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MG MGB Technical - cant shift to reverse in od car

just finished? a 73 b engine runs fine cant shift into reverse this is an overdrive car. read something about switch working , please advise thanks, car not running when i got it supposed to be a gift, what a gift thanks les
l.f. frank

Why can't you shift into reverse. Will the lever not physically go into that position or is the gear grating when you try to select. Will the gear select when the engine is turned off. