Mondial is not letting me into gear during long drives

What gear oil are you using??

 

well that goes that teory out the window....I had the same problem with my GT4 but only in 1st gear after the car would warm up..I replaced the gear oil with redline and all was good..

 

That's an intriguing problem and I'm curious as to what the cure will be.

I had a TR-8 with the same issue; turned out that the transmission fluid was low and it wasn't upgraded to ATF as per the factory. Thus, the trans was overheating.

So, how's the temps reading and is the fluid low warning circuit working as well?

 

Same thing happened to me. 86 Mondial Cab. I'm not a mechanic, so I might not explain it too well. My mechanic found it during my 30K service. There's a seal of some sort (I think 2 actually) that keeps the trans fluid appart from I think the engine oil. And there's a visual inspection port to see if the trans fluid is clear or not. Apparently engine oil can mix with the trans fluid if the seal is bad. And I think it happens at first when the seal starts to go and the cars been driving for awhile and the trans fluid is hot. That's the exact syptom I had and it's gone now. My trans fluid was really dark. Good luck and let me know if this makes any sense at all............Lou

 

Not sure on a Mondial, does the clutch use brake fluid for operation like in the TR.. if so maybe your brake fluid is boiling and causing your clutch to fade.. I had a problem in my Testarossa that when she got hot or was running on a hot day it felt like the clutch was fading.. turns out fluid was boiling causing this.. Sometimes there are some things that are in the vacinity of the clutch fluid line that adds heat causing it to boil easier.. Just a thought.. As I said I am not sure if the clutch fluid works off the brake master cylinder / resovoir.. does not hurt to flush out your fluid and replace with some top quality brake fluid and check your fluid lines going to the clutch..

R

 

Joe, my guess would be that your shifting issue is related to heat (not mileage). I can't recall if the shift linkage on a 3.2 mondial has a rubber link in it - if it does then it's very possible that the rubber warms up and becomes more pliable....and less able to positively locate the shifting. In other words, you shifting adjustment may be marginal when cold....but get worse as the car (ie. the rubber link) gets warmer and less able to locate the forks properly.

I'd recommend you (or your mechanic) going through the shift linkage adjustment procedure very meticulously for a first step. I'd bet that'll solve it.

Good luck!

 

Just checked my receipt. One of 2 things.....

1: The seals I was referring too earlier. Both were replaced in mine and were hard as rocks. Shift shaft seals....he charged parts $29.10 apiece

2: Clutch Slave Cylinder He charged 1/2 labor and the part was $350.

My car did what your describing. After driving an hour or so, very hard to downshift....if not impossible. Also hard to shift other gears. After cooling it was fine...

I hope this helps.............Lou

 

Brake/clutch fluid issue is interesting, maybe Dot 4 if you are using Dot 3? Relatively cheap to do and with the convertible maybe bleed through rear seat. Typically that issue is when the clutch is worn but you've addressed that. Weak pressure plate? The pressure plate gets hot and the springs may loose some tension with the heat soak. Did you replace clutch and all related parts at the same time?

 

The whole argument between liquids/water/metals and how much heat they retain is a bit complicated. Water for example, takes much more energy input to raise its temperature (per gram) by 1 deg C of liquid compared to steel....in fact, water has the capacity to hold nearly 10 times as much heat per gram as steel does and about 5 times that of aluminum. So on an equal mass basis, the metals should cool down quicker than the water.

Also, the metals conduct heat much better than water and probably more importantly here, they expand significantly with temperature. Shafts get longer, piston diameters get larger, mis-alignments get more exaggerated etc. To me, this is a long winded way of saying that it sounds like Cliff is on the right track .... i.e. shift linkage is not set up quite right.

To me, a bad pressure plate translates into one that either does not disengage fully or one that does not apply enough pressure to hold the clutch plate in place when engaged. Case one would result in the hard shifting you describe but I would think that you would also experience grinding of gears in concert with the effort. Case two results simply in a slipping clutch plate under power and in reality should make shifting an easier task. A worn out (thin) clutch plate would result in the same behavior.

One additional question that might help diagnose this problem....why was the clutch slave cylinder changed? Was it leaking or did your mechanic change it in response to this problem?

Brock

 

Joe ,


its time to buy a California ...

 

Hey Joe.........I'm feelin' bad for ya man. I truly hope you get the old girl fixed quickly. Summer driving isn't far away.

As for that Cali--------IMHO, it's not the looker that the 458 is but, it ain't no dog - fo sho !!!
I could get in, turn the key and fire up one of the most technologically advanced Ferraris to date. Also, I would be driving a real "head case" - - a car with dual personalities (models)

Good luck with those damn issues.

Hank

 

I'll back you on this and put my money on "end of May".

Best of luck Joe,

Hank

 

Does the Mondi have two rubber links in the shifter like the 308s do? One just in front of the engine where it gets hot and oily and turns the rubber to goo and one just behind the shifter hidden under the center console right next to the radiator lines, so it doesn't get hot enough to cause any problems for at least 100+ miles?

 

While doing those seals will be a great time to replace any rubber in the shifter rod. Good luck and keep us up to date.