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MG MGF Technical - Loose MGF gear lever

Hi there

I've noticed that the gear lever on my '98 MGF is slightly loose when you wiggle itr from side to side in neutral. I've also noticed that gear selection is becoming more difficult.

The car has only done 25 000 miles, so excessive wear could be ruled out.

I suspect there might be a spring or a ball somewhere that needs replacement, but I'm not too sure what the part/s are called.

Has any other MGF owners experienced the same problem? If so, is this an fairly straight forward fix or should I rather let me local mg specialist fix it?

Thanks for the help in advance!

Philip
Philip

Hi Philip,

I own a 99 made and the gearing suffers from the same mad problem.

No straight foreward easy DIY job unfortunately, unless you can just find worn ball joints at the gear box itself.

I daubt any dealer could _repair_ the front gear stick assy in an economic way. They will just swap it to a new *expensive* part assy. The change works is expensive as well, cause nearly all of the interieur needs to be removed to get access to the infected part.
(seats, radio facia, rear cubby box and the whole tunnel are to be removed before they
reach the SRS ECU and the gear stick assy below the ECU ..)
http://www.mgfcar.de/gear_select/geardcp_2291.jpg

However, I'm not a friend of aftermarket slick shift gear kits which are availiable for nearly the same costs than the original.
But if you find an independent workshop for the change, then go for it.

Another option is sourcing a second hand original and re-work all the inner bearings. Then swap it in as written above.
http://www.mgfcar.de/gear_select/gearselector_cp_2602.jpg

If the rear ball joints are worn only:
I'd recommend the B&G kit with two of special new ball joints and gear lever to the gear box. Then the gearing should be adjusted for new.

HTH
Dieter
Dieter K.

Thanks Dieter

Eutrher way, looks like its going to be an expensive one!

I've just had a look on Mike Staur's website. The do a Slick shift kit that looksl like it might do the job? Has anyone tried this before?

Philip
PJ Pienaar

Hi Philip
I have to agree with Dieter, I have fitted B & G quick shift and it did nopthing fo me, BUT just fitting the bell housing kit transformed the shift. Perhaps I should have spent the extra and bought a slick shift.
Good Luck
Andrew
Andrew Regens

http://www.apttony.co.uk/Servicing/FittingSSK.html

JohnP

Thanks Andrew and John for the advice. John, thanks so much for the link. Very helpful!

Philip
PJ Pienaar

Philip,

you see :)
It's a difficult decision :))

UKD000090 is the MGR partnumber for app 200 quid.
Not sure, but I think both gearchange cables are included for this price.
Can anyone confirm ??
Dieter K.

Philip

A cable operated gearchange is never going to be as precise as rigid levers and after 25k you can expect play in all the joints of the system to become quite bad. The most critical are the ball joints on the bellcrank and the fit of the belcrank on the gearbox shaft. This is because they are open to all weathers under the rear of the car.

Because the gear cables operate in when pushing and pulling, it is not possible to take up wear by adjusting the cables, you must replace the joints.

There has been no direct comparison of aftermarket gear systems with the original, but the general consensus is that the Mike Satur versions are the best and the MG version is worst. If you have other things to spend your money on, you can do a lot by regularly replacing the joints, but if you want a longer lasting solution that is also more precise, then get one of Mike Satur's SSK, now in its 4th version. If your not sure then try it out for yourself before you buy.

Replacing the gearlever housing is long-winded but quite straight-forward. On the other hand, changing a gear cable is a real pig of a job.

Chris
Chris

Of course, swapping the original (much too long, IMO) gear knob for a shorter MOMO-style one will reduce the apparent play considerably, for far fewer pennies than an SSK. Cutting the stick down before screwing it on even more so, though you then loose the ability to refit the old knob if you sell the car.

Try moving the stick between gears with the engine off having removed the original knob to see if you like the feel of a shorter throw.

Jamie
J Wakeham

Jamie

Could of course just hold the stick below the knob when driving normaly - gives a better impression than moving the stick around with the engine off.
JohnP

John,

Quite true. Maybe best to try both to see if you like it - momo knobs are not cheap (though still rather cheaper than the SSK!) and it'd be annoying to find that you hate the feel after spending the money.

Jamie
J Wakeham

>>There has been no direct comparison of aftermarket gear systems with the original, but the general consensus is that the Mike Satur versions are the best and the MG version is worst<<

I beg to differ - as I was part of agroup that did a test that was published in MG World a few years ago.

Techspeed and Mike Satur (version 2 IIRC) came top
Then MGR
Then Brown & Gammons

Paul
P9 VLS

Paul

Chris, Paul's absolutely right! We did the comparison for MG World - and famously featured Tom's hand changing gears...

The two best systems were indeed the TS and the MS quick shifts - although the ever industrious Mr Satur has since revised the design at least twice since that test!

On the strength of that article, I went for the Techspeed article - although I think that the MS option would be just as good a choice. :o)
Rob Bell


Apologies to all concerned, my memory must be failing.

I guess in fairness to all makers of gear lever systems, time has moved on, so it might be time for another test.

Chris
Christopher Marshall

For the record, the SSK tested was a prototype, as fitted to my F, i suppose in SSK parlance it'd best be described as an SSK 0.5!

He is up to version 4 now, as you rightly say, the game has moved on.

SF
Scarlet Fever

This thread was discussed between 01/10/2004 and 06/10/2004

MG MGF Technical index

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