New toy - first niggles to sort out

[duncscz]

Hi,

My latest TVR ... a 390SE



Great car .. great fun. However, a few niggles to sort out sometime ...

1. Difficult to engage 4th gear .. needs a strong jerk or there's plently of grinding of gears .. other gears are no problem. How do you get into the top of the gearbox to see what's worn ? Something else ? Gearbox specialist in Dorset ?

2. Where's the voltage regulator (assuming there is one) ? All the dials move up and down when the indicators flash ?

3. Petrol smell after filling up and dripping underneath car. Is there a particular method to fill up. Blocked breather pipe perhaps ?

4. Nearside headlamp a bit slow popping up .. and gives what sounds like a 'yelp' ... how can you lubricate the mechanism ?

5. Idle speed ... how to adjust, as it seems too fast (~1200 rpm) ?

TIA

[Karkila]

I have just solved a crunchy gear-change problem (400SE). The linkages were very loose and needed a bit of a service. It removed a problem that I had noticed developing for some years.

Much better than a gearbox rebuild, I thort!

[nks350i]

Hi - if it's the same as a 350i...

2. Saw this the other day and I will have a look sometime to stop my gauges bouncing on indicators / door opening http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

3. If i fill too much the tank will overflow through the pipe at the top of the filler pipe, runs across the boot and out through under the boot on the opposite side - just need to burn off some fuel

Nigel

[combine]

duncscz said:

Hi,

My latest TVR ... a 390SE



Great car .. great fun. However, a few niggles to sort out sometime ...

1. Difficult to engage 4th gear .. needs a strong jerk or there's plently of grinding of gears .. other gears are no problem. How do you get into the top of the gearbox to see what's worn ? Something else ? Gearbox specialist in Dorset ?

2. Where's the voltage regulator (assuming there is one) ? All the dials move up and down when the indicators flash

3. Petrol smell after filling up and dripping underneath car. Is there a particular method to fill up. Blocked breather pipe perhaps ?

4. Nearside headlamp a bit slow popping up .. and gives what sounds like a 'yelp' ... how can you lubricate the mechanism ?

5. Idle speed ... how to adjust, as it seems too fast (~1200 rpm) ?

TIA

Great pic , nice colour !

Edited by combine on Sunday 31st January 08:31

[convert]

1. Could be the bushes on the linkage. On my 350 I had to take out the centre console to be able to get at the linkage.

2. sounds like it could be a poor earth behind the dashboard.

3. They are usually a bigger to fill, as the twin tank system doesn't evacuate the air quickly enough. Bouncing the car up and down a bit when filling helps to settle the tanks. It is quite easy to over fill though. I had the very same issue @ Chatsworth 3 years ago.

4. They all do that sir. You could try greasing the linkages though.

5. Check for air leaks on the injection system / plenumn, check that the Coolant temperature sensor is connected and working (not sure if tis just applies to flapper injection system)

Nice looking motor.

Get booked in for BBWF and Chatsworth

[HOTTY]

maybe a daft responce to your clutch problem but have you looked at the condition of the clutch fluid because a week after collecting my first 400 I could not engauge the lower gears (a bit different in your case) then none. I thought that i was in trouble thinking clutch.
Somebody told me to change the fluid before tackling the clutch, did not make any difference that night but in the morning it was fine ? After that i changed all of the fluids
I have also found the very small orginal pipe between the pump and filter a problem area and have replaced , now no leak on the 350

nice looking car you have

[duncscz]

Thanks for the tips and nice comments about the car. It's my third TVR and as with all the others, great fun.

I'll run a new earth directly from the battery to the dials to see if that sorts it. Should be easy enough.

Interesting comment about the clutch fluid. I'm now thinking there may be two problems .. play in the linkage, which I hope is easy enough to see once I can get the centre console up (but where could I get replacement linkage parts, if needed ?) and wear in the clutch (or poor quality clutch fluid).

The bite point of the clutch for 1st gear is very high .. however, when engaging 4th, I need to depress the clutch close to the floor ? The I can get 4th but need to hold the gear lever in place until I hear/feel a 'click', otherwise it seems to want to jump out of gear ?

