Shift linkage woes...

[OperaHawk]

Hey folkes...

Il Fenice Due just got out of the repair shop with minor problems (although my wallet's lighter :-[ :'( :'(), but I'm now having problems with my shift linkage. When I purchased the lil' beast, I only had 1-4 since the L-hook on the front rod was only attached to the gearbox selector by wire! I purchased the bushing kit (thanks, John) and did the repairs, but I now only have 3 & 4. Has anyone else had any problems? Any help thrown my way would be appreciated!

Also, before I start getting flamed, I'm not throwing any garbage John's way - his parts are high-quality, and everyone swears by 'em. I'm just wondering if I've done anything wrong...

SBJ

BTW - the Lancia owner in Matthews - e-mail me!!!!!

Steven Jepson
"...a bidet of evil."
-BTVS

[SubGothius]

Your gearshift lever is probably not moving far enough over to enter one sideplane (1-2 or 5-R), and "overshooting" or moving too far past the other (5-R or 1-2, respectively).

Most gear linkage adjustment is done via the front stay rod, which links the frontmost tip of the forward main linkage rod down to a pivot at the front of the the bellhousing. On early Betas, this stay rod resembles a cross between a Heim joint and a turnbuckle, with a ball joint at each end connected by a threaded rod; on later Betas, the lower (bellhousing) end has a sleeve-bushed pivot, with a swivel joint in the middle connecting to a threaded rod on the top half that screws thru the tip of the main front linkage rod. In either case, turning the threaded rod (after loosening/removing the locknut(s) first!) makes the front stay rod effectively shorter or longer, moving the front tip of the forward main linkage rod up or down.

The lengh of that front stay rod controls the side-to-side limits of the gearshift lever's range of motion. A longer front stay rod moves the gearshift lever (and its side limits) to the left; a shorter front stay rod moves it to the right. I.e., if the shift lever moves further to the right than to the left of center, lenthen the stay; if it moves further left than right, shorten the stay. Handy mnemonic: Longer=Lefter. When you've got it set right, the gearshift lever in Neutral should appear perfectly vertical when viewed from directly behind, should move right and left of center by roughly equivalent degrees, should engage all 6 positions easily and smoothly, and should leave a bit of play or "wiggle room" for the lever when engaged in any position.

Speaking of which, does anyone have a spare of the later-style front stay rod? Mine appears to have stripped adjustment threads, not sure if it's always been like that or if I inadvertantly did it myself recently whilst replacing my tranny mounts (having neglected to undo the forward rod from the crosslink! :-[ ), but that would explain why my own 5-R plane is tricky to get into lately -- I really have to hold my shift lever firmly against the right-side stop to engage 5th in particular, indicating the front stay rod is set too long. :-\