Broken gear stick on the way home

[Sideroad]

Just picked the 109 ute up from the auto elecs after about $400 work. The gear shifter broke off at the base into neutral through an intersection, I just made it through. Pulled the tunnel/gear cover off (how many screws does a cover need? I think 10 is too many) to the tune of tooting horns (I only blocked one of two lanes ;) ). drove home in second and over drive as that was the gear I could take off with up the hill. Will be fitting hazard lights some day soon to tell the other drivers that 'Yes I have an old rover and it needs attention, right now!"
Broken down (in council bus stop bay) with toasted alternator, fire in gear cover, leaking rear engine bearing and broken gear stick all in 5 days.
Funny how all this has started since I bought another rover and considered converting to a ford and auto, these things have sharply tuned ears.
Maybe fitting the 250 cross flow and auto are now inevitable as I have pull the current engine out any way. (re thread: Engine conversion dilemma )

[Rangier Rover]

The ol broken gear lever trick:lol2: Must have been a design feature in the series:D All of mine have done it. When the S111 109 fell off I was going for a down change on a steep hill with a truck on my tail:eek: once forth completely failed I double clutched into low range then back to high. Drove it like this for wile:twisted: On the 11a 88 I welded it back on wile in situe with jumper leads. :twisted:

Even the series 1's here have done this.

[banjo]

i noticed when pulling my series 3 apart for the rebuild that the stick had been welded back onto the ball at the botum so it had been broken at some stage before i got it..

[Sideroad]

I had no idea this was a common fault, so you can understand my surprise when the thing come free.

[langy]

Surprise is when it happens whilst driving on a beach at midnight.

One tends to undo the tunnel cover quicker with the tide coming in and lapping at the wheels.

And it's more interesting without overdrive, taking off in 2nd low and shifting up to 2nd high.

But on the flip side, my series did do good - it could navigate a particular set of stairs at an undisclosed location - an alternative way to get out of a pub carpark.

[Rangier Rover]

So this must be why Land Rover came up with the 2.25 as has heaps of low end torque and can sustain over 5000 RPM with no load;) The poms were always known to engineer a way around a design fault and leave it there:lol2:

[BigJon]

The poms were always known to engineer a way around a design fault and leave it there:lol2:

Like the oil leak diverter for the rear output seal in the LT230 transfer case, keeps the leaking oil off the handbrake.

[HBWC]

you had a over drive should of use 3rd low to take off then flick to high then the overdrive i did this in qld for 6month till we woryed fixing it (needed reverse)