-by. To cut a long story short we came back home on the back of a flatbed.
66077049_10156596845782532_1522511970232696832_o.jpg

I started the investigation with the hope that it was something simple but after checking the extended gear selector, clutch cable etc and other simple things, I took the engine out and it appears that the clutch is OK, clutch release lever and bearing are OK , which leaves the gearbox itself. I moved the car when it was "in gear" and the input shaft appeared to rotate , but you could grab hold of it and easily move it in either direction with no affect on the propshaft/wheels.

I will get around to removing the gearbox next week (off to the British GP this weekend!) but wondered if anyone has any ideas about the cause of these symptoms... I've had a gearbox fail on before but never so suddenly, completely and quietly!
Attachments
A.jpg
Last edited by Colin P on Thu Jul 11, 2019 6:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
locost220
Posts: 4490
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 7:31 pm
Location: Lewisham South London
Contact:

Re: "Total" Transmission Failure - Help!

Postby locost220 » Wed Jul 10, 2019 5:16 pm

Did you try all the gears, did you gets a bag of bolts sound.
Locost book chassis, Undergoing testing post rebuild :D :?
Robin Hood 2B, keeping me sane
Sylva Leader, stuck to the trailer

User avatar
Matth93
Posts: 2400
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 10:43 pm
Contact:

Re: "Total" Transmission Failure - Help!

Postby Matth93 » Wed Jul 10, 2019 6:01 pm

They don't usually just give up like that it sounds like a selector problem to me. If it was anything else in the gearbox surely you'd have had a lot of horrible noises coming from it

greenwoo
Site Admin
Posts: 10185
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2009 10:34 am
Contact:

Re: "Total" Transmission Failure - Help!

Postby greenwoo » Wed Jul 10, 2019 8:35 pm

i've never had one totally fail, have had the usual baulk ring gear issues associated with changing too quick on a type 9, that's just a 'graunch' type noise. As above, you sure its not a selector issue? No idea what the access is like from above on your westie - maybe you can investigate that way first?

User avatar
Colin P
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri May 13, 2011 5:01 pm
Location: Uckfield
Contact:

Re: "Total Transmission Failure" - Help!

Postby Colin P » Thu Jul 11, 2019 6:38 am

Thanks for the comments. The car is fitted with a gearbox extension that moves the gear lever back 5", I removed this and checked it over, all seems fine. Its then possible to access the selector directly (shown below),
B.JPG
B.JPG (50.79 KiB) Viewed 3775 times

This can be moved about to select the gears (normally) , it seems to move with a reasonable action (i.e. its not completely loose) but apparently doesn't engage anything. There's no nasty noises , no "bag of bolts" sound. It is as if the internally the selector rod is moving about but not actually doing anything.... I've looked at diagrams but having never actually been inside a type 9 gearbox I don't know if some failure could allow it to move reasonably, but not actually engage with any gear???

User avatar
Colin P
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri May 13, 2011 5:01 pm
Location: Uckfield
Contact:

Re: "Total" Transmission Failure - Help!

Postby Colin P » Thu Jul 11, 2019 8:37 am

locost220 wrote:Did you try all the gears, did you gets a bag of bolts sound.

Moved the selector about in all of the positions thta you'd expect gears to be present... but not .. seems internally disconnected somehow, no mechanical sounds at all.

User avatar
Colin P
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri May 13, 2011 5:01 pm
Location: Uckfield
Contact:

Re: "Total" Transmission Failure - Help!

Postby Colin P » Thu Jul 11, 2019 8:39 am

Matth93 wrote:They don't usually just give up like that it sounds like a selector problem to me. If it was anything else in the gearbox surely you'd have had a lot of horrible noises coming from it
Thanks Matt , that's what I was thinking, but internally somehow... see above.

greenwoo
Site Admin
Posts: 10185
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2009 10:34 am
Contact:

Re: "Total Transmission Failure" - Help!

Postby greenwoo » Thu Jul 11, 2019 8:42 am

erm, not much for me to say as heading above my pay grade.

User avatar
Colin P
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri May 13, 2011 5:01 pm
Location: Uckfield
Contact:

Re: "Total" Transmission Failure - Help!

Postby Colin P » Thu Jul 11, 2019 8:43 am

greenwoo wrote:i've never had one totally fail, have had the usual baulk ring gear issues associated with changing too quick on a type 9, that's just a 'graunch' type noise. As above, you sure its not a selector issue? No idea what the access is like from above on your westie - maybe you can investigate that way first?
I've looked at the selector bit (external) see above ... I've always had a few selection issues ... now I don't, which I suppose is positive!

User avatar
locost220
Posts: 4490
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 7:31 pm
Location: Lewisham South London
Contact:

Re: "Total Transmission Failure" - Help!

Postby locost220 » Thu Jul 11, 2019 8:52 am

Trying to load a picture from my phone but can't, there is a pear shaped piece on the selector shaft that is held on with a scroll pin, the pear bit moves between the selector forks and I think the scroll pin has broken.
To clarify you would have to take the top cover off and from and replace it from there as well.
Locost book chassis, Undergoing testing post rebuild :D :?
Robin Hood 2B, keeping me sane
Sylva Leader, stuck to the trailer


Return to “Car Related Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 28 guests