Any gearbox tinkerers out there ?

[RedexR]

I am looking at putting a Ford 2000e gearbox back together in the coming months , I have two of them to build one good one out of , one with the magic 23 teeth on 3rd gear so that will be utilised. My problem is one used to jump out of 3rd gear , the other out of 4th gear , will this be down to the bronze coloured baulk rings or is this down to worn selector forks or an adjustment somewhere ? Any pointers to helpful websites etc gratefully welcomed , I am from the "have a go" school of enthusiasts and know this is a very popular gearbox with car builders originally common to the Lotus Elan as well as various old Ford motor cars so the knowledge must be out there somewhere.

[chrisr29]

Wear on the dog gears will mostly likely be the culprit. If the bronze bits have had it then the gears will graunch when you try to engage them. It's the dogs that lock the gears together, if they've worn then the gears wont stay locked together.

Sounds like you've got enough bits to make one good box. Though I'd get the relevant info before I undertake the build if I was you. Need to set it up right else you could just make things worse.

[lotus-types]

I would agree with the previous poster that the engagement of the dogs are the most likely cause but the three springs that put pressure on the selector rods can become weak contributing to jumping out of gear. There is a dimension for the springs but cant remember it off hand and I am not sure it is shown in the Elans gearbox section.
If you want a copy of the Elan gearbox section (in pdf form) then pm me your email address.

[spoodler]

Agree with both the above posts but have not had experience with this particular 'box.
If you've got a logical/methodical approach you won't have any problems with the rebuild but you will need to know some basic spec' from the manual - clearances, wear limits etc. For the sake of the few pounds involved do not reuse any of the springs or circlips. One of the problems I've run into has been with the quality of remanufactured parts so carefully inspect any new bits you may want to fit. I've found some massive variances on "new" synchro' rings(so far out of round that they will not move freely once fitted) and had to prepare them for fitting by filing off excess casting flash.
Other than that gearboxes are lovely things to work with.

[RedexR]

Thanks for those comments , I have found this on the Lotus Elan forums , wear issues on the selector forks that can be adressed -

http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/elan-f14/gearbox-s...

and on inspection I have a wear line going right around mine - (the 3rd to 4th selector) available from the Burtons catalogue for £50 or get the old one brazed and levelled , dog gears don't look too bad , new set of gaskets , bearings and get the fork brazed then , jobs a goodun.

Edited by RedexR on Saturday 21st April 17:05