Changing gear linkage without lowering gearbox - s14

[FEP]

For anyone who needs to change the gear linkage on an S14 engine, I can confirm that it is possible to do without removing exhaust/driveshaft/lowering the gearbox.

Don't expect to have a lot of fun, especially if, you're lying under the car and it rains on and off! Took me about two and a half hours of fiddling and I got a wet arse.

Even with a breaker bar, I couldn't get the giubo bolts to move, so decided to do it the hard way.

First challenge, is getting the tensioner bush or clip that keeps the pin in place on the front connection joint off.

You have to manoeuvre the old style metal clip round so that you can see the slight gap where the ends meet. Two long screwdrivers and lots of cursing later, the thing slid back a bit out of its recess and could then easily be pushed out of the way.

Couldn't think of any way of pushing the pin downwards, as there is no room above because of the front mounting for the arm that holds the shift lever is in the way.

I wasn't planning on changing the rubber bush in the front of that arm but it had to come off anyway so that I could get the pin out. It's relatively easy to get a socket on the two bolt heads that hold the mounting bracket to the gearbox (this is different than on the M20 engines) and I spent a while turning the bolt that I assumed was threaded into the gearbox only to then realize that the bolts go through quite long holes and are secured by nuts way back where you can't remotely see them and you can only get a hand to them by getting exactly the right angle of attack - this involves swivelling around by 180 degrees on your back to do the other nut.

I used a ratcheting spanner, that has a head that swivels to hold them - no way a socket or regular spanner is going to fit in there.

Once you get the bracket off, it and the whole arm can be twisted down to the side. At the other end its a sliding fit in the rubber bush that supports it, but it wont come all the way out and getting the rear bracket off would really need at least the exhaust heat shield to come off.

Now you can push the pin in the front joint upwards and let it fall - quite possibly into the middle of the giubo , to come out as ground steel over the next 100 miles!

The little foam/rubber bush that sits inside the joint was missing on mine - which probably explains why the gear stick had an annoying vibration which was the inspiration to do the job.

When you reassemble the joint onto the selector rod that comes out of the gearbox (don't forget to change the oil seal on that rod - I did so I can't tell you how easy or hard that would have been to do!) it has to be pushed on quite hard to compress the foam/rubber bush to allow the pin to be slid up into place. With one hand holding the long screwdriver to push the pin up, I had no where nearly enough access or strength with my other arm to push the joint on sufficiently hard enough.

I needed to rig up some kind of lever system I thought, to allow me to apply enough pressure. Spent a few moments experimenting with various lengths of screwdriver and big spanners, before realising that I was in the process of fitting just such a lever system. Doh!

Fitted the rest of the gear change components (see other threads / wiki for general guidance) and then summoned the memsaab to come and practice her gearchanging technique!

First thing that happens, as assistant applies forward pressure on the front joint, by pulling the lever back, is that the selector rod clicks forward into the neutral position and then into the 1st/3rd/5th position (assuming dogleg gearbox). With the rod fully pushed in, you don't have sufficient room to insert the pin.

I used large self gripping pliers and a screwdriver as a lever to pull the selector rod back out and try again.

You have to get exactly the right degree of tension being pulled back on the lever AND have it in just the right spot left and right as well. You can see the pin and the hole fairly well from your spot underneath and you can reach up and rock/wiggle the joint a little as well to help. It was quite hard and the pin fell into the giubo a couple of times at which point I may have said some bad words! You then push it back out with a long thin screwdriver and it drops into your eye. Just as I got to the point of thinking that the gearbox was going to have to come down after all, it went in.

From there it's easy to slip the old style tensioner bush or new style tension ring in place to hold the pin in place and realise that all that's left is to refit the gearlever rubber gromet, gaiter and nob and retire to the drawing room for a cup of earl grey.

Turns out the lever still vibrates a little (grrrgh!) but seems that its the nob which I hope a bit of strategically placed tape wrapped around the lever will fix.

If you're inspired to try it - good luck.

[daimlerman]

This job takes less than ten minutes with the engine and 'box on the garage floor!

But well done!

[Rav335uk]

I've done mine without removing the gearbox.

[FEP]

I've done mine without removing the gearbox.

Did you disconnect the driveshaft / lower the box a bit?

[Rav335uk]

No,
I left all that in situ and worked round it, it was very tight, but doable.