Gear linkage adjustment

DarkHorse

A2OC Donor
Is there anyone who knows how to do this happy to help me out.

Currently driving without power steering, and now I can't get the car to go into third or fifth without double de-clutching.

Spent all my money fixing the car and can't believe my luck. Just would be helpful to be able to change great smoothly and focus on turning the car!
 
Cheers Steve. I've looked into it before but been rather scared to cause any damage/make a mistake.

I'll have a read through the thread. Any idea what size rod I need?
 
He says 5mm pin in the video. I heard the tighter the pin, the better the adjustment, so if you could confirm that I'd really appreciate it.
 
He says 5mm pin in the video. I heard the tighter the pin, the better the adjustment, so if you could confirm that I'd really appreciate it.

The pin needs to lock the gearstick firmly without play and so that is the aim, if you can get a tighter fit and so, less play. Then that is fine.

Steve B
 
Ok thanks. I was just wondering if anyone used 5.5mm or if 5mm is the best to go for. I'll stick with what he says for now unless I hear otherwise.
 
i use a 5mm drill bit , just wrap loads of tape around the cutting end of the drill bit as it will drop all the way through if theres nothing to stop it, the hardest , or longest part of the job is removing the center console as takes awhile , then about a minute to do the adjustment , all the drill bit does is hold the gear leaver in the correct position , then with the gear box peg inserted you just twist the lockers on the cable adjusters and it all locks in place , release the gearbox locking pin , pull the drill bit and have a check of all the gears , quick test drive and reassemble, but advisable to give all the gearbox linkages a good wd40 ing or lubricating as this can also cause the issues your experiancing if the mechanisms are dry ...
 
I can confirm 5mm is the Dia you need, you will not even get 5.1mm Dia in
If using a drill bit n=make sure it as not been chewed up in the drill chuck and that if the size is stamped on the drill shank that this stamping is not raised (increasing the Dia)

Also when you get to the point of inserting the pin have a good look at the nylon ball at the bottom of the gear stick, it tends to get covered in rubber bits from the gear stick cover (the rubber rots on every A2 I have ever worked on), a good cleaning of the nylon ball to remove all the rubber makes the gear change soooo much better. I also lubed the ball with silicon grease spray. It is also work lubing the cables from the engine bay into the car, but this is a pain to get to, aerosol with a long pipe on the end helps a lot.
Be wary of trying to moving the gear change at the gearbox end once the black plastic locking pin is in place, the pin is PLASTIC and you can shear the end of the pin if you force the gear change on the box with the pin in place.

Also beware of having the cable pulled or pushed when you release the locking collars, you want neither tension or compression on the cables when you release the locking collars

Once adjusted the gear change is a pleasure to use
 
I've got the same problem. Where do u get the locking pin from for the gearbox end or can u make something

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
 
Ok, did the adjustment. Just made sure there was tension without slack and released each one. Jumped back in car, removed drill bit with a large amount of parcel tape wrapped around the top to stop it dropping through the the A2 underworld....hold on, jump back out, take bonnet off again, release the plastic lever!!

Checked gears, they were always notchy. Drove to work, and there is so far an improvement, though problems changing from 4th to 3rd at higher revs seems to be an issue - it just felt like it popped out, perhaps it wasn't fully engaged. Sprayed WD40 on linkages too, and added a little chain lube for good measure.

The next few drives should tell all really and see how often the problems occur and when.

Thanks for all the assistance.
 
third gear is normally the problem on the A2 gearbox, partially due to double syncro on 1st and 2nd, but only single on 3rd,4th & 5th
Try adjusting the revs to be a near match when going from 4th to 3rd, if this cures the problem then it is almost certainly the syncro rings worn
 
Forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean by 'near match when going from 4th to 3rd'? You mean the same revs as changing from the other gears?

I'll see how the drive home goes and let you know. I couldn't get under the plastic/rubber cover once the gear stick cover has been lifted to insert the pin. Does that need to come out to get access to the ball under the stick that you greased? Could not see a simple way to remove it.
 
Forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean by 'near match when going from 4th to 3rd'? You mean the same revs as changing from the other gears?

I'll see how the drive home goes and let you know. I couldn't get under the plastic/rubber cover once the gear stick cover has been lifted to insert the pin. Does that need to come out to get access to the ball under the stick that you greased? Could not see a simple way to remove it.

When you have a VERY worn Synchromesh the tip is to put the car in neutral and blip the throttle when engaging the next gear (AKA Double De-Clutching). But that is when the gearbox is ready to give in altogether.

The 3rd gear crunch that is often there on worn A2 gearboxes rarely gets to that state and all that is needed is a slow change.

But it should not be the cause of any gear selection problems (other than the crunch)

Steve B
 
Forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean by 'near match when going from 4th to 3rd'? You mean the same revs as changing from the other gears?

I'll see how the drive home goes and let you know. I couldn't get under the plastic/rubber cover once the gear stick cover has been lifted to insert the pin. Does that need to come out to get access to the ball under the stick that you greased? Could not see a simple way to remove it.

Yes, when changing from 4th to 3rd increase the engine revs slightly so that they nearly (as near as you can get them) match what the engine revs will be once 3rd gear is selected and the clutch released.

The frame around the rubber gaiter under the leather gear gaiter does pull out, but it is quite stiff, on mine the rubber had all but rotted away, the bits of rubber were jamming up the smooth movement of the ball, once I cleared out all the rubber bits I WD40 the ball and after a bit of wagging it started to become really free (I disconnected the cables from the gearbox whilst I got the ball free), then it got lubricated before reassembly
The result as been a smooth gear change since

Cheers
 
Finding that going up to third gets resistance and there is a click as I need to force it home into gear.

Sometimes at lower revs I get no problems at all.
 
Finding that going up to third gets resistance and there is a click as I need to force it home into gear.

Sometimes at lower revs I get no problems at all.

That sounds more like a worn linkage bearing (in the centre of the gear-change "tower" under the bonnet, perhaps.

It doesn't sound like a gearbox internal issue (unless you mean a crunch rather than a click?)

Steve B
 
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