Tried adjusting the idle mixture 2.5 turns up (as per SH bible), but car just stalled. Gave it a couple more turns (it was initially set at 10 turns up !!) and then adjusted the idle speed to about 850 rpm using the screw at the throttle assembly. Car was running rich, so I'll see what effect this has.

[singh350i]

very nice wedgy u have there m8 it looks like a ferrari 308. lol
im havin some problems with mine engaging 2nd when im slowin down its more like a synchro worn sound but gotta expect some problems u cant complain 4 what u get 4 ur money..

[convert]

When was the last time the gearbox oil was changed.

I'd think about changing it with some Castrol SMX. Did mine and it made a world of difference to the change (except 1st to 2nd when cold).

[simonwedge]

duncscz said:

Interesting comment about the clutch fluid. I'm now thinking there may be two problems .. play in the linkage, which I hope is easy enough to see once I can get the centre console up (but where could I get replacement linkage parts, if needed ?) and wear in the clutch (or poor quality clutch fluid).

You can get all parts from Rimmer Brothers (search on t'internet). Rover themselves switched from gearbox oil to Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) in the manual gearbox to help with shift quality - esp. when cold. This is confirmed if you search for 'Gearbox oil' on the Rimmer Bros website. Not saying this is the cause of your problem but useful to know all the same. I couldn't get reverse when I bought mine but drained and refilled with ATF and bled the clutch and all is OK.

[adam quantrill]

I used to ATF but don't recommend it for long, high speed runs, it gets too thin. SMX-S is the way to go.

[duncscz]

Changed the clutch fluid, but no different. I've also got the centre console up to check the gearstick remote assembly etc. All looks ok (at least to my untrained eye).

I've ordered some new bushes from Rimmers (it said I needed 8), but where exactly do they go ?

Time for some more expert help, I feel ... anyone know a good SDI gearbox specialist in Dorset ?

[350zwelgje]

duncscz said:

Changed the clutch fluid, but no different. I've also got the centre console up to check the gearstick remote assembly etc. All looks ok (at least to my untrained eye).

I've ordered some new bushes from Rimmers (it said I needed 8), but where exactly do they go ?

Time for some more expert help, I feel ... anyone know a good SDI gearbox specialist in Dorset ?

For the location of the bushes Rimmer have a technical drawing on their site where you can find this. There are 4 connections and each requires 2 bushes. Two connection for the side of the the gear linkage and 2 for the linkage to the gearbox itself. A test for this is to lift the gearstick and it should only move a little in vertical direction, more than half a centimeter is not ok and replacement of bushes fixes this.

For gearbox specialists you can do a search on this forum and find a couple. And it describes the options for removing the box as well.

Rob

[duncscz]

Thanks again for all the advice.

I've found the relevant drawings .. all is clear now. However, I've checekd and there is little movement of the assembly and the exisitng bushes look okay .. so it seems more and more likely to be a gearbox issue :-(

Have a few more things to check though ..

[B-Reight]

duncscz, nice car mate, do you know the make/name of the alloys? They really suit the car, and there aren't many wheels that suit the wedge imho.

Regarding the gear change, when changing gear lift the gearstick directly upwards, if it changes fine when applying this upwards pressure it is most certainly the remote bushes. The play in mine was barely perceptible but it did the trick.

Edited by B-Reight on Tuesday 2nd February 19:29

[duncscz]

B-Reight said:

duncscz, nice car mate, do you know the make/name of the alloys? They really suit the car, and there aren't many wheels that suit the wedge imho.

Sorry, I don't know and there's nothing in the history. Maybe I can try and find out from the previous owner .. I need to contact him about the gearbox issue which popped up as soon as I picked up the car ;o)

Have had car checked and conclusion is that the gearbox has a problem .. something like endfloat slack
or a loose cog (missing circlip) or ?? Needs a rebuild, so off we go !! Nothing simple, unfortunately.

[Wedg1e]

Think the wheels may be AZEVs.