Boxer gearbox won't go into gear when stopped

Just to be clear about “won’t go into any gear” do you mean the lever refuses to go far enough to engage? If so my first thought is clutch dragging.

 

Will it go into gear when the engine is off?

If yes, put the rear of the car on jack stands (block front wheels) and see if the wheels turn when the transmission is in gear with the clutch depressed.

 

I agree to alan´s statement: clutch problem
so when you push the clutch pedal you feel resistance? and if you push several times behind the resistance always is at the same level? if not then there is still some air in the system.
but I think the clutch alignment itself with the 2 discs is not ok

 

Just another observation:

I had a weird deal like this which turned out to be the little rubber seal on the clutch master <~> reservoir connection. I was fearing the worst , but was an ez fix, thankfully!

 

have been lucky

 

Like Joe said, could be air. With the double disc clutch a slight dragging of either of the discs can cause that, so can a bad pilot bearing. Also if one of the discs is binding slightly on the input shaft splines can cause it as well. Many do not know those are supposed to be lightly lubricated when assembled to prevent that.

 

important ! ! !

 

While it is apart put a pilot bearing in it, they are cheap. And lightly lube the clutch shaft splines.

 

Grease in a clutch housing can splatter and the remaining grease collects friction material that binds into an abrasive clump of crud.

Try this lube - goes on wet and dries hard:
https://www.dupont.com/products/molykote-d-321-r-anti-friction-coating-spray.html

Just like a teflon coated pan.


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Well we have been doing it since the 20's and no problem so far.

Do you know something the rest of the automotive world does not?

 

Get a can. Try it. It was originally developed for aerospace applications where grease vaporizes without atmospheric pressure.

https://www.amazon.com/MOLYKOTE-D-321-Film-Lubricant-AEROSOL/dp/B07PT26JHL/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Molykote&qid=1622575301&sr=8-2

Yes, it will even work on your daily driver.
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Why in the world change from a product performing perfectly for 100 years?

 

And it just simply does not do what you warned of. Right now, I have a 31 year old TR sitting here with a worn out clutch and a perfectly clean and lightly lubricated clutch shaft. I am the first human to see it since it was assembled in Maranello.

Read up on "Centrifugal force". Clutch shafts stay clean in normal operation.

 

YMMV

 

sorry for asking:
what means this shortcut?

same as: never touch a running system

 

Your Mileage May Vary.... to recognize different experiences

 

Notice the pic of the splines. All of the grease was ‘splattered’ off during use and went right into the clutch plate assembly... NOT into the bell housing. Splattered due to (as Brian correctly noted) the centrifugal forces at play. The WORST possible place any grease could go. As Brian noted, after use they are ‘perfectly clean’. Yup... the grease is coating the clutch plates.

A hard surface coating will not splatter.

In my younger days at Electramotive (while getting my BSME), we used a similar, baked on version of Molykote on piston skirts. It worked very well. The newer, spray on version ought to perform well on splines. To be fair, the compressive forces on the splines may be too much for the coating. Hard to tell... I have no hard data on the spline loading and have not seen it in this application, but believe it is worth trying.

As an aside, the guys at Electramotive were incredibly brilliant folks.... I was just a kid, but learned a lot. Drinking thru a fire hose, for sure. Sorry to digress, but I miss those days and those people.

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https://www.dupont.com/content/dam/dupont/amer/us/en/transportation-industrial/public/documents/en/MOLYKOTE%20D-321%20R%20Anti-Friction%2071-0219G-01.pdf

 

Are we hearing it may be an inconsistent condition?

Based on your description (e.g. you're getting 20mm of throw), I would consider these three areas which could "hang up" your clutch... besides inadequate spline lubrication they include:
1- A rivet or delamination on part of one of the two clutch disks (which could be temperature sensitive)
2- A pressure plate finger or spring failure, causing non-planar/axial movement of the pressure plate surface
3- A failure of one of the intermediate plate (between the two disks) holding fingers, this would also cause a non-planar/axial issue

I replaced my 1983 BBi clutch a couple of decades ago, so I may be a little rusty.
v/r Paul

 

My 'dragging' clutch, after removing the drop gear box 6 times, turned out to be in the pedal box area. Someone replaced the Ferrari clevis pin with a threaded bolt, and that smaller diameter (even though it was so small) would not let the clutch fully release. May be worth looking under the dash and see if the clutch pedal, linkage and rods have any excess play/slop in them.

Just another perspective...mine was on a TR and service history WAS known but you can't count on it being fully accurate. Doesn't cost anything to look in there.

Hope that helps or at least eliminates things for you!
Cassidy

 

I think the Model T had a twin disc clutch with paddle shift if I'm not mistaken.

 

Goes to show that dealer maintained cars are not what you always expect.