Morris Minor Owners Club

picked up a cheap 1275 gearbox on ebay and having some trouble with it. I am using the remote control unit from a 1098 gearbox, maybe this has something to do with it. 2nd gear is the only gear that appears to work, if any other gear is selected then the input shaft refuses to turn in either direction. it does turn slightly but only taking up the slack in the gears, it wont turn more than a few degrees. also i cant find any gearstick position which is neutral - turning the input shaft in neutral and the output turns also. any suggestions? i was thinking that the baulk ring selectors might be out of alignment with each other and selecting more than one gear at a time.

Picky

First off - remove the remote control (to eliminate it from the equation) - and try selecting the gears directly. If it now works ok then it's something to do with the remote - or how it has been fitted. Hopefully it's just that the baulk rings have 'stuck' into one or more of the gears - if it's still not working take the side cover off (watch out for two little springs) and you can then see directly what's going on.

i guess if the 2nd gear is permanently selected then that would explain it jamming in every other gear... I will take the side cover off tomorrow and have a look. Im wondering if there is anything I can do with the gearbox to make it cope with increased power - I reckon it will be ok with the new engine at cruising speeds but one day Im going to hoof it and all the teeth will shed off whichever gear im in or maybe the universal joints will snap... not sure where the weak point will be.

Weakest gear is First Gear - (actually reverse is even worse) - so don't boot it in first!

Im wondering if there is anything I can do with the gearbox to make it cope with increased power - I reckon it will be ok with the new engine at cruising speeds but one day Im going to hoof it and all the teeth will shed off whichever gear im in

What engine are you putting in?

If its standard 1275 don't worry. I thrash the pants off mine and its still on standard 1098 box and running gear. I drop the clutch, red-line it and regularly go the wrong side of the national speed limit. The car takes it all in its stride.

turns out it just needed a bit of oil! there was no oil in the box at all, and some surface rust on the gears. squirted a bit of oil in there and now it turns fine in all gears. but there is a spring washer on one of the selecting rods, looks like it is being used as a spacer... doesnt look very professional to me. Im a bit disappointed because not only was the remote control missing, so is part of the speedo drive so i will have to take parts from the 1098 box and see if they fit ok.

dunketh, i am fitting a 1275 engine with supercharger and intercooler so should put out more torque than standard (well thats the idea anyway ) but if you are giving the 1098 box a beating with a 1275 that makes me feel more confident about the 1275 box. I should really be saving up for a sierra conversion though as I could get one from a 2.8l capri. on holiday from tomorrow so i will be accessing the site from my phone and the screen is quite small!!

Picky

I'm on my second / third marina box, the engine came with a knackered one so i changed that to another which seemed fine then failed in reverse, then first (was fun getting car from Sheffield to my parents house in Cumbria). I now have a reconditioned box, which when fitting i found was a later box from a B series engine, this is supposed to be stronger and has a larger spline on the input shaft so just required a different clutch plate. It now works very well, but has slightly different ratios. I have a moderately tuned 1275 which goes well, but is getting a little tired and so i now have a 1.6 xflow and type 9 box at my parents house ready to get fitted in the summer.