AS will not go in gear

[darin davis]

New member in need of HELP!  Thanks in advance for any suggenstions you can give me.  i have a 73 AS that has been operating fine until trying to shift from 1 to 2 and it will not go in gear.  try to shift back to 1 and nothing.  Coasted to a stop and it has not gone into gear with the engine running since.  It will go into gear with engine off.  I have redone the wiring on the shifter and adjusted the contacts.  Checked all the vacuum lines and the control valve for operation which seems to be working fine.  I am 6' 5" with long arms so i can actually reach around the rear finder and connect and disconnect the control valve wire while i watch the clutch servo.  i have the car up on jack stands of course.  The clutch servo seems to be operating fine.  i have tried to adjust the clutch servo a number of times but still cant get it to go into gear.  I now have no more adjustment.  The clutch lever is hard to operate manually as though it is connected in the transmision to the clutch plate and the lever is solid to the shaft.  Not sure which way to go from here.  Anybody have any ideas?

[68autobug]

Hi
so the clutch servo is working OK... but is the clutch arm moving when the clutch servo is activated by the control valve?   The clutch arm is very hard to move manually.
One of the common items that do wear out is the rubber diaphram in the clutch servo..
a new kit is available for these.
One way to test if You can get it into gear, is shorting out the neutral safety switch, so You can start it in gear.. the neutral safety switch is located on the LHS of the nose of the gearbox.
You can pull the plug off and insert a paper clip into two of the terminals..  just keep connecting two of them until You find the correct terminals..  Then You can start the car in gear .. if You start in top gear [drive 2] You can still drive it on the road although the takeoff will be slow.. or in 2nd gear [drive 1] if You are driving under 50 MPH.. 
You will probably need to adjust the clutch adjuster again... lol
make sure the clutch arm hasn't come loose [on the top of the gearbox] on the shaft that goes to the clutch release bearing..  This bolt is usually very tight...  but it may have been undone at some previous time??
If Your control valve is working correctly, but the clutch servo isn't pulling the clutch arm into position.. it may be one of the vacuum hoses [1/2 inch or 12.7mm vacuum hose.] that is leaking [not enough vacuum into servo][no vacuum in tank due to leaking hose from control valve or in hose from inlet manifold.
|The control valves are rarely at fault, although at some time they will fail, and no, not the electrical part but the diaphram that lets vacuum into the clutch servo etc..

cheers

Lee in Australia

[darin davis]

Thanks soo much for the feedback Lee.
With some help from my daughter I have had her opperate the solenoid valve by disconnecting the wire and then reconnecting the wire while I "try" to reach up on top of the transmission and feel the shaft into the clutch.  The control arm is for sure moving and I am fairly confident the shaft itself is rotating also.  By disconnecting the servo/control arm linkage I cannot move the control arm by hand it is very stiff, therefor I believe the conection is good between the two.  I am to the point where I believe it is something inside the transmission.  Will probably remove engine and tranny tommorrow and see what i can find.  Can anyone help me out with what to expect in tearing into the tranny and are there any parts available if needed.

thanks again

[68autobug]

Hi Darin
Yes, the clutch arm is virtually impossible to move with Your hand etc..
Because the arm is so long it doesn't have move very much with the vacuum to operate it.
Now, I'm thinking its a gear shifter problem [hopefully] and not the gearbox, although the shifter rod inside the nose of the box could be damaged.. so it cannot select gears.
Also check the gear shifter connection under the rear seat [under the oval plate] where the gear shifter shaft connects to the gear box thru a linkage..
this linkage could be worn out or broken.. [hopefully another easy fix]
You can see if its working with someone moving the shifter thru the gears.. while You check out the linkage.. to see if its going forwards and backwards and turns slightly too..
Lastly, You could take the gear shifter lever out and check that its OK...  but I've never heard of one breaking or wearing so bad You cannot at least get one gear...

You say You can select the gears with the engine NOT running...
and when You say You can't get into gear with the engine running...
does it crunch???  when trying to select a gear...??

Best thing to do is disconnect the neutral safety switch, and put a paper clip [using the two ends] into the two connectors that go to the starter motor..

Now on early models there is a wire that goes to the third connector in the neutral safety switch and another wire is connected to it...   
so it has two wires going to that connector... the others should be single wires..
Don't put the paper clip [or wire jumper] into that connector as it is the wire that goes to the bottom of the gear shifter switch and the other end goes to the control valve solenoid... so its a ground wire connection..  it will cause a short circuit connecting it.

I hope that helps..  it will show if the gearshifter IS working OK..
when You start the engine in gear...
it could be a clutch problem of some kind if it works OK when the engine is started in gear...

cheers

Lee in Australia