MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGA - 5 speed

Hi all,
I have fitted a 5 speed Ford box to my MGA during restoration.So I have never driven the car with his original gearbox.
When I start driving the gear change is very smooth but after a while gear changing becomes stiffer.No cracking or so just stiffer.After about 50km I feel that the gearstick is getting warm, not hot just handwarm.I used Valvoline oil as recommended by Hi Gear.
A reason I can think off is that the box is getting warmer and the oil is getting thinner.I think that a lot of the MGA engine heat is evacuated through the tunnel so the gearbox can get warmer in the MGA as in the Ford.The gearbox was not reconditioned but was Ok when he came from the sierra.
As I have no MGA 5speed drivers in my area I want to ask you if anyone has the same experience? Is it normal and if not any recommendation.

Herman
H. Jorens

Herman

Not a problem I have experienced with my 5-speed. I have been running the box for nearly 12 years. I use the standard Ford recommended oil in my box.

Steve
Steve Gyles

One thing I noticed after changing to the 5 speed was that the gearstick was much cooler to the touch. Also I have never noticed any differences in the gear changing with distance driven or engine/outside temperature.

I am using one of the recommended semi synthetic oils in mine, can't remember what make it was. I check every so often but have never had to top it up.

Malcolm
Malcolm Asquith

I would check that you have enough oil in the gearbox
dominic clancy

My experience with the 5-speed is just the opposite, in cold weather--under 40 F., it's a little harder to shift until the car warms up.
David Werblow

I found very simmilar on my MG-TG when I change the gearbox to the 5 speed Ford box. Mainly the first gear and the rear going in very hard but not noisy. After 6 month running, now everythings runns well and the gear can be switch very smooth.
I believe ther was old oil in the box which have to wash out during the first halve year running.
Good luck
Guenter
Guenter

Herman, I suppose you could extract the box and put it on the bench and warm it up to check it out.
Art Pearse

Herman, I was wondering whether it could be your clutch not freeing off fully, that would make it stiff to get out of gear, but I would have expected it to grate a bit when you tried to engage the next gear.
Lindsay Sampford

Herman,

Ik heb 2 MGA's met Sierra 5-speed uitgerust en ik gebruik de originele olie van Ford. Die olie is verre van goedkoop maar voor zover ik kon achterhalen zou die nooit moeten vervangen worden.
Groetjes,
Guido
gva guido

Hi guys,
Thanks for the comments.
I think the clutch is OK.
I am still wondering where the warmth at the gearstick coms from.There could be a problem with the selector or the temperature causes a problem in the selector.
I used Valvolin gear oil but I will try to find original Ford oil.Just extracting the oil from the box and filling it again will be a messy job.I made a plugged hole in te tunnel where the filler hole is in the gearbox.
Guido
Ik heb Valvolin olie gebruikt maar de olie die uit de bak was rode olie en leek mij ook dikker.(ik ken niets van olie!)
Als de bak koud is dan gaat alles OK totdat hij warm wordt en dat gaat hij moeilijker uit eerste en in tweede.
Wordt jou versnellingspook ook warm(handwarm)tijdens een lange rit?

Regards,
Herman
H. Jorens

Herman

Just a few random thoughts, probably of no relevance: I presume you are using the Hi-Gear Engineering conversion? If so, is it a recent purchase with the short throw gear stick? My older conversion had a long throw stick which made it awkward to use with the MGA gaiter. It was always jumping out of gear and some times difficult to engage because of gaiter stretch. This problem went away with the short throw stick. Have you checked that the stick is properly engaged with the selector?

Slechts een paar willekeurige gedachten, waarschijnlijk niet van belang: ik neem aan dat u gebruik maakt van de Hi-Gear Techniek conversie? Zo ja, is het een recente aankoop met de short throw versnellingspook? Mijn oudere conversie had een long throw stok waardoor het lastig te gebruiken met de MGA hoes. Het was altijd springen uit van het vistuig en soms moeilijk om deel te nemen vanwege de hoes te rekken. Dit probleem ging weg met de short throw stick. Heb je gecontroleerd of de stick goed is bezig met de selector?

