Transmission Problems

[Ponder]

Was driving today. About 20 miles in, the transmissionn started jumping out of fifth gear. I could hold it there, but if I let go of the gear shift, it popped back out. After about ten minutes like this, it popped out and wouldn't go back in. I then found out I couldn't get it into reverse either. I'm really, really, REALLY hoping it's a linkage problem.

I know next to nothing about transmissions. Where do I start looking? Can I accomplish anything from the gear shift side?

BTW, I've got a '68 1600 with a five speed. You could get a 1600 from the factory with a five-speed, couldn't you?

Thanks a lot,
Steve

[TR]

I need someone to back me up on this because I have never seen it first hand, but supposedly the mainshaft nuts have a tendancy to come loose causing exactly the symptoms you describe and then gear failure.

I hear the 5-speeds take some tricks to work on, find someone nearby that has repaired some (successfully) before...

The 1600's only came with a four speed...

Sorry for the bad news!

[bespa]

TR,

On weekdays, I stay in Newark, I work in SF.
I'd like to see your roadster. I'm a new roadster fan.
Like to know how roadsters are put together...Let me know
if I can stop by.

[SLOroadster]

Yes you could get the 5 spd with the 1600, but they were rare. YOu should be able to swap the one with the other. Roadster 5spds are tricky, I have never taken one apart. Do not take it to a Z car specialist because Z 5spds are different from the roadster. I have made this mistake before. The guy I took it to is an awesome mechanic (he is a former Mazda factory race team mechanic, he knows what he is doing) but the tranny came back worse than it went in.

Good luck,
Will

[TR]

I've never heard of a "factory" 5-speed 1600. It makes sense, though, especially with the shorter rear end in the 1600 compared to the 2000...TR

[spl310]

All of the documentation that I have seen shows the 4 speed being only available on the 1600 and the 5 speed only available on the 2000. I certainly have not seen it all though. I would be interested to see a window sticker from a 1600 that was received new with the 5 speed....

[Ponder]

Okay. Stupid question. (I said I didn't know anything about transmissions). These mainshaft nuts, can they be gotten to without pulling the transmission out of the car? With the engine, I assume.)

I'm wanting to get this thing so I can run in H stock autocross, so if it never came with a four speed, I'm going to have to find one. Will I need to find a drive shaft also? I haven't looked yet, but I assume that with a five-speed I have a two piece drive shaft. (I'm still pretty new to this car.)

Thanks,
Steve

[TR]

Not sure if there is access with the tranny in the car, I've never cracked a roadster tranny.

You are right, 5 speed has a 2 piece, 4 speed has a one piece driveshaft.

Good luck! TR

[spl310]

To put the 4 speed in, you will need the transmission, driveshaft, crossmember, shift plate (the thing inside the car that holds the boot), possibly the speedo cable, and the 90 degree adaptor. All of it should be simple to come by. Make sure that you get the crossmember from a 67.5 - 70 1600 as they are different from the early cars. Oh yeah, you will need the mount too.

On the mainshaft nuts, you would have to disassemble the transmission while in the car to get at that - not a wise decision...

[SLOroadster]

I thought I read that it was possible to have the 5 spd dealer installed. I think I saw it in the Rallye catalog insert. It was just a short blip. I would quote it but the insert is packed in a box at the moment.

Will

[Ponder]

No magic solutions to this? No easy diagnoses that don't involve pulling the engine. Oh well. I guess I'll bite the bullet sometime soon.

Thanks for the help so far.

Would the shop manual for the Roadster tell me if the 1600 was available with a 5-speed? I know a guy who has one and Fairlady Products sells one, I think.

[TR]

There has to be some old racers out there that already know the answer. If racers can add something to give them an edge (legally and illegally), everyone in the class does it. Maybe create another post with that question as the topic-maybe even try the grassroots forum.

The Fairlady manual refers to the transmissions by engine displacement as often as it does by # of speeds. Also, all of the road and track articles I have reference the 4.11 rear end option but say nothing of a 5 speed option...

TR

[Ponder]

Okay. I'm pulling the engine today and tomorrow and I've got two silly questions.

How do you remove the reverse lightr connection? When I pulled off the boot, there's plastic piece that the wires are sort of stapled to. Does the plastic piece come out? Or do I take the wires out of the staples? Playing with the new transmission I couldn't pull the plastic piece out and I scarred it up a littlr bit .

The other questioinis when I pulled off the tach wire from the distributer and tried to put the screw back in, there were no female threads to screw it into. Was ther a nut on the inside that fell down into teh dist housing?

Thanks,
Steve

[SLOroadster]

OK, to remove the reverse lights, look for a plug that sits on the passenger side of the tranny. It should have 2 wires, and should just unplug. The tach cable is another story. It should just screw onto the outside of the distributer base, but you must align the inner cable to make it work. If it doesn't, an R16 must be different from a U20.
Good luck,
Will

[Minh]

Mike Kerr in Placerville has a lot of experience with the trannies... Accroding to Matt Silvey website, Mike did his tranny for him.

BTW... a 4-speed to 5-speed conversion for a 1600 is up for bid.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 2430599315