Jump to content

49 P18 transmission problem


808P18

Recommended Posts

Transmission isn’t engaging.

 

Here’s what happened. While warming up in neutral, without doing anything, I hear a large BANG! And it felt like someone shifted hard into first gear. After that, the shifter will shift through all gears but not engage any gears. 
 

There’s no leaks under the car, and when I popped the hood, I couldn’t see anything out of place except there looks to be a spring that’s broken that sits on the steering shaft, is this something that broke and is not preventing the transmission from working? 
 

I don’t know where to start to solve this. Any help would be greatly appreciated! 

F341DB0C-333C-46E6-8E82-4EA7330B4297.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That spring is part of your shifter mechanism.  It being broke probably isn't helping.  If you are going to go to the effort of replacing that spring, and you should, I would suggest you give a very close look at all the bushings and such in your shifter linkages and replace them all since you will be tearing it down pretty far just to replace that spring.  Here's a shot of the relevant drawing in the parts manual.  Fortunately, you do not have to disassemble the steering column to replace it.

 

 

steer.JPG

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Linkage rods and some pivot points have adjustments. Threaded rods, nuts, washers.  Parts will wear, linkages need adjustment periodically.  Rods way out of spec, you may not be able shift at all. Or you may experience partial engagement problems. General wear slop ocurs and the intended full length travel of rods (leading to gears) may not be happening.

Edited by keithb7
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, keithb7 said:

Linkage rods and some pivot points have adjustments. Threaded rods, nuts, washers.  Parts will wear, linkages need adjustment periodically.  Rods way out of spec, you may not be able shift at all. Or you may experience partial engagement problems. General slop happens and the intended full length travel of rods gears may not be happenning.

I just bought this last week, when I did, it only had 1st and reverse. After finding this forum I was able to adjust the shift rod so I could engage 2nd and 3rd. So I completely understand the adjustment pieces as it took going back and forth a bit adjust just one nut, however to have a loud bang and lose shifting without doing anything is what has me stumped. Nothing looks out of ordinary or obviously broken. 
 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where did the "loud bang" come from - what area of the car? Under the hood, under the car....

Knowing that may help in diagnosing what could be the problem.

Also, you might want to try shifting the car into gear by getting under it and disconnect the linkages from the transmission then manually shift through the gears using the part (the bell crank in the illustration above) that the linkage(s) connect to on the transmission. By doing this you bypass the linkage(s). If it engages into the gears then I would suspect linkage issues. If it doesn't engage then I would suspect transmission/other issues

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, joecoozie said:

Where did the "loud bang" come from - what area of the car? Under the hood, under the car....

Knowing that may help in diagnosing what could be the problem.

Also, you might want to try shifting the car into gear by getting under it and disconnect the linkages from the transmission then manually shift through the gears using the part (the bell crank in the illustration above) that the linkage(s) connect to on the transmission. By doing this you bypass the linkage(s). If it engages into the gears then I would suspect linkage issues. If it doesn't engage then I would suspect transmission/other issues

It came from under the car/hood. It was very loud so it was hard to pin point, however my girlfriend came running out of the house as she thought I banged another car to give you an idea of how loud it was. 
 

I’ll start with that linkage inspection process, appreciate the feedback on where to look and diagnose. 

Edited by 808P18
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, kencombs said:

I can’t think of anything that would sound and feel as described when in neutral and idling except the flywheel and clutch area.  Maybe pull the lower cover and have a look?

Thanks for the reply, I haven’t experienced anything like this before, being in neutral should have had it disengaged, but it was something spinning fast  that made contact enough to create that bang and lurch.  I totally understood the not being able to shift into 2 & 3. And was able to fix that just fine. But this baffles me and honestly sounded like the transmission exploded. I expected to see oil all under the but nothing. I just pray it’s not catastrophic! Thanks again! 
 

My manuals are on the way so I can get a better idea of all the transmission parts. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did the car actually move when it banged, or just make noise?  If it moved, the shift lever could have moved somehow pushing one of the sliding elements (low/rev or 2nd/3rd depending on which was selected) into engagement.  And, since it wouldn't go all the way, snapped something.  Is there any possibility that the shift lever or linkage was moved somehow?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, kencombs said:

Did the car actually move when it banged, or just make noise?  If it moved, the shift lever could have moved somehow pushing one of the sliding elements (low/rev or 2nd/3rd depending on which was selected) into engagement.  And, since it wouldn't go all the way, snapped something.  Is there any possibility that the shift lever or linkage was moved somehow?

He did say the car lurched after the banging noise - "bang and lurch" from above post

It doesn't sound (no pun intended) good, like you said

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It closely resembled dropping a revved engine into first. I also know I jumped a little so I can’t be sure how much, that’s as close as I can remember, and my hands were not on the steering wheel or shifter at the time, only my feet on clutch and brake. That’s how I knew it was not engaged at the time. 
 

Worst case scenario, are these transmissions even rebuildable? Or do I have to find an old one?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, 808P18 said:

It closely resembled dropping a revved engine into first. I also know I jumped a little so I can’t be sure how much, that’s as close as I can remember, and my hands were not on the steering wheel or shifter at the time, only my feet on clutch and brake. That’s how I knew it was not engaged at the time. 
 

Worst case scenario, are these transmissions even rebuildable? Or do I have to find an old one?

 

You had your foot depressing the clutch pedal? If so, even it it jumped into gear it shouldn’t have lurched forward. I think it’s time to get under the car and start your inspection with the clutch, then work your way back. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you to everyone for your insight and replies. So far everything looks intact, so I’ll have to remove some covers to look inside. I get the service manuals on Monday so I’ll get it up on stands and see if I can get more info, however with limited knowledge I’ll be looking for obvious damage or broken/out or place parts. 
 

Really appreciate all the feedback, this has been quite frustrating just having bought this and maybe the seller was hiding a transmission problem. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here’s the latest, there’s a new issue now.    
 

The recap - 

 

First time - I started the car, pushed in the clutch, foot on the brake and shifter in neutral. Without anything being touch, I head a loud BANG! and the car lurched forward as if I just popped the clutch. The clutch pedal was pushed in and it was in neutral. When I started it up again, it would rev and shift through the gears but wouldn’t engage.   


 

Second time - I cleaned up the car as best as I could so I could inspect all linkage and areas. 
 

I could not find anything disconnected. 

 

I started the car and took a video to document the second time. I stated the car, clutch in and brake on, same as the last time. Started up fine and when I went into 1st, it revved and then CLUNK, I repeated it three times, I don’t know why, maybe just stubborn. And it was the same result, Rev, Release Clutch, CLANG! It would move maybe an inch each time. Video won’t load cause it’s too large so link is here - 

 

So here I am with a car that won’t engage. Any suggestions? 

 

I want to note that both times, the issues were different, there was no CLANG the first time, it simply revved and wouldn’t engage. 

 

Where should I start next? Thanks in advance!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Terms of Use