Steve
Steve Gyles

Steve,
Long or short throw gearstick?What is the difference?
Gearstick is properly engaged in the selector.
But what you said started me thinking.I made a very small modification to the tunnel cover,just enough I thought.I used the MGA gearstick geater and I made a metal ring to fix the geater to the tunnel with some metalscrews.Maybe there is not enough room for the gearstick to move in first and second gear.There is a chance that the small metal piece that sets the gearstick a bit backward touches the tunnel.
I will remove the tunnel cover this week and make a test drive to see if there is any difference.Meanwhile I can check that the gearstick is properly engaged.
I hope that it is the cause of the problem because I don't want to remove the gearbox from the car.

I had one more question.The original gearbox oil that came out of the box had a red colour.Does that red colour has any meaning?The Valvolin oil that I used has the normal oil colour.

Regards,
Herman
H. Jorens

Herman

Valid point about the difference between the 2 sticks unless you have them side by side for comparison. I sold my long throw stick so I cannot give you any measurements, although a picture of it is attached. However, the simple guide is that the short throw stick requires no alteration to the gear stick hole in the tunnel, whereas the long throw stick required the hole to be elongated fore and aft - almost looked egg-shaped. I had to make up a leather gaiter (MGB style) to stop the gear stick being pulled into neutral.

Steve


Steve Gyles

Herman,
De rode olie is ongetwijfeld de originele olie van Ford. deze zou dus moeten voldoen.
De tunnel warmt inderdaad op bij het rijden. Ik heb een Coupé en een roadster. Bij de coupé is er meer warmteontwikkeling in de cockpit dan bij de roadster, maar dat is normaal, vandaar dat ik de tunnel van de coupé aan de binnenkant bekleed heb met warmtewerend materiaal. Ik woon in Lokeren, als het je past mag je gerust eens langskomen.
Mijn e-mail: guido.van.acker19@gmail.com

Groetjes,
Guido
gva guido

Herman,
Wat de warmte van de gearstick betreft, geen nood hoor ! ze worden allemaal warm. Bij alle MG's (B en A) die ik tot nu toe had wordt de stick warm na een tijdje rijden. Hier is dus niets verkeerd aan de hand.
Groetjes,
Guido
gva guido

Courtesy of Google

Herman,
The red oil is undoubtedly the original oil from Ford. This would therefore have to comply.
The tunnel is warming indeed when driving. I have a coupe and a roadster. In the coupe, there is more heat in the cockpit than the roadster, but that's normal, so I (took) the tunnel of the coupe lined with heat(insulating) material. I live in Lokeren, as you see fit, you may hesitate to come.
My email: @ gmail.com guido.van.acker19

Greetings,
Guido

Herman,
As the heat of the gear stick, it need not know! They are all hot. In all MGs (A and B) that until now I had the hot stick after a while driving. There's nothing wrong with the hand.
Greetings,
Guido
N McGurk

Hi,
One more question.
I was looking around on the internet to see if I could find more info about my gearbox problem.
I found that if the clutch is not freeing completely it could be that engaging(and disengaging) first and second gear can be difficult.

So is there a way to check if the clutch is freeing completely and if not, what can be done about it?
Thanks,

Herman
H. Jorens

Herman

I had a problem at an early stage with the clutch operating arm. I ended up with considerable lateral movement of the arm which caused the thrust bearing to run off centre, resulting and juddering during gear changes. It also accelerated bush wear in the pivot. See picture.

Steve


Steve Gyles

This was the clutch release bearing. You can see it had been running off-centre.

Steve


Steve Gyles

Herman, -- Jack up the rear of the car, or at least the driver side rear wheel to be off the ground. Run engine slowly with 1st gear engaged, and depress the clutch pedal. If the clutch works well the wheel(s) will stop turning. If there is the slightest bit of drag in the clutch the wheel(s) will keep turning.

If clutch does not release, get under the car where you can see the clutch release arm, and have a helper step on the clutch pedal. Full stroke of the pedal should produce about 5/8 inch of travel of the clutch slave and release arm. If it does not move that far you have a hydraulics problem. If it does movement least 1/2 inch and the clutch still does not release, then you have a mechanical problem inside the bell housing, and the engine has to come out for the fix.
Barney Gaylord

This thread was discussed between 23/10/2011 and 13/11/2011

MG MGA index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.