Very stiff gear shift - T350
Discussion
Came back to the car tonight after it was parked all day at work and firstly it struggled to start and then gear shifts (regardless of gear chosen)were very very stiff, although working between gears did free it up a little. I didn't notice any issue on the drive to work though dso its developed this on standing. I did manage to nurse it home and noticed that there was a little jolt when coming to a halt. Clutch pedal feels fine, resistance and travel appear normal.
No engine work done recently,although the battery to the dash ECU was changed at the weekend.
Likely causes? I'm worried it is clutch replacement time,which is just this cars way of teaching me a lesson for considering spending money on it! Anything less expensive to check first?
No engine work done recently,although the battery to the dash ECU was changed at the weekend.
Likely causes? I'm worried it is clutch replacement time,which is just this cars way of teaching me a lesson for considering spending money on it! Anything less expensive to check first?
It could be a dragging (not fully disengaging) clutch. Has It got an AP clutch in it? If it has the spring washers wear, they locate the centre of the clutch between the 2 plates. It then rubs on one on of the clutch plates slightly. you then get a small amount of power being transferred to the gearbox with the clutch depressed, which makes gear selection hard.
I had the same problem with the AP clutch in my T350. I replaced the spring washers which fixed the problem. I've now gone for a helix clutch which doesn't have these spring washers.
I had the same problem with the AP clutch in my T350. I replaced the spring washers which fixed the problem. I've now gone for a helix clutch which doesn't have these spring washers.
NWTony said:
Update. Gear shift / selection is fine with the engine off, each gear is easy to select but goes very stiff when it is running. There is fluid in the clutch reservoir in the drivers foot-well and the lid is on tightly.
If there is fluid in the foot well it could just be a seal.Give Ian a call - I am over there on Friday if you want me to have a word.
Although I don't think this is the case in this thread, one thing to look out for when the gearstick seems to more difficult to select certain gears, is that sometimes, the actual stick can become loose because of the grub screw (The only thing holding the stick and reverse arm in place). This means that if it's too low or too high, the reverse switch arm can interfere with the reverse switch, thus making it sometimes difficult to select gears (reverse especially) - or, the gear stick can actually be pulled off - as what happened to me!
TVR Tommy said:
It could be a dragging (not fully disengaging) clutch. Has It got an AP clutch in it? If it has the spring washers wear, they locate the centre of the clutch between the 2 plates. It then rubs on one on of the clutch plates slightly. you then get a small amount of power being transferred to the gearbox with the clutch depressed, which makes gear selection hard.
I had the same problem with the AP clutch in my T350. I replaced the spring washers which fixed the problem. I've now gone for a helix clutch which doesn't have these spring washers.
This could be it, gears are selectable just very stiff,but only with the engine running. I don't know what clutch I have, I do know ti was fitted by TVR power just before I bought the car 3-4 years ago.I had the same problem with the AP clutch in my T350. I replaced the spring washers which fixed the problem. I've now gone for a helix clutch which doesn't have these spring washers.
SPS said:
If there is fluid in the foot well it could just be a seal.
Give Ian a call - I am over there on Friday if you want me to have a word.
The fluid is in the reservoir, the reservoir is in the footwell! Give Ian a call - I am over there on Friday if you want me to have a word.
No leaks as far as I can tell.This may indeed be a job for the professionals - any idea if a clutch change can be done my a home mechanic with a good selection of tools, trolley jack and ramps?
NWTony said:
This could be it, gears are selectable just very stiff,but only with the engine running. I don't know what clutch I have, I do know ti was fitted by TVR power just before I bought the car 3-4 years ago.
It'll be an AP clutch then, as the Helix has only been around for under 2 years. The clutch replacement isn't the hardest of tasks in the world, if you undertake the task yourself.
To get the clutch out you'll need to take
rear de-fuser off
Remove exhaust to cats
Take off chassis braces
Undo prop from diff
Lift centre console and remove gearstick
Undo gearbox allen bolts x4 from memory you'll need plenty of extension bars as access is tight
Remove gearbox
undo clutch slave blead point
Undo allen bolts around bell housing
Remove top sensor wire
Take off bell housing and make sure you have no leaks from slave cylinder
You can get away with removing the bell housing without having to remove the pipe from the master to slave if you tie the bell housing up (saves having to bleed the clutch when refitting)
Unbolt clutch from fly wheel
You can get a clutch plate alignment tool from power, makes fitting 100x easier than using the gearbox input shaft to align splines in the clutch plates.
