Help! -- '85 Mondial Cab stuck in gear ! | FerrariChat
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Help! -- '85 Mondial Cab stuck in gear !

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by Geoman54, Jul 2, 2007.

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  1. Geoman54

    Geoman54 Karting

    Jun 12, 2007
    50
    Northern California
    Full Name:
    Michael McLaughlin
    #1 Geoman54, Jul 2, 2007
    Today I was about to leave a parking lot and moved the gear lever to the reverse postion. Well... the two screws holding the shift gate plate popped out, the shift gate moved out of its normal position, and when I tried to move the gear lever to any other postion, it would not budge. It is stuck in 1st gear, even though by looking at the lever postion, it is sitting where reverse should be. So I limped it home on back streets in first gear.

    I'm wondering if the end of the shift lever resides (below the mono-ball) in a shift rod. And maybe when the shift gate detached itself and allowed the lever to move further forward than normal this shift rod came out of a forward-locating bush --- or something. If so, it would make sense that I cannot draw the shift lever back at all (as it will not pivot rearward on the monoball), and so the shift rod has come out of its guide bush and the rod can no longer move forward.

    Anyone have any expereince in this area?. I could kick myself for not addressing the loose shift gate hold-down screws earlier. It looks like I may have to install heli-coil inserts now as the screw threads are all buggered up.

    Thanks in advance for any comments.

    regards,
    Geoman54
     
  2. dakharris

    dakharris Two Time F1 World Champ

    Jun 7, 2001
    29,441
    Sleepy Hollow
    Full Name:
    Cavaliere Senzatesta
    #2 dakharris, Jul 3, 2007
    When it happened to me, I got stuck in second gear. How lucky! It's very likely your shifting forks that are out of alignment. If you have a shop manual, the procedure is spelled out there. It's also possible that the rubber seal to the transmission linkage is shot. That can be fixed by loosening up a few bolts and installing a new seal. Not the end of the world. In any event, it's probably not that decorative piece of gated hardware in the cockpit causing your problems.
     
  3. Geoman54

    Geoman54 Karting

    Jun 12, 2007
    50
    Northern California
    Full Name:
    Michael McLaughlin
    #3 Geoman54, Jul 3, 2007
    Thanks for your quick response. I'm pretty sure I had some good fortune tonight.


    ........after having the advantage of using reason in a calmer environment (my garage vs. a buzy parking lot) I "visualized" this possibility of the shift rod having lost its home in a forward locating bush/bore. I started gently moving the shift lever through combinations of X, Y, and Z, and after a minute....presto!....it popped back into place. I then dropped the shift gate back over the lever and holding it in place with one hand -- I carefully moved the shift lever through all the gear locations, and it feels firm and positive --clicking firmly into position as before this whole thing happened.

    Using a magnifying glass and bright light I now see that the original threaded holes that hold the plate are all messed up. I'm gonna have to drill them oversize and fit the heli-coils. And for good measure I plan on using stainless-steel allen head screws to hold down the plate. I didn't like the look of the phillips head originals anyhow.

    Whew!
     

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