jumping out of first gear

[johny]

that all sounds good as the brass synchro rings should be loose and there will always be a bit of wobble in the input shaft. With the 1st/2nd selector ring (at the back of the box with the reverse gearteeth included) now you have aligned it should slip into both gears without too much difficulty.....

You should be able to move each synchro ring along independently towards the gear they are going to engage but they shouldnt come right up against the gear ie. in your photo there should always be a gap between the ring and toothed cog. This gap reduces as the synchro ring wears and if non existant the gears will crunch badly during changes (it may still not be prefect anyway).

Have a look at all the gears teeth for wear/chips including the small reverse gear operated by the lever on the side and thats about all you can do. In your case it doesnt sound necessary but if dismantling the box the usual minimum work is to replace the previously mention needle bearings and layshaft and swop around/replace the synchro rings as 2nd always suffers the most.

[colin smith]

Thanks again -I hope you're right - just read through the manual on dismantling the gearbox - it sounds a bit too much for me. I think I got the gears wrong way round in my last post as i forgot its inverted after operating the gear lever. .. so it was probably 3rd I couldn't select easily, whereas 1st went in easily with  a good click.

[NonMember]

It's not at all uncommon to find a gear "baulks" and refuses to go in until you rotate something. That's not a problem because, when you're driving, there's always something spinning when you change gear.

[Pete Lewis]

the only  'special ' tool you need is a dummy layshaft , can be made from anything to be approx 0.655" dia  5.5" long

which can be a bit of  hose or 5/8" plastic tube with some tape to make up the dia, ( ie doesnt have to be a cut down old shaft )

any other main  tooling  is a drift and mallet 

 churchill tooling is made to aid the process  certainly not  obligatory  or needed 

Pete

[Dave1360]

I didn't need a dummy layshaft when doing the 13/60 gearbox which seems to be the same as the earlier Spitfire.  I can see how it would be useful for the needle bearings on the Vitesse and later Spitfire gearboxes though.  For the additional cost of £30, a replacement layshaft seems good value as they do tend to wear over time.

Dave

[Pete Lewis]

  if you have the smaller bush  (  3 sync  4cyl.)rather than needles then yes you dont need a dummy shaft to hold the needles in place 

cant see when things were uprated but All Vitesse/GT6   and any other  4 sync has needles . a spit MkIV  box  would make a good replacement 

Pete

 

[johny]

1 hour ago, Dave1360 said:

I didn't need a dummy layshaft when doing the 13/60 gearbox which seems to be the same as the earlier Spitfire.  I can see how it would be useful for the needle bearings on the Vitesse and later Spitfire gearboxes though.  For the additional cost of £30, a replacement layshaft seems good value as they do tend to wear over time.

Dave

As I understand it the problem nowadays is finding reliable quality components for gearbox rebuilds. I havent suffered myself, yet, but would certainly feel nervous about using the 'pattern part' synchros and layshafts available..... 

[colin smith]

Hey everyone,

gearbox back in, new battery, new points fixing screw. Started up no problem after 5 years lay-off and stays in first gear! Seems the problem was the bushes in the change linkage as you first suggested. Thanks for all the advice. just need to sort the rest now! .... 

 

Colin

[Pete Lewis]

just shows many times it best to do the simple and cheap fixes first before you dive into the myths and dark places that are often of no help

glad its all working ok 

Pete