Sideroad
13th February 2011, 01:50 PM
The other day just days from getting the 2A re-rego-ed I broke another gear stick. I got stuck in 3rd, but used low range 3rd, high range 2wd 3rd and over drive. Hence it was a 3speed 3rd gear box. :)
First time it happened was about 6mths ago and left me in neutral only just out of an intersection and blocking one lane. Followed by a hasty tunnel cover removal and selecting 2nd to get me home.
It was replaced with a dodgy welded one I had in a pile of spares. This lasted a surprising 6mths, given 4 mths of that was spent in the shed while the suspension and drive-train were repaired and numerous roadworthy items attended to. Looking at the welds, I am surprised it last more then one gear shift.
I considered welding the original one, but noticed that the ball is of a different steel and had originally had the stick fitted into the ball.
I considered that the strength would never be the same if I welded it, as the weld location is at the end of such a big lever (gear stick) and would fatigue over time. Given that the original lasted over 40yrs, I thought to do the same.
I bored out the stub in the ball to a depth of 17mm (in a lathe, but could be done in a drill press or by hand) and chiseled out the thin wall left after the boring. I could have bored deeper but figured it was deep enough (I didn't want to risk machining the original bore)
I then linnished and hand filed the gear stick end down to 0.2-0.3mm larger then the bore size. I left the gear stick in the freezer for an hour and heated the ball over a gas cooker (not too hot, but enough to expand the metal).
I had made a jig to support the threaded end of the stick on hard wood, whilst the end was help in the vice. Using vice grips, I placed the ball on the end and bashed it down using a copper mallet and lump hammer, finishing at the depth mark already on the stick end.
Now I just have to re-assemble it all.
First time it happened was about 6mths ago and left me in neutral only just out of an intersection and blocking one lane. Followed by a hasty tunnel cover removal and selecting 2nd to get me home.
It was replaced with a dodgy welded one I had in a pile of spares. This lasted a surprising 6mths, given 4 mths of that was spent in the shed while the suspension and drive-train were repaired and numerous roadworthy items attended to. Looking at the welds, I am surprised it last more then one gear shift.
I considered welding the original one, but noticed that the ball is of a different steel and had originally had the stick fitted into the ball.
I considered that the strength would never be the same if I welded it, as the weld location is at the end of such a big lever (gear stick) and would fatigue over time. Given that the original lasted over 40yrs, I thought to do the same.
I bored out the stub in the ball to a depth of 17mm (in a lathe, but could be done in a drill press or by hand) and chiseled out the thin wall left after the boring. I could have bored deeper but figured it was deep enough (I didn't want to risk machining the original bore)
I then linnished and hand filed the gear stick end down to 0.2-0.3mm larger then the bore size. I left the gear stick in the freezer for an hour and heated the ball over a gas cooker (not too hot, but enough to expand the metal).
I had made a jig to support the threaded end of the stick on hard wood, whilst the end was help in the vice. Using vice grips, I placed the ball on the end and bashed it down using a copper mallet and lump hammer, finishing at the depth mark already on the stick end.
Now I just have to re-assemble it all.