Nick (1018cc) and I swapped the box and engine over in my mini this weekend. We got almost everything done - I need a few more parts to finish up but it's almost all there.

We tested the engine and made sure it was running and ok, and then went to have a play with the box before we put it back on the ground for a test drive. Neither of us could get the gear lever to move after the roll pin was reinserted.

When we removed the removed the original power unit we put the box into reverse and knocked out the roll pin through the top, then undid the bar that attaches above that. When it came to reattach the shifter rod to the new box, the little hole for the pin would only line up with the gear lever was somewhere between second and fourth. When the roll pin is in, you can't move the shifter at all.

Is there a trick to this? Have we missed something? Is there a chance that the box is shagged?

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"I'm sorry, but a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!"

I might add that the sleeve on the old box moved reasonably freely in my hand and could be pulled in and out and turned about it's axis whereas the sleeve on the new gear box wouldn't move even with a suitably sized screwdriver through the roll pin hole.

It would seem as though it is locked in 2nd gear.

Any idea's?

(I should add that this is an untested engine/gearbox so all we are sure about is that the engine and box we pulled out was working fine beforehand (albeit very tired)).

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"In two years time your car will be like a lady's clothes, out of date, my car will still be in fashion when I am dead" - Sir Alec speaking to Pininfarina

The only suggestion I have is locking a pair of vise grips on the selector rod and see if youcan work it free with some light tapping with a hammer.

I always make a habit of testing the box by assembling the gear change before the power unit is replaced in the car, to make sure gear selection is OK, but I guess that advice is not much use to you now.

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1967 Cooper S - new front bearings to do.
1965 Cooper S shell - Slow progress. No time or money!
1966 Deluxe- next rustoration!
Mk 2 & XJ6 Jags. Less said the better.

And if what headjob said doesnt work, the use a bigger hammer

We've tried pushing and pulling and turning it but it just won't go anywhere.

The car the engine came out of was involved in an accident, and the gear change rod had been cut of about an inch and a half from where it went into the selector sleeve. Is there a chance that the accident damage the selector sleeve (or whatever is on the other side of it, inside the box) or something else in the box that would stop it from shifting?

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"I'm sorry, but a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!"

Can you check if it is stuck in second (or any) gear? Will the diff output shafts 'freewheel' or are they 'locked'?

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They're locked - with the plugs out and one person on either side we can force the wheels to turn - this makes the crank turn.

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"I'm sorry, but a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!"

It does sound like an engine out, box off job I'm afraid

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When we started the engine and got it to idle the wheels span with the engine rev's. They span up reasonably quickly which makes me think it is in 2nd gear. The shafts are definitely locked together.



Gut feel told me that the other afternoon but I didn't really want to entertain thoughts of it being stuffed. So Danny, want some help to pull it back out of the engine bay again? Or would you rather borrow my car trailer to take it somewhere so it can think about what it has done?

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"In two years time your car will be like a lady's clothes, out of date, my car will still be in fashion when I am dead" - Sir Alec speaking to Pininfarina

Haha..........I'll drain the oil and get it ready to pull out. I don't think I can face it this week

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"I'm sorry, but a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!"

Righto, well let me know when you want to pull it out and I'll see if I can come around (if you have the time ).

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"In two years time your car will be like a lady's clothes, out of date, my car will still be in fashion when I am dead" - Sir Alec speaking to Pininfarina

I wonder if the selector is in the 3/4 spot and the box is in 2nd.

M1100, how would you go about checking/fixing that? I didn't think that was really possible??? (Happy to be proved wrong if it is an easy fix)

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"In two years time your car will be like a lady's clothes, out of date, my car will still be in fashion when I am dead" - Sir Alec speaking to Pininfarina

It has been a long while since I played with a rod change but do they have a pair of plugs on the front of the box where the selector shafts run?
EDIT, no they don't.

There is an inter-lock that prevents that. Even remote boxes have them. If it was left out of a rod shift the input selector shaft would just about fall out!

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