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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Frontline 5 speed gearbox worries

Hi,
recently paid a lot of money to buy & have fitted a Frontline 5 speed gearbox.
My 1430 midget eats standard gearbox's so I needed the strength of the Ford unit.
I'm not happy. I believe the fault lies with the fitting of the unit.
It engages gear smoothly when engine is not running, so I dont think the fault is with the box itself. I suspect the clutch etc...
Here is my problem.
Im having real trouble engaging 2nd and 3rd. I feel a resistance but it just sometimes will not go in. When at low revs it doesnt seem such a problem, but if I try to change fast, its a real pain.
Ive also noticed a "rattling" sound which goes away when I engage the clutch.
Any ideas guys?
thanks



Mallorcaben

Hi Ben,
Rattle: Sometimes the gears on mine rattle a bit when the car is ticking over too slowly. You could try just increasing the engine revs a little. Or: Some of the installation kits use a clutch release arrangement which allows the release bearing to flap around too much and this can allow it to rattle around on the input shaft. Perhaps it is that?

Gears: 2nd 3rd selection problem sounds like it could be the clutch not fully disengaging. Is it bled properly? Or, looking at your other photo, have you fitted the gearlever the right way around. On the ford, the crank in the lever would be pointing rearwards, so if it is fitted wrongly, then the bottom of the lever where it fits to the selector saddle would be wrong.

Guy
Guy Weller

The rattle sounds like the release bearing jingling on the fingers. is it a light jingling?

Are you using a standard slave & pushrod? If so maybe you could try extending the pushrod a little to see if you are fully disengaging the clutch.
Tarquin

Had the same problem with mine, ended up playing around with the slave push rod length, if i had to do it again, i'd save myself a lot of grief & just make it adjustable in the first place.

Brad
B Richards

The rattle is fairly common it seems - I have it too.
Jordan Gibson

Mine rattles like mad but only when the oil gets warm after a few miles. It only happens on our road car as it ticks over a lot lower than my Sprite.

I got underneath and felt to see if it was the release arm rattling when it was running and it isn't that. Because it only happens once the oil is hot I suspect it is the box internals just rattling as there is no load. (when the clutch is disengaged the input shaft will obviously not be turning). I think its a case of 'they all do that mate'.

Mine are both a bit baulky into second when cold but never third. What oil are you using? Check it's the right spec for the type 9.
John Payne

Guys,

You have to remember...If your going to put mice in the gear box to make the car move....you have to feed them, otherwise they are just going to runaround RATTLeing away. looking for food.
Prop

I think that both the clutch release and the gearbox internals can rattle.
My release bearing used to rattle really badly, but doesn't at all any more. I still get a lesser rattle from inside the box but much less since I rebuilt that with new layshaft bearings. Increasing the tickover speed also seems to get rid of that rattle although it did nothing at all for the release bearing rattle other than to make it worse!

Guy
Guy Weller

My suggestion with regards to adjusting the length of the slave pushrod to give the extra clearence is a 6mm socket!! Sound strange but a 6mm socket placed on the end of this pushrod gives the extra required length and doesn't cause the 'grief' Brad mentioned when trying to make the adjustment. This has worked for me on several spridgets! Hope this helps
D Prince

Or a 7/16" nut

But do be sure not to cause overthrow!

Guy
Guy Weller

The plastic pivot on the opposite end of therelease bearing arm is a known fault on this conversion and will cause a rattle and reduce the movement on the release bearing
Alex Sturgeon

... you're sure the box is topped up with the correct grade of EP?

A
Anthony Cutler

Ben,
Have you spoken to Tim @ F/L, he will proberally be able to help?

Regards,

Howie.
Howard Wright

Take it back to the supplier, lots of things could be wrong, the gearboxes themselves are usually recon units, that may not have been assembled correctly. I wouldn't try doing anything yourself until it's been checked by the installer.
Cheers John
JOHN HALL & JULIE ROBERTS

This thread was discussed between 14/10/2008 and 16/10/2008

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