Also if you are reusing the fly wheel make sure you move the new clutch around so the springs aren't sitting in the witness marks from the old clutch as you'll get a high bitting clutch. I did this on my first clutch fixing exercise.
Its defiantly a DIY job as long as you have good tools and a bit of patients. It'll save you about £500 going it yourself.
rear de-fuser off
Remove exhaust to cats
Take off chassis braces
Undo prop from diff
Lift centre console and remove gearstick
Undo gearbox allen bolts x4 from memory you'll need plenty of extension bars as access is tight
Remove gearbox
undo clutch slave blead point
Undo allen bolts around bell housing
Remove top sensor wire
Take off bell housing and make sure you have no leaks from slave cylinder
You can get away with removing the bell housing without having to remove the pipe from the master to slave if you tie the bell housing up (saves having to bleed the clutch when refitting)
Unbolt clutch from fly wheel
You can get a clutch plate alignment tool from power, makes fitting 100x easier than using the gearbox input shaft to align splines in the clutch plates.
Also if you are reusing the fly wheel make sure you move the new clutch around so the springs aren't sitting in the witness marks from the old clutch as you'll get a high bitting clutch. I did this on my first clutch fixing exercise.
Its defiantly a DIY job as long as you have good tools and a bit of patients. It'll save you about £500 going it yourself.
Edited by TVR Tommy on Wednesday 9th March 18:37
TVR Tommy said:
It'll be an AP clutch then, as the Helix has only been around for under 2 years.
The clutch replacement isn't the hardest of tasks in the world, if you undertake the task yourself.
That's good to hear The clutch replacement isn't the hardest of tasks in the world, if you undertake the task yourself.
I have a competent fried who I will hand tools to and get the coffees in for.Aside from the springs is there an advantage to Helix clutches?There are some that say the helix is good some bad. I've currently not had any problems, but I did read there was a bad batch with the wrong tolerances. I decided to fit a helix as you can service the clutch with new clutch plates which should make clutch changes cheaper. Going helix also illuminated the rubbish idea of using spring washers to locate the centre of the clutch. Helix has spring steel to keep the centre of the clutch in the right place.
NWTony said:
TVR Tommy said:
It could be a dragging (not fully disengaging) clutch. Has It got an AP clutch in it? If it has the spring washers wear, they locate the centre of the clutch between the 2 plates. It then rubs on one on of the clutch plates slightly. you then get a small amount of power being transferred to the gearbox with the clutch depressed, which makes gear selection hard.
I had the same problem with the AP clutch in my T350. I replaced the spring washers which fixed the problem. I've now gone for a helix clutch which doesn't have these spring washers.
This could be it, gears are selectable just very stiff,but only with the engine running. I don't know what clutch I have, I do know ti was fitted by TVR power just before I bought the car 3-4 years ago.I had the same problem with the AP clutch in my T350. I replaced the spring washers which fixed the problem. I've now gone for a helix clutch which doesn't have these spring washers.
TVR Tommy said:
There are some that say the helix is good some bad. I've currently not had any problems, but I did read there was a bad batch with the wrong tolerances. I decided to fit a helix as you can service the clutch with new clutch plates which should make clutch changes cheaper. Going helix also illuminated the rubbish idea of using spring washers to locate the centre of the clutch. Helix has spring steel to keep the centre of the clutch in the right place.
Agreed - I've a Helix in mine and it feels a lot nicer than the old AP though I guess time will tell as to longevity. My mechanic did however, state it's a bugger to set up and has some very fine tolerances particularly on the pedal travel.OP - back to your issue I had a similar feel to my old AP and it was the fingers breaking.
Just to close out the thread, I've taken the old clutch out and the warnings about lack of access and multi extensions were well founded and discovered one of the springs between the plates was knackered and one of the fingers had snapped off. Helix replacement ordered with fitting tool.
Thanks for all the help.
Thanks for all the help.
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