I'm Getting Stuck In Gear

Old Fogey UK
Old Fogey UK Expert Adviser
edited October 2012 in HUDSON
I took my '34 for its safety inspection this morning but it jammed in gear on the way.
The only way I could get it out of gear was to stop the motor and rock the car back and forth.
As soon as I selected gear again - and that involved me forcing the lever with loud graunching noises - it stuck there. Once in gear, I couldn't get it out of gear again without stopping the motor and rocking the car.
It's as though I can't get the clutch pedal to move far enough to permit a shift - although the pedal goes right down to the floor.
I tried adjusting the clutch pedal travel by removing the clevis pin at the bottom of the linkeage and screwing the yoke up and down the threaded rod. This makes no difference because no matter which way I move the yoke up and down the rod, there's only one position in which I can get the clevis pin through the holes in the yoke and the pivot, so adjustment doesn't actually achieve anything.
I then took the selector lock off in case that was the problem (that was a fun job at the roadside in the pouring rain !) but that made no difference either.
I eventually managed to get the car home in high gear (an "interesting" journey !) and it's now on the street outside my house waiting for my neighbor to come home from work and help me push it up the driveway and into my garage....
Any suggestions as to what I can do to sort this problem out, please ?

Comments

  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    I'm not sure what you mean by "selector lock", but as you may know there are two vertical bars, on opposite sides of the transmission, that keep the car in gear until the clutch pedal is pressed down. (Did you perhaps mean these bars?) They can get out of adjustment, and if they do it doesn't matter how far you press the clutch pedal down, you cannot change gears.

    Each is adjusted quite simply, from beneath the car, but turning a nut and a lock nut, but it's a simpler operation if an assistant is sitting in the drivers with foot on clutch pedal, ready to engage the clutch at your bidding.
  • Old Fogey UK
    Old Fogey UK Expert Adviser
    I've only got one of these selector lock bars on the left hand side of the gearbox, Jon. there isn't a bracket on the other side to take one (my car is a LTS series, so perhaps it was only supposed to have one bar). I thought I'd got it adjusted right.
    Even with the assembly removed, I still can't shift gears. All I can do to move the car is rock it out of gear, engage a gear, start the engine, move, stop the engine, rock the car out of gear again. I've managed to put it away in the garage, so the immediate panic is over.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Is it possible the clutch is not releasing causuing the gears to clash?
    Roger
  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    It's odd that this should happen all of a sudden. Was there no warning during the past few weeks or months?

    Is it possible that something suddenly got wedged in between the carpet and the metal toeboard, just under the clutch pedal, limiting the clutch pedal travel? Possibly a small hedgehog has taken up residence there?
  • lostmind
    lostmind Expert Adviser
    Lets start with: does the clutch pedal feel normal when you push it done,
    Normal resistance? Sounds like you sheared a pin in the cross fork.
  • Old Fogey UK
    Old Fogey UK Expert Adviser
    I haven't used the car much since I finished the restoration. It's never been particularly easy to select gear but it got worse in the last week or two.
    I can't get the clutch pedal to adjust to 1 1/2 inches of the toe board like it says in the Procedure Manual - it sits at about 2 1/2 inches away. There isn't much resistance when I put the pedal down and it doesn't move the two lugs on the side of the transmission casing very far even when I put it right down to the floor.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Well theres your problem, the clutch has to release to let the gears stop moving. Otherwise you are going to have power on the tranny and wont beable to opperate it. As far as WHY this cant be adjusted that is hard to say. If its a cork clutch that was not pressed right and id too "Thick" that could explain it.Im not real familiar with the adjustment on one that old. Perhaps someone else can help there . But it sounds like the clutch is not disengaging to me,
    Roger
  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    When did you last refill the Hudsonite? Have you noticed a large puddle of oil under the flywheel, perchance?
  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor
    Check the pin that holds the operating arm to the shaft. Could be broken off.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    David, I agree with Ken U & Geoff C, it sounds like like the 2 taper pins that secure the clutch
    fork to the shaft are either extremely worn or may have fallen out altogether. From what you describe, it sounds like the clutch is not releasing.

    Let me know if you need an exploded view - I seem to recall this being in the Mech Proc Manual and can scan and send to you if needed.

    Jim
  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    The broken pin is a definite possibility and would explain the suddenness of the problem.

    Yet Fogey said that the problem had gotten worse in the last week or two. A broken pin is a case of works - doesn't work. Not a problem that gets gradually worse. Plus, Fogey says that the clutch pedal "doesn't move the two lugs on the side of the transmission casing very far even when I put it right down to the floor."

    The snapped pins would be within the bellhousing, correct? If so, all the linkages outside the bellhousing would operate normally between the clutch pedal and the bellhousing. Would they not? Yet Fogey says he cannot get a proper adjustment at the toe board. If the pins were sheared in the throwout fork, Fogey should be able to adjust things correctly to his heart's content, shouldn't he? (The adjustment would still do him no good....but he should be able to achieve it.)

    So I'm thinking that maybe the problem is between the clutch and the bellhousing.

    Fogey, do you know those two round rubber pads at the clutch linkage nearest the transmission? (Don't know the name of the part) Might one or both of these have fallen out or gotten worn, so that there is extra movement there?
  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor
    What usually happens is the pin shears off leaving a sharp stump, and this partially actuates the mechanism. Whatever, get under the car, and have someone depress the clutch pedal, and visually check the yoke and shaft and see if there is any discrepancy in the movement. Also check that it is not just the rubber pad fallen out. There are two rubber pads, top and bottom, to act as a cushion between the levers, and if these fall out you finish up with less movement.
  • Old Fogey UK
    Old Fogey UK Expert Adviser
    I haven't noticed a Hudsonite puddle under the car. I'll empty the clutch and measure how much comes out.
    The pivot on the outside of the transmission case is only moving forward about 1/2 inch or so when I push the clutch pedal right down. I'm taking the floor out tomorrow night to get a better look at things and will update you on what I find. If there's nothing obvious externally, I'll take the transmission out and post some pics of the innards of the clutch mechanism.
    Thanks for everyone's help so far.
    David.

    (Geoff - the car's a 1934, so no rubber pads)
  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor
    Okay, you have rollers instead of pads. I suspect the pin broken. Check that before you take anything to pieces. Unfortunately you have to take the bell housing off to fix that usually. Been there, done that!
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