One of the rattles that seemed to have got a bit worse lately, coupled with an increasing difficulty in selecting reverse gear, was coming from the gearshift lever on the Type 9 box on my 4/4.
The cause seems to be wear in the little plastic saddle clip that sits between the fork of the shifter and the shaft that leads forward to the selectors. They are cheap and easy to replace, but I discovered after a bit of Googling that you can get them in brass rather than plastic from a company called Historic Motorsport from Clyst St Mary in deepest Devon. Claimed to offer a more precise shift action, so I ordered one from eBay and fitted it today, a simple job to remove the tunnel cover, undo 3 bolts, lift out the shift lever and pull the saddle clip out from the housing with a pair of needle-nose pliers.
The verdict after a brief road test is that it does indeed seem to give a nicer more positive shift action, the rattle is gone and I certainly no longer have a problem getting it into reverse. The only downside is the brass saddle costs £30 rather than £8 for a plastic jobbie, but worth it in my view. Those of you with older Mogs with T9 / E gearboxes might want to consider this if your shift action is getting a bit vague.
The picture shows the old plastic saddle on my bench, the inset is the replacement brass part.
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