Gearstick vibration in 4th.

[Pedrokat]

Quick question for you all, to resolve my leaky gear change seal I have pulled my spare green cloverleaf transmission out of my shed, re sealed it .... new oil and slotted it into the car.
So far its leak free which is of course positive.
The car it came from had lower miles than my car... so as far as I know this box is lower mileage... and oil that came out( I stored it with oil in it) was generally clean.
Have so far done 30 miles or so with it. The change is better.. my old one was a little crunchy between first and second if you rushed it.
However in 4th...and only forth there is on occasion some vibration through the gear stick.....
Anyone have any experience of this? As I say... gear selection is better generally with this box than my original.
On the whole the car is happier.... but this vibration is a shame... and only in 4th... it only seems to become apparent over 40.
Gearchange has been rebushed throughout.
Any thoughts welcome.
Cheers
Peter

[LooLooSud33Spider]

Hi Peter
A gear lever rattle in suds and 33 is a common problem. These a few small bushes in the bottom of the lever that can wear and cause a zizzy type of rattle it would be worth checking those before delving into the box
The other thing that can cause it is the gear knob Alfa came out with a modified Knob (insert knob gag here). With a rubber sleeve inside it but I’d certainly look at the gear lever assembly as a starting point.

Lou

[Pedrokat]

Thanks Lou.... yes I'm leaning towards that... the bolt that attaches the stick to the rod going forward has some wear and I replaced it last night .... not with a shouldered bolt but with an m6 ...threaded all the way up.... not ideal of course but I did ten miles in it this afternoon and its noticeably better... I have ordered another kit of the small bushes...top hats..... bolt..... etc from Ian at Sud shop.so fingers crossed..... i really don't want to pull it all out again. It's a pain on the floor as I'm sure you know!... apart from the rattle i would say its driving the best it ever has in 28 years.
Cheers
Peter

[alfadave]

The red Haynes manual p77, gives 4 causes of rattly gear change. Might be worth a quick read?

[Pedrokat]

Thanks, the bits from sudshop should arrive tomorrow, Ian has been super helpful with my gearbox project, he refurbished my 1/4 shafts and supplied me the various seals and gaskets... cannot reccomend him enough .Will cast an eye on page 77 while I pop them in... it's so close to being spot on now.
Cheers all.

[Pedrokat]

To close this off.... the gearstick top hat bush kit arrived today... have fitted it and would seem to have resolved the problem .... also I can confirm after 45 miles the gearchange shaft is oil leak free ... as is the rest of the box. So just need a bit of sunshine now.
Cheers all
Peter

[LooLooSud33Spider]

Glad to hear it Peter. Btw they wear out with monotonous regularity so don’t be surprised if it comes back in a the future .

[Pedrokat]

Yes I had kind of discarded it as a possibility as the top hat bush I replaced in the 90s.... and since 2000 the car has done less than 3000 miles.... didnt seem to vibrate the same with out going gearbox but I did also replace the tail stock mounting bushes..... old ones were pretty soft.... so perhaps the change contributed to transferring the vibration.
Anyway.... testing will continue.... hoping the world gets a bit more normal as I would like to go to an event or 2.
But its driving the best it has in a long time.
And the gear change seal is dry as a bone...
Which makes it all worth it.
Cheers.

[Pedrokat]

Follow up on this... have now done 120 miles in the car with new box, driving so much better... in fact the best it ever has in 28 years of ownership.
Everything is settling in nicely.... slight bit of noise from the speedo. And a little bounce to the needle below 40.. I suspect it has a bit of wear as it's a new cable.
Perhaps a new clock will present itself at some point.
But garage floor is drip free..... so a job well done.
Cheers
Pete