Triumph Repair: spitfiretransmission, clutch master cylinder, clutch hydraulics

Question
dear jim, i have just purchesed a 1980 spitfire 1500 with an o/d unit. it had an engine fire before i bought it, and damaged the 2 s u carbs that someone had put on, i have replaced them with a weber unit and it runs fine. now my problem is, now that it is running, i went to check the clutch and trans. my problem is the trans. goes into all foward gears fine, but i cant get it into reverse. please can you help.

Answer
Stephen,

I see two possible scenarios.

1)  You cannot get the shifter lever into the correct position to engage reverse.  If this is the case, you probably need a shifter bushing kit, as one of the plastic pieces on the shift lever has broken.

2)  The clutch is not disengaging fully.   If this is the case, you won't be able to shift into reverse as the gears will grind but not engage.

First, the way to tell the difference between the 2 situations is try to put the transmission into reverse with the engine off.  Make sure there is a clear path behind the car.  With the clutch pedal depressed, start the car.  If the car starts to move in reverse immediately or moves when you let the clutch up just a little bit, then it's a clutch issue.   Otherwise it's a shifter issue.

If it's a clutch issue then make sure the clutch master cylinder is topped up with fluid.  Bleed the clutch.  If that doesn't solve the problem then make sure the slave cylinder is pushed as far forward as possible in it's holder.  If there's still a problem then you either need new clutch hydraulics or there is a problem with the pressure plate or throwout bearing.

If it's a shifter issue the Triumph suppliers typically have a shift lever "rebush" kit.


Cheers,

Jim