johns Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 This thread is carried over from CHITCHAT so apologies if you have already read it. On leaving Eastbourne after this mornings mini Blat from Devils Dyke to eastbourne my gearbox failed on the outskirts of eastbourne. I had to drive the last 30 miles in first gear at 15mph from easatbourne to burgess hill with no ability to use the clutch or change gears. by the time i got to the Firle straight between eastbourne and lewes on the A27 i had a tailback any rover driver would be proud of, what a whopper. I fiddled with the clutch cable (of which i have a spare) and that seems to work ok but with the engine turning over you CANNOT select any gears other than neutral.i had to put it in 1st, start the engine (without the use of the clutch) and kangaroo up to speed and stay there. You can select all the gears with the engine off, but thats not helpful. Dipping the clutch with the ignition on makes no difference to anything either Any ideas as to what this might be would be gratefully received Theres talk of it being a Clutch release bearing? Its a caterham standard 6 speed 1.6K Supersport, lightened fly, with about 7000 miles on the clock, was fine this morning but now its dead. Hope someone has an answer John S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pelico Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 John, Does not sound like a Clutch release bearing I believe that normally tells you something is wrong by squealing. Are you sure the clutch is working ? Could be the selector fork, I am sure someone will be along soon who knows a bit more. I have sent you a mail offline. Cheers, Peter My Caterham owner's site Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicat Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 The fact that you can select gears with the car not running points to a clutch related problem. Put the car in first gear (engine not running), put your foot on the clutch and get someone to try and push the car. If car will not move then it is clear clutch is not disengaging engine from gearbox. Assuming this is the case you then need to check cables, pedal box etc. Alicat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnty Lyons Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Siezed Spigot bearing. ☹️ jj N.I. L7C AO. Membership No.3927. Se7en Services.N.I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Carmichael Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 I have had a clutch release bearing break up and the debris caused the clutch to seize. I drove back from Amsterdam with it like this, but with crunch gearchanges I was able to get most of the way in sixth. Sahf London; every 1st Wednesday from 19:30 at The Duck just around the corner from Clapham Junction station Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johns Posted June 14, 2004 Author Share Posted June 14, 2004 Many thanks lads I will try the diagnosis techniques tonight to try and narrow down the problem. Having limited mechanical knowledge i will work through the possibilities until i define whats not doing what it should. regards John S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 Not too sure of the commonality of all of the internal components between the six speed Caterham box over a Ford type 9 five speeder, But I lost gear selection in my Type 9 box, because the roll pin on the selector shaft/fork assembly in the top of the box fell out, (apparently a known problem) leaving me with only fifth to get home with. it might be possible to lift the lid of the box in situ and get someone to go through the gears. if the shafts move but the selector fork does'nt , this might be the problem I wish I had known at the time that it is possible to fix this problem without getting the box out of the car. If it is the roll pin that has gone, it can be retrieved from the bottom of the box with a magnetic pick-up tool. A new (preferbably double) roll pin can then be fitted with a bit of dexterity. The racing guys usually wire lock these pins into place as a belt and braces safety measure. good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Bees Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 It's possible that the clutch release arm has bent (but you won't see it until you remove the engine from the bellhousing). Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicat Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 Any news yet 🤔 🤔 🤔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Howe Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 Sorry to say, but Nige is your best bet... he knows his way around every thing outside the engine. Bottom line is... its engine out time, so what up grades are you thinking about? We have a friend's HPC in bits at the farm and it, like me, is on the Bordeaux Blat - if you need the W. Sx Sevens workshop... its either Nige or wait until I get back from Bordeaux, but then of course I have silage - can you drive a tractor? JH JH Deliveries by Saffron, the yellow 222bhp Sausage delivery machine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Roberts Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 Klein I thoroughly recommend John Howe Garage`s ( up grades ) Ltd.. Their spares department is secound to none. As John say`s," can you drive a tractor". Good luck. Nutty Nige *biggrin* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johns Posted June 16, 2004 Author Share Posted June 16, 2004 OK I tried the diagnosis technique as suggested by Alicat last night. 1. car in first gear, engine off, try pushing = no movement 2. car in first gear, engine off, try pushing with clutch pedal down = car moves 🤔 Now with the engine on and off i can select all gears with NO crunching It appears to have sorted itself. I also tried Steve Robinsons technique of doing VERY SMALL adjustments to the clutch cable nuts by the pedal box end and all seems as it should be. will try a careful blat tonight round town and no doubt will report back if its all gone pear shaped again. PS John Howe - I can probly drive a tractor as long as the field is fenced in so i cant get lost ❗ Thank you for all the help John S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicat Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 Glad to hear it appears to have sorted itself. If it hadn't have moved with the clutch pedal down then the clutch would have been the most liekly culprit. Regards Alicat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Howe Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 John, just a word of caution! If you problems were cured by taking up the slack on the clutch cable, then you need to say why did I need to adjust it? I suggest it is most likely the begining of the end of your clutch cable. If you always carry a spare, then no problem, but if you don't - yesterday was the day you should have ordered a spare .... JH Deliveries by Saffron, the yellow 222bhp Sausage delivery machine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johns Posted June 16, 2004 Author Share Posted June 16, 2004 Hi John Ever since the first cable snapped on the way to redline i carry a spare. If you think it might be the begining of the end of my current cable i'll keep an eye on it. the present cable has only been in since february, can they really last such a short time? either way I'm prepared, now where did i put the spanner set? regards John S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pelico Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 John, Occams razor suggests that the new cable was not adjusted properly to start with. Who fitted it ? My Caterham owner's site Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elie boone Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 Its most likely that the part that falls in to the bellhousing when the clutch cable brakes caused your problem. It jams the clutch and the only cure is to put the car in gear, press the clutch pedal and have someone push you back & forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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