MGB & GT Forum

My GT has a new master and slave for the clutch. Pedal action seems about what I would expect. I can shift normally up and down just fine, and never experience any shuddering or slipping, etc. I would say that the clutch and transmission are Just Fine, except...

If I start the car cold and go to drive away, I generally can't just throw it in reverse without some grinding. If I try again and pump the pedal, I can get it to go in after another try or two, but in general it isn't pretty, or quiet.

I find that I can solve this problem completely, if I put it into first and then slide it into reverse while keeping my foot on the clutch pedal. This is how I generally start driving the car now, especially when cold. I have found that as the car warms up, the problem goes away.

I understand the concept of the clutch and transmission just fine, but my understanding is not nuanced enough to see why the clutch/transmission would behave this way. Any ideas?

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Dave

Reverse is not synchronized to the forward gears.
What you describe is not unusual.
If you cannot get it in reverse, put it in first release the clutch partially, just enough to hit the 'slip zone" where the car wants to move but doesn't then put it in reverse and it will go in like a glass rod in a satin pouch.

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Michael J. Caputo
'79, '77, '76, '74.5 (rubber dual SU), and '73 owner. Extensive experience in 12v Audio System design and installation. Vendor of Regalia and Promotional Products since 1993. Supplier of Accessories to MOSS. Forum Member since 2009; with a warped sense of humor since birth. Publisher of the annual MGB & GT Calendar, mailed worldwide.

Because, due to momemtum, the laygear keeps turning even when you disengage the clutch. If you push the clutch pedal down and wait longer the laygear will stop moving to allow crunch-free shifts into reverse.

When you shift into another gear and then into reverse (while stopped) you stop the laygear form moving. A four-synchro gearbox allows you to do that using first because it has a synchronizer to match gear speeds (i.e. to zero while stopped). A 3 synchro gearbox won't because its first gear does not have a synchro so we get used to shifting into another gear - especially before a shift into first while stopped.

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Eric Russell ~ Mebane, NC
1961 MGA #61, 1981 Alfa Romeo GTV6, 1984 Alfa Romeo Spider, 1991 Honda ST1100