iloveredmeat wrote: Sat Jun 03, 2023 5:45 pm
Well, Jeff, with my extensive experience of rebuilding Roadster transmissions (all one of them), I'm pretty much an authority.
In all seriousness, I do remember Andy mentioning the stronger spring to avoid mis-shifting into Reverse.
Florida Roadster wrote: Sat Jun 03, 2023 3:10 pm
it appears the previous owner/racer may have switched them to make it
HARDER to go into the lower gears
They are obviously very similar, so could it be that the previous owner just mixed them up by accident???
Good luck!
pm
Hi Jeff, sorry, I thought it was settled law that there are indeed two different springs...
So, I found this paragraph from Dean's Repair & Service Manual that explains it very well.
"The control arm for the 5-speed is different from the 4-speed in that it has two "outriggers" that extend out from each side. The tips of the outriggers sit on steel pins that mount vertically in the rear of the tailshaft housing. The pins are spring-loaded from the bottom to keep the control arm centered in the 3rd/4th shifting gate. The springs are secured by two large plug bolts and copper sealing washers. The springs are two different tensions: the strongest tension being on the 5th/reverse gate which helps prevent shift bloopers into 5th or reverse. It takes a hard pull to the left to engage the 1st/2nd shifting gate. The 3rd/4th gate just happens automatically since the spring loading forces the lever to this center gate. It takes a harder push to engage the 5th/reverse gate for the reason we just mentioned; a stronger spring."
Which spring is stronger? I've actually known this from my brother and his suspension business... but Dave Premo's description of which spring is stronger and why, is spot on.
I hope that answers everything.
Good luck,
Peter