Morning all: I finally got around to the project to replace the seal / o-ring and bellows on my 1990 TR.. Tired of that puddle on my floor. (There is a very old, 10 year? thread here on that project). One item that was missing was how to get that shaft forward and out; that wasn't on the thread and I got the bright idea to remove the threaded shift rod forward of the trans which then allowed me to slide it forward and out! Now, no leak! Took the time to fix other leaks too, oil pan gasket etc. Floor is dry.... But, of course, this means I had to reconnect and align everything; for a while, shifting into second gear put it into reverse again (!) but a very slight rotation made that work. Now, when at slow speed, 1st to 2nd is smooth. But, if moving forward more quickly from 1st to 2nd, it will grind. Now, 2nd was always a bit clunky until everything is warm. My question is; if the alignment is correct and 2nd engages when slow, why would it be different if moving forward a little more quickly? Is this still an alignment issue on the shaft and shift? I am trying to picture the inside but it doesn't make sense? I don't think it is the same issue as before as it does engage into 2nd. I can try to adjust a bit more and see, and I will, but if anyone has a bright idea I'd love to hear it. ( I do have, but didn't yet install, a new bushing at the connection there... I've heard that might cause sloppy shifts but I don't get that in other gears?... I don't want to change two things at once, that might not be best idea..) (by the way, I tried this a while ago ... you can see my posts on the original thread... but never figured out how to get the rod forward.)
When shifting very quickly there is typically some degree of adrenaline involved and it is simply a fact of life that we do it differently. Most will tend to just shove the shifter diagonally from 1-2. My test when adjusting, with engine off, wheels off ground , clutch pushed down I can as fast as I can move the lever shift 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 with no hitches. It just glides from one to the other. If it passes that test I have yet to experience one that does not shift well on the road assuming good oill and good syncros.
Yep, did that too and it was smooth (although the first time, it was sliding into REVERSE instead of 2nd but I didn't know it). On the road, 1st to 2nd was rewarded with a grind (I didn't force it of course) and when I tried 2nd, it went in reverse. This made perfect sense to me based on what I saw inside the box and the position of the shift 'finger', so a slight (2 or 3 degree) rotation of the shift rod rewarded me with 2nd gear. But what doesn't make sense now is that I am getting a grind when the car is moving more than 'slowly' when I shift ( < 10 mph lets say). ... why would it work perfectly at 5 mph but not 10 mph.... 2nd at the slow speed but reverse when going faster... I saw another thread here just now on a similar issue; maybe I will set it in second, adjust the rod "ever so slightly" in what I consider to be the correct direction (clockwise if I was looking DOWN on the rod from above), and see if that helps.
It really helps to put a scribe line on it. When the nuts are loosened or tightened the shaft turns. A carefully done scribe line gives a reference to how much and where it really moved. Make small adjustments. Reverse has a syncro so it shouldn't be that. I also assume it did not grind before. Sometimes I get it rotated until a quick shift to 4 end up in never never land with no gear, then adjust back just until 4 is really good, cannot make it miss 4 then 2nd will be better. As a final test run engine wheels well clear of floor. Keep a sort of steady RPM and quickly select each gear. Watch speedo rise and drop with each selection. For a reverse check you need to stick your head out to see wheel going backwards.
Well, might be too late for the scribe line, but I did mark with some paint prior to moving anything. Not as good as scribe for sure, that is for next time. Also counted number of threads visible so that is the same. No grind before but 2nd was stiff to get into until warmed up. Did the off floor check and was ok ( have a lift so that is easy), but then again didn't have speed up when I went 1st to 2nd so that is a great idea for test. Will do later this week and report back... gotta pay the bills.
It makes zero difference where line is now. Take it off and use scribe line. You want a reference of movement going forward. The line you put on before obviously did no good.
