Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Game over!

At least until some time in September I fear.

I went to pick a a niece from the station today and halfway down the mountain I tried to change from second to third and there was a click and I thought I had gone into neutral. I tried to change gears again and discovered that the gearbox was stuck in second. The gear lever position is more or less in the neutral or third gear position, can be moved from side to side but not backwards and forwards. Fortunately I was only 15 kilometres from home so I decided to take the car home. I hope it has not been exerting too much force on the selector forks.

The only thing I can think is that a retaining circlip has come off, or some such, allowing a shifter rod to drop down and jam the mechanism.

It is the Mazda 5 speed box and has done only 55,000 km.

a) does anyone have any idea what it could be?
b) can the selector mechanism be worked on from above and can the gearbox cover be removed without having to get under the car?
c) should I just leave it for the dealer to do?

It's probably the gear lever extender needing a bit of adjustment rather than any problem with the gearbox itself.


Remove the gear tunnel and all will become clear (hopefully)


c) only if it is the Gearbox!

Peter,
I had a Vauxhall Cavalier in 86 that did this it was the linkage. Fingers crossed

http://forum.mazda6club.com/mtx-transmission-discussion/342066-5-speed-stuck-2nd-gear.html

Does this sound similar Peter?

Good find!

Thanks but I don't think it is the same issue. No cables because the gearchange mechanism is attached to the top of the gearbox.

You can see in this photo from my build book that there is a box for the gearchange mechanism that sits on top of the actual gearbox to move the lever further back. I don't know if that is a Mazda part or something made for Morgan.

Peter if all fine before and could select gears ok then likely to be the gear selector mechanism has a failure, probably a rod or spline has słiped causing the inability to move side to side. If your feeling up to it and confident I'd remove the gearbox cover then slowly remove selector extension an inspect for cause.

Looking at the build book (a use for it!) I'd say remove the tunnel and see if you can access the selector mechanism. If the gearbox sounds ok I'd suspect it's ok and that you've done no harm.

Bound to be a penny part. .

It seems to move side to side but is blocked in the fore and aft movement. It almost seems as though a rod or spline has slipped out when I tried to change from second to third and then has moved out of place so that the lever can not move back towards second gear position, even though it is actually in second.

Can the gearbox cover be removed without too much trouble? I see a number of screws fastening it to the wooden floors but I have not investigated any further. The radio/heater box seems very close at the front of the cover and I have not yet found all the press studs holding the front of the trim cover.

Is there anyone who has actually removed this cover on a recent car?

I used to drive a Ford Zephyr staff car when I was in the RAF. It had a three speed column gear lever. This was very worn and had the unendearing habit of getting into first and reverse at the same time. Happily the remedy was simple and involved hitting the gear linkage with the starting handle.