Bent 5-sp gear lever

[PaulFDennis]

I’ve had two T25’s, a 1987 2.1 Caravelle and now a 1991 1.9 DG Autohomes Komet. Both had bent gear sticks and this seems to be a very common issue. Replacements are like hen’s teeth with all the major suppliers out of stock. Aidan has been tremendously helpful but we decided that the lever on his shelves was probably as bent as that on my T25. Another member offered to sell one but that has yet to materialise!

Given this I’m wondering about straightening the stick. However, I’ve looked through the forum and can’t find any specific guidance as to if it is possible or not to straighten the gear sticks and if so what is the best procedure.

Obviously, bending cold runs the risk of developing stress fractures leading to a complete breaking in two. But if the gear stick is heated first and then straightened might that be a possible solution, or bending whilst hot? If anyone has any experience of this it would be great to have their advice.




 

[davidoft1]

i bent a LHD gearstick to RHD a a few years back, heated it up and bent pretty easy, no issues yet

[silverbullet]

They are made from relatively soft tube. Remove, dismantle, heat it and straighten in a vise.
Then reinforce with a length of 8mm (5.16") rod which can easily be knocked right through the gearlever, round the bend. Weld one or both ends to secure.

[PaulFDennis]

Davidoft1 and Silverbullet thanks for the advice. I’ll give it a try this week and see how I get on. I also wondered about the feasibility of inserting a solid bar to add strength but didn’t think I’d be able to knock it past the bend in the gear stick.

[Aidan]

It's weird that some 5 speed sticks bend, when ime the 4 speeds generally don't, I wonder if welding on the 5 speed bits causes a loss in temper which makes them softer - I recently had a quick go at bending a 4 speed rhd stick on the top half ( to bend it forward and to the left a bit, as I hate the way it impedes my leg when in 4th, forcing me to hold my leg in an unnatural position so as to not put a side load on the stick and hence the reason I do actually prefer driving a lhd especially longer distances), but I found I couldn't readily bend it using heat and a proper pipe bender, I will have another go at it. I wonder if the tube varied and so some times it was harder than usual, ditto it could have been softer sometimes hence the bending in normal use, and also hence some sticks prone to stress fracture at the grub screw, others not at all prone to it ? Of course that could have been due to overtorquing in assembly or subsequently, but some sticks don't seem to have as much predrilled dimple as others, I had one new genuine one through my hands on the way to someone else that was hardly dimpled at all.

The 5 speed stick that popped up on Ebay this week looks pretty straight from the pics Paul but it's £100 +

[PaulFDennis]

I think one issue with the 5 speed is the dog-leg linkage and the need to push left and press down and push forward to engage reverse. If the ‘stop’ guide is not cleared then it is possible to put quite a leverage on the shaft. Aidan I think your observations about tempering, variable quality and softness of materials and depth of the dimple for locking the spring collar etc are all relevant too.

I didn’t spot a lever for sale on eBay this week. I wonder if it’s still available. £100 is a lot but then again a new solid shaft costs close to £190 when available! I’ve put in an enquiry with partsemporium.co.uk who have a RHD 5-sp gear lever at £100. I guess this could well be the one advertised on eBay.

[silverbullet]

Davidoft1 and Silverbullet thanks for the advice. I’ll give it a try this week and see how I get on. I also wondered about the feasibility of inserting a solid bar to add strength but didn’t think I’d be able to knock it past the bend in the gear stick.

The lever has a 9mm+ inner diameter so a piece of 8mm BMS will knock down it surprisingly easily, a little grease will make things even easier.
Done a few in the past, always works. Can also be used to repair a broken one with a little prep and patience.

[PaulFDennis]

Thanks Silverbullet,

I’ve just popped into my local blacksmith with the gear lever. He put the bent spot in his two coil induction furnace heated it up in a few seconds to red heat then bent the lever back straight. He wouldn’t even charge me for the work.

It’s great to have the support and knowledgable advice of all the members here and local, skilled craftsmen who have the right tools at hand to do things.