Gear change problems - the works...

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T

TaDa

Active Member
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It turns out my dodgy gear changes weren't caused by the bias plate.
The suggestion is that the nylon bearing is at fault.
I've had a look at the job and think its 'just' replacing this part: FRC9985

Can this be changed with a "top down" approach (centre console out, drilled out rivets etc)?

Whilst I have the patient open is there anything else down there I need to think about changing/cleaning/oiling?

And if anyone knows of a nice write-up on how to do this it might help me feel more confident :)

Cheers all!
 
Thank you for that - I'll do that whilst I'm in there
I presume from your positive response it can all be done from the top-down.

Are there any other parts I need to get in before I start?
 
Is this a genuine possibility - or just a mild wind up?
Perhaps this is a proper reason to request permission to buy a welding rig :)

Though I fear it would be cheaper or at least easier to simply buy a replacement :(

Either way, I'll take a good look - thanks
 
Honestly mate the spring can wear cuts into the sides of the lever.

Just pop into any metal fabricators say "hey can you fill that with weld and sand it back on the belt for me for a tenner, as you know it will take you about 40 seconds to do it"

And I'm sure they'll say yes :)
 
TaDa,
I replaced the gearlever selector bush you mentioned a couple of months ago - as our Disco stuck in the 1st-2nd gear position.
It can all be done from the top - the major pain is removing all of the rivets.
(If they've been changed for rivnuts & screws, its a doddle & many suggest doing this while you're at it - as it makes any future need to adjust anything or get at the high-low mechanism much easier !)

Our bush had totally broken up (after 170,000 miles) & dropped down by ~10mm, jamming the selector mechanism & even the circlip had disappeared (hopefully on the magnetic drain plug !).
Replacement / rebuilding is easy, but as everyone's said you need to re-set the bias plate carefully & drive the vehicle briefly to check everything is OK - Before you re-install the centre console.
 
Thanks Pawl!

That really helps - I've had the centre console out before so I know what a pain it is - knowing for sure that its doable makes it less of a worry.

I'm definitely going to look into the rivnuts solution - never heard of them before - so google here I come.
 
Mr Noisy said:
Honestly mate the spring can wear cuts into the sides of the lever.

Just pop into any metal fabricators say "hey can you fill that with weld and sand it back on the belt for me for a tenner, as you know it will take you about 40 seconds to do it"

And I'm sure they'll say yes :)
Click to expand...
very true ,i do them without thinking :)
 
Yes, urbanpanzer's website was the reference for my first D2 job (oil in the injector wiring harness) - A really good reference site - so good I actually sent him some money! Not a lot mind :)

Flushed with my initial success I thought about doing the D1 CDL mod but, to be honest, I don't really need it (gasp!) as my D2 rarely goes off road (and it was a lot of faff) - one day maybe - perhaps I'll find a scrapped D2 and grab the bits from that!

You're right, though, if you have to take the central console out you might as well fit the CDL - I'll think about it (erm, not a lot mind!)

I've done the bias plate once already so I've had the pleasure of drilling out the rivets - though I have now ordered the rivnuts so in the future I'll gain access more easily (though how often I'll be going down there I don't know - she has nearly 190k on the clock!)

Cheers!
 
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Probably worth having some locktite handy for the selector shaft grub screw, and you'll need some instant gasket/RTV to re-seal the top plate.
 
Ah! Now that is interesting. When I did the bias plate before there was sealant on the top plate. But the various directions and guides I'd read up on at that time mentioned nothing.

Not having any to hand I presumed this had been done by the recon gearbox people for off-roaders and/or deep waders - not needed for me - so I just put it back in unsealed (!!)

You're right though - I should seal it up this time - thanks for that

Is the grub screw likely to need replacing? Only getting one on the day would be a pain - should I buy one in in 'anticipation'?

Cheers
 
the gear box top that bolts to gear box with lever pivot will need sealing otherwise it will leak very heavily ,gears sling the oil up
 
What's the symptoms with needing to do this job?
My discovery 2 td5 has started being hard to go into certain gears and seams to be sitting over basically inline with first and second i put a clutch in it a while back and has never had a problem until yesterday.
 
bias plate should hold it over in 3rd 4th alignment ,1st 2nd all the way to left 5th rev to the right obviously springs and plate are needed for 4th and 3rd
 
The typical problem is not being able to get it into reverse, the worse it gets the more other gears are affected. That said, a leading indicator for me the first time was it slipping out of 5th gear as I drove along - this later developed into the reverse gear problem. This time it went straight for the reverse gear and has now started affecting 2nd

If you're suddenly having problems with gear change it'll be one of a few things.
The bias plate has moved and/or is broken, the springs have worn out (or worn a hole in the gear lever it seems), the nylon bush at the bottom has died or catastrophic gearbox failure :).

I have been lead to believe you can see the bias plate through the gap where the lever goes (I never checked this the last time) which might show you if that is the problem.

The only way to know for sure is to get the centre console out, the rivets drilled out and having a good look followed by bias plate/springs replacement/realign or maybe gear lever out welded and/or the bush at the bottom.

The bias plate was £6.30 from my local dealer, the nylon bush another £6 odd - not too sure about the springs - probably another £6

Its probably best to get the lot and replace everything given the ballache getting the centre console out is.

And, of course, consider replacing the rivets with M5 rivnuts and bolts (£6 for 50 of each off the internet)

I reckon £20-£25 in parts and a few hours work

Have fun - I'll be doing mine soon - and I will definitely reseal everything
 
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