BADSVN2000

yeah I know I look like a bit of a forum ***** at the mo but I have the day off lol.

I installed the new (secondhand) gearbox in my 7 the other day with my new engine and seeing as I didnt have the driveshaft hooked up i didnt notice at first but I started the engine up and I couldnt shift gears. Then I noticed the speedo was reading 20kms at idle, i then shut it down.
I have correctly positioned the gearstick in the hole and bolted down, I have checked this at least 3 times now. The gearstick will move left from the centre but not up, down or right and I am guessing it is stuck in 2nd gear. the clutch is also working but has no effect on this problem

I purchased the box from a friend that only wrecks RX7's (and other rotaries) and he told me it came out of a running car which he drove so I installed it. He has told me that if I cant fix it that he will replace it with another box but I cant be bothered pulling it out so a fix would be better for me.
I was thinking that once I install my Manual diff (as car was originally auto) I will also put the driveshaft on and rock the car back and forth to unlock the gearbox, or try starting it and driving it down the road. Will this work???

Has anyone else had this problem and if so was there a solution????

Yours truly frustrated from New Zealand!!!!!

BADSVN2000

some help would be appreciated if you can.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

I think your clutch isn't working.

Broken clutch fork? Slave cyl piston not in line with the pocket on the fork? Wire ring/wedge collar not snapped tightly?

Dave

BADSVN2000

Hey thanks for your advise but I attached the gearbox to the engine outside of the car making sure all was well and I have bled the system. It seems really strange that even when the car is not running that I cannot get it out or into gear apert from the one it is already in. I now have another problem, the engine wont start grrrrrr I had it going the other day but it took ages to start, I have good compression so I guess i need to start with the electrics!!!!! What a nightmare it may be off to get fixed at RX7 Heaven if I cant fix it.

BADSVN2000

Ok I have managed to get the engine going (roughly, but going) and when idling at 1500rpm the speedo is reading 20kph (12.4mph) and when I push the clutch in it drops to zero so I am guessing the clutch is working fine. Any other suggestions?

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

Well if it won't shift standing still and with the engine off, then I agree it's the gearbox. No way to predict really except to open it up. Hopefully it's in the selector forks, which are the easiest parts to change.

Dave

sereneseven

If I've got this right right heres what I think is going on

I think the 5th/reverse shift rod has over thrown itself when it was shifted out of gear...this can happen if you have the shifter off the case and use your fingers to select gears on the bench using the selectorshaft. if this is the case this will leave the shifter stuck in the N gate of 1,2,3,4 but not allow you to select anygears or get into the 5th/rev N gate.

If this is the case you need to pull the trans. pan off and push the 5th/rev shift rod toward the rear of the case..it should pop into N thus allowing you to select the gears with the selector shaft.

BADSVN2000

So I have to pull it out of the car and pull the oil pan off to fix the prob?? Can I not just jack the car up high and pull the pan off and adjust from underneath or will the clutch interfere with everything?

I am pulling the diff out over the weekend to replace with a manual one as the car used to be an auto but now fully manual transmission.

Thank you for your help

sereneseven

you can do it in the car. jack the car up, remove transmission pan, you will see the shift rods towards the top of the box above the mainshaft gears on the dirvers side. the 5th/rev rod is the closet to the botttom of the box and has a coil spring around it which pushes against a c-clip on the rail and the intermediate housing plate...this is the shaft which is probably stuck in gear, you need to push it towards the rear with you fingers or a small pry bar, it should pop into a detent with about 1/2" of travel, once this is done you should be able to move the shifter into all gates and select the gears.

BADSVN2000

Ok cool I will do that this weekend or today if I dont get too busy. Thank you so much for your help I really appreciate it!!!! I will be sure to let you know how I get on. Oh and one more little thing, does it matter if the gear stick is in or out because it is in the gearbox at the mo but easy to unbolt.

sereneseven

the shifter can stay in since the selector shaft rests in the 3/4 rail....however if there is any noticiable free play in the shifter you may wish to remove it and make sure that the plastic bushing that snap's around the shifter and locates it in the selector shaft is still in place and in good condition....sometimes if this bushing is broken or left out it can lead to the scenario which i believe you are incountering currently. good luck

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

sereneseven is exactly right. Try it as he says.

BADSVN2000

Ok so I pulled the oil pan off and pushed that lower rod back, gear stick still wouldnt do its job. I have taken some pics so it might be easier to explain what I need to do. Can you tell me if you can see anything wrong here?

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

You pushed it too far. It was in reverse, now it's in 5th gear. Click it forward one notch and it will be in neutral like it's supposed to be.

Dave

BADSVN2000

Wow, something so simple was doing my head in!!!!

Thankyou dave for your help, it really means alot!
I clicked it back one notch and her presto the gear lever would shift!!!

I have now re-assembled it and all gears shift fine (i wonder if this clicked out of place in transit, being from a wrecker?) and I cleaned all the gunk off the oil pan before re-fitting. I noticed when I was cleaning it that it had some metal attached to the magnet inside the oil pan and when cleaning off there were what looks like some small teeth, is this normal? prob only about 3 tiny bits but just thought I should check none the less. If it is not good I will get the gearbox changed with another second hand one.

Thanks again for all of your help!!!

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

From what I could see inside that tranny it all looks pretty good.

I could see some wear on the shifting teeth of 3rd gear, but nothing really bad.

Dave