Club 80-90 Forums

Hello,

Coming back from Le Mans ,the central support bush (the one above the petrol tank) died...

Causing a very poor gearchange.. and lots of vibrating/rattling noises...

There have been some very good posts on this topic.. and dropping the fuel tank..

So I'll show you some of the stuff I discovered..

Mine is a very early 1600CT.. and there are minor differences to later models...

I did this work over a pit..making life very much easier..

If you are forced to use jacks.. the lift will have to be high enough for the tank restraining straps to clear the ground..

Same for the spare wheel carrier..

So cut the fuel line at the filter and let drain..

Meanwhile identify and mark (Tippex or similar) where the 2 shafts go together..



Then having dropped the spare wheel, undo the 4 10 mm nuts holding the front gear change box..

Then undo the crossbolt at the gear shaft.. 15 mm one end 13 the other.. note the little plastic cups..

Undo the shaft clamp.. and take the 2 part lever out from the front..

So far so good..

However the 'gear linkage bush' (251 711 207D)



Does not fit my early van..the bracket it goes through is only 23 mm dia..whereas (cutaway) the bush supplied is far to big at 28 mm..



So here is my answer..



PER waterpipe..

Inside the front gearchange box, there is (according to the very poor quality illustration in Haynes) a plastic rubbing plate..long gone..

Here is my answer.. (it is on the outside of the box so I can line up to drill holes)



Next bit is to look at the rear linkage where it meets the gearbox..

This is the gearshift rod tube pin



and the bush on the end should look like this..



when I took mine apart, the washer was so worn it had slipped down the tube..

This is the tube..



While you have the pin out, clean the selector nylon blobs, and the gaiter behind..



Assemble with new gaiter.. and do up finger tight..



Push the gaiter back and lock off the pin with 13mm and 19mm spanners



and then seat the ends of the gaiter neatly.. ziplock on the front..



Here is the front assembly in place..



Here is the front box..



To realign the shafts..I do not use the Haynes method..

I engage reverse at the gear box and make sure it is really well in gear, (reversing light comes on).. do the same thing at the front (select reverse and see that the plastic covered fork is properly 'hooked' into the rail.. see above pic..

Should line up with your original marks..

Refitting the tank.. pretty straightforward..I cleaned and repainted mine, together with new piping throughout and a new rubber filler neck (251 201 119D)

My early CT has extra breathers on top of the expansion tanks that finish in these rubber 'trumpets'..(like a T2 pickup)



Here is the tank going into place.. I put those white plastic Y pieces in place first..



But put the breather tubes in via the wheel arches..



One of the tricky bits is to get the new locking ring and filler neck to line up with the outer ring..as the screws are only just long enough..

So I fitted the bottom screws without the outer ring to get the location and then found a longer self tapper to fit the top hole via the outer ring,..

remove the bottom screws.. (hence the long top one)..and fit to finish.

I used Silicone grease throughout for the linkage and to 'ease on' the rubber tubes..

I am most pleased with the result...vast improvement...

Cordialement,

I'm all for this approach to solving problems as you probably know Sarran. Will WIKI it for you when I have a chance. I always tend to muse over repairs and see if I can't use something to hand rather than simply buy something off the shelf. This is particularly true when you're working with something that is either a pig to get at or else is in the 'rare parts' area in which case its better to stop, make a brew, and come up with a substitute that is in great supply so you're not stuck the next time. There are all kinds of 'foreign' parts on mine now that were not only cheaper but have outlasted the original part.

Cracking idea to use the water pipe, i'm experiencing nightmarish gear change at the moment, now where can i find some plastic pipe! It's great to see folks improvised well executed but not cowboyed repairs and fixes. Thanks for posting.

Also worth noting that flexible funnels for filling up with oil etc can often be bought for just a couple of quid (Wilko a prime example). You can cut the concertina pipe away and use it as a great substitute for OE dust shields that can cost a tenner some places. As the funnel was designed for oil/petrol use, the material is perfect. A jubilee clip is sometimes needed each end but its another way to make use of materials you might otherwise overlook. I'm forever rooting through places like Wilko, finding other uses for things. Good for the mind too...