Selector finger on gearbox remote shaft

johnsimister

Active Member
Can anyone tell me if it's possible to replace this without dropping the gearbox down, perhaps by removing the gear lever, engaging reverse from under the car, rotating the shaft to free the finger and sliding the shaft back far enough to get access to the finger's pinch bolt? Or is that a forlorn hope? Car is a 1972 2000 TC with the remote control attached to the gearbox. The end of the finger is worn so there's a lot of fore-and-aft play in the shift action. Not sure if the finger is the splined type or not. Car's chassis number has a B on the end.

Many thanks for any wisdom anyone can impart.

John
 
You will need to drop the rear of the gearbox down so that you can reach over the top of the remote to undo the 4 nuts that secure the remote to the gearbox. Series 2 selector fingers don't have a pinch bolt, they have a Mills pin. The fingers aren't splined on the shaft, the mills pin runs through a groove to locate the finger in the correct position.
 
Just make sure you position the fan blades across the rad otherwise you run the risk of the bottom blades fouling the matrix.
 
Now if it were a series 1 car you could do it entirely from inside the car. But that's the price of progress.

Yours
Vern
 
Now if it were a series 1 car you could do it entirely from inside the car. But that's the price of progress.

How would you do the entire job from inside the car? The rear of the horizontal selector rod is supported under the plate that holds the gearlever, but I can't see how you could release that from inside, and I can't see that gearlever mounting plate coming through the hole in the tunnel, or being able to unbolt that plate even if it would. Or can it be done through the access hole in the side of the tunnel?

I can't say I've ever tried, I always did both Series 1 and Series 2 from underneath. As you say, Series 1 is a lot easier.
 
As a coincidence i have it fresh in my memory, because this is how i have spent the last Saturday. Well, in my case (series 1) i also worked from underneath, because i wanted to renew the whole support (bushes etc.) of the shaft, and the gearbox mounting rubbers. But i did the final position adjustment of the selector finger from inside the car, following the procedure of the Rover manual. What i presume that Vern is reffering to, is that it is possible if you remove the gearlever and undo the pinch bolt, to slide the shaft rearwards enough and replace the selector finger from the gearbox tunnel side aperture. I would say that it looks to be feasible.
Still on the series 1 cars theme, i also replaced the gearlever accorn by the replacement from Wins, and removed the slack from the steady between the mounting plate and the gearbox. The gearchange is now really precise.
 
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Thanks for all your replies. I had hoped to be able to do as Demetris describes, but given the Mills pin fixing on a Series 2 that's a non-starter. Harvey, thanks for the fan blades tip.
 
How would you do the entire job from inside the car? The rear of the horizontal selector rod is supported under the plate that holds the gearlever, but I can't see how you could release that from inside, and I can't see that gearlever mounting plate coming through the hole in the tunnel, or being able to unbolt that plate even if it would. Or can it be done through the access hole in the side of the tunnel?

I can't say I've ever tried, I always did both Series 1 and Series 2 from underneath. As you say, Series 1 is a lot easier.

You guessed it, through the access hole on the side of the tunnel. You have to remove the console finisher and remove the gear lever. That lets you slide the horizontal shaft back out of the selector finger after you've loosened the pinch bolt.

Yours
vern
 
I think I'll stick to doing it from underneath....

By the time you have the centre console out, I'll have the job done! :D
 
Well, I never actually removed the console, just set it adrift enough to sneak under and undo the three bolts holding the gear lever down. To my memory, it ended up being about the same time as going under the car without having to lie on my back.

Yours
Vern
 
My problem these days is if I crawl under a car and work overhead, I rapidly get what feels like motion sickness and start feeling nauseous. It's been going on for several years now, the doctors just shrug and say "deal with it".

Yours
Vern
 
My problem these days is if I crawl under a car and work overhead, I rapidly get what feels like motion sickness and start feeling nauseous. It's been going on for several years now, the doctors just shrug and say "deal with it".

Yours
Vern
Sounds like Vertigo . I have it occasionally.
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a disorder arising from a problem in the inner ear. Symptoms are repeated, brief periods of vertigo with movement, that is, of a spinning sensation upon changes in the position of the head. This can occur with turning in bed or changing position. Each episode of vertigo typically lasts less than one minute. Nausea is commonly associated. BPPV is one of the most common causes of vertigo
 
That's been ruled out because there is no vertigo associated with the episodes, thought it was a leading contender as I had a significant head injury many years ago. The best guess is that it has something to do with my head injury, which has sprung a few things on me over the years. One day I literally went deaf in one ear while I was listening to a record (oddly enough, when I got all that tested out after it happened, I was resistant to vertigo in one of the tests that should trigger it), and a few years ago it was noticed that I have some dropsy on the right side of my face (same side as the deaf ear)

Yours
Vern
 
I joke with people that Rovers are great cars, you just need a few special tools to work on them. One of those tools is a vehicle left for the brakes!
 
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