Morris Minor Owners Club

Having restored the wood on my Traveller I’ve now just been enjoying her for a few weeks. But what gets in the way of that enjoyment is the gear change. Is it just a poor gearbox, or is it worn/old/something else? I’ve no basis for comparison you see as this is my first Moggy.

It doesn’t grind but more scrapes into gear. No gear is great but first is particularly awful most of the time and really does clunk into gear. There’s often a loud…well…clunk is the only way I can describe it, but it feels like I’m having to force my way through other metal to get into gear. No, I’m not moving when using first, ever. I know it has no synchromesh.

It’s worse when properly warmed up. I changed the oil a few weeks ago and filled it with the same as the engine - classic 20w/50.

The only other possibly relevant symptom is that I get really bad judder - whole vehicle shaking sometimes, when reversing, if I don’t properly manage the revs/clutch. But I’m expecting that to be worn mounts and they’re on my list.

Any ideas gratefully received, even if that’s “sorry mate, you need a rebuild”.

It helps to move the gearstick towards 2nd gear before engaging 1st from standstill, this may help. The judder is often caused by a broken/missing of loose retaining wire securing the rear of the gearbox to the crossmember. Clutch adjustment is a consideration also.
You may of course, need that rebuild !

I would start by checking the clutch free play. measured from the top of the pedal to the floor. 0.75" for a 948cc and 1.25" for a 1088cc. If the clutch does not disengage fully then it can make gear change more difficult, Also check the condition of the clutch linkage. The oil would have been my first thought, but you've already done the right thing there.

I'll go back to basics and start with the question... What are you expecting from the gearbox?
What's your past experience of older cars?

It doesn’t grind but more scrapes into gear. No gear is great but first is particularly awful most of the time and really does clunk into gear.

There's no Syncro on First, so it'll always grate and grind if you don't be nice to it.
Basically, never go to First while moving.... unless you're on an incredible steep hill and are about to stall.
Your car is quite late, so at least you can be fairly certain that the engine/GB etc are standard and not been fiddled with over the years, e.g. a mismatch of engine/gb/clutch/backing plate... as people have changed elements.

Thank you all.

I adjusted the free play as part of my first service, but I measured literally the distance that the pedal rubber travelled, from the top until it “hits”, I.e starts to feel resistance. From memory it was 1.5” and I set it to 1.3”. Is my way of measuring it wrong?

I did check the gearbox securing cable, thank you, and also the u bolts around the rear leaf springs. The engine mounts are worn but not hard; I’ve not yet taken off the floor panel to properly check the gearbox mounts. The judder is near the bottom of my list though!

No, you have measured correctly. The free play is the distance between the pedal at rest until resistance is felt.

Great, thanks for clarifying. I checked the measurement again earlier and it's exactly 1.25".

les wrote: ↑Tue Jul 05, 2022 11:20 am It helps to move the gearstick towards 2nd gear before engaging 1st from standstill, this may help. The judder is often caused by a broken/missing of loose retaining wire securing the rear of the gearbox to the crossmember. Clutch adjustment is a consideration also.
You may of course, need that rebuild !

Thanks to Les for that awesome but as is always the case, so simple tip! Moving the gearstick towards second before engaging 1st totally resolves the awful first gear gearchange.

Sounds from other feedback as though the other gears are either just worn, old, or it's just the way it is. I'll drive another Moggy or two in my local club before I start taking the gearbox out for a rebuild though

Thanks to all for the help, as always.