gear shifting trouble...

1) Was the trans fluid cold? You must be careful with the Dino transaxle while it is warming up to operating temperature.
2) When was the last time the fluid level was checked?


ADDED:

The trans fluid access for filling is the plug in the first two photos here:
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=221087
When filling the fluid will be full when it starts to dribble out.

To check the level, there is no dipstick, you must remove the fill plug and see if the fluid level is at the point of overflowing. If not stick your finger in there and see how far below the fluid sits.


What type of fluid was used? For these synchros I believe Swepco 201 or RedLine 75-90NS are the best.

 

I presume this horrible grinding sound is occurring with the car stopped and the clutch fully depressed.
That should not be happening if the clutch is fully disengaging.
I'm not sure why it isn't happening in the other gears, but one possibility would be a clutch cable that is failing-- when some of the fibers are broken the cable will stretch and not fully disengage the clutch.

Another possibility would be that the gear linkage is not adjusted properly-- reverse and first are both in the far left plane. That might explain why they are the only two gears affected.

 

Phil- come & see me...two Dino's two lifts....an hour away!

 

Clutch is not fully disengaging. Bet a beer at Tom C's house next time in Connecticut. Not the cable - no fibers to stretch. Dino clutch cables are binary - either good or broken...nothing in the middle. Pressure plate worn or simply needs adjustment at the release (throw-out) bearing lever. Loosen the two lock nuts on the adjustment rod (one is left-hand thread, the other right-hand thread). Lengthen rod. End of story.

Jim S.

 

I wouldn't shift into first or reverse unless the car was stopped.

Well, maybe down to first it it was warm and I was going 3 MPH.

Sometimes reverse is easier if you blip the throttle just a bit and let it fall in at the RPM it likes best.

 

And for all those previous owners who worry about the care of their "baby", we thank you.

D

 

Fixing the door latch is considerably simpler than fixing the gears.

It's a cable assembly.

Are you really only able to enter through the window, or are you yanking our collective chains?

DM

 

Phil - sorry to be so cryptic. The same discussion arose on the Boxer section and I went into the subject in some detail. All Ferrari rear-mounted transaxles suffer the same issue. Shifting into 2nd gear is problematic when everything is working well.

The synchro ring (in any synchromesh transmission) acts as a clutch to slow the input shaft while the selected gear speeds up, all in an effort to match the gear speeds for mating. The ring is a friction device. Cold transmission oil will make the synchronization of the rotational speeds more difficult, as the greater viscosity makes it more difficult to increase the speed of one shaft while at the same time it brakes (slows) the rotation of the other gear in a much more pronounced way. The synchro ring must work harder to synchronize these two elements.

Shifting depends on slowing of the input shaft. If the clutch is still engaged (even to a limited extent), then the synchro ring must speed up the mating gear that much more. Thus, when you have difficulty getting into first or reverse while at rest, you, as have many, noted that by touching another gear it makes it easier to go back and get into 1st or reverse. What you are doing is using other gear synchronizers to slow the main shaft, and then slipping it into the desired 1st or reverse. In fact, blipping the throttle makes the situation worse (by increasing the speed of the input shaft).

I suspect that you will notice the following: On level ground, when shifting into 1st or reverse, you will witness the car moving slightly (with the clutch fully depressed). If you do not experience this then you might witness the analogous event when the car is on a lift and you do the same thing. The wheels will turn when entering gear. Of course, the wheels will turn slowly when in neutral with the clutch up, but you can stop this with your hands. When in gear, however, with the clutch depressed, they should not turn, or you should be able to stop them with your hands. If your clutch is dragging, you will have difficulty braking the wheels with your hands.

The clutch will drag as a result one or two issues (or both). First, if the adjustment lever at the release bearing is not properly lengthened, then you simply are not getting full linear motion of the release bearing. This is easy to fix with adjustment of the length of the rod driving the release bearing (at the bell housing). The second issue is that the pressure plate is worn such that the "fingers" either have a groove worn into them or the surface is worn. This change in geometry will inhibit disingagement of the clutch.

I have had to adjust my release bearing rod length many times over the years, and it will solve the problem for a while. It does represent, however, a slow wearing of the pressure plate. By the way, wear of the clutch surface will manifest itself in the opposite problem...clutch slippage under torque.

Tom will explain all of this to you. It is an easy fix, but do pay attention to the right-hand left-hand threads on the adjustment rod.

Jim S.

 

Incredible, Jim. What a great, succint, detailed explanation. My utmost respect for your knowledge. (Now, I only have to decipher what this all means). Wonderful post. w/ smiles Jimmy

 

Phil.

Probably just a matter of attaching the cable back to the latch and to the spindle that attaches to the handle.

you have to take the inner door panel off, but after that all you really have to do is replicate the drawing in the parts book. You may be missing some odds and ends to do it, but only way to determine that is by popping the inner door panel off.

Removing the door panel requires the removal of the door pocket. Two screw as I recall, and the fascia around the door pull, again two screws, one is hiding under the handle. Unscrew the door lock pull and remove it. Then take all the door panel screws off. don't lose em, you're gonna need them later. The panel has some clips that hold it in place. Slide the door panel up, and off she'll come.

then dig around for the cable, it's probably there, look at the parts diagram, and seeif you can re-attach the cable.

There's probably a thread here somewhere.

Dave M

 

Mine stopped working recently and I found the cable had snapped.
I replaced it with some bicycle brake cable I had.

 

My body man has adjusted my door cables in the past. It's just a matter of removing the slack in the cables, I guess. Once adjusted, they seem to stay that way. Good luck with it! Fred