2nd gear selection

[Richard]

Hi all, seems 2nd gear occasionally grinds and not fully engaging unless very deliberate action on putting into gear. Question is this a common trait on a 1500 spitfire box or a potential issue to resolve? All other gears are fine with no unusual noise from gearbox. Thanks

[Nick Jones]

It’s a sign of wear, not a standard feature. The choices are, double de-clutch and live with it, or rebuild the gearbox. If it’s quiet and working well in other respects that shouldn’t be too ruinous.

Nick

[glang]

Yes on the earlier 3 rail gearboxes the lever linkage can cause change problems but as yours is single rail I dont think thats the issue. Second gear is the one that usually suffers the most as it has a hard life when accelerating hard and changing up fast from 1st...

Double declutching can help a lot on down changes but not on up changes where all you can do is learn the best operation for a smooth change.

[sparky_spit]

My single box is similar.  From 1st to 2nd is okay as you can easily judge the correct moment to actually make the change as the revs drop, and it is pretty quick if you get it right.

3rd to 2nd is trickier to do without crunching. As I depress the clutch I give a blip of throttle and pull the lever out of 3rd and across the gate, and apply light pressure until the gears mesh and it drops into gear, mostly without a crunch and not quite so quick. So far mine does not need double de-clutching, the syncro rings get there eventually, but it may come to it as the box (and me) gets older and more decrepid.

Edited June 29, 2021 by sparky_spit

[glang]

Blimey you guys have got no excuse as you have the beefier synchro rings - most three rails ones are small....

Saying that on my Vitesse luckily theres the torque advantage so I can get into 4th before accelerating hard which of course saves the rings!

[Richard]

Thanks for the responses everyone. Mechanical sympathy then a rebuild when the weather dictates garage rather than road time! Drained oil found a few metal filings on magnet sump plug with slight bronze wear in the oil but nothing major. 

[glang]

yes and in the mean time look for replacement synchros - NOS best but difficult to find these days so how about buying a cheap old single rail gearbox (same rings OD or non OD) to practice on and hopefully inside find a good ring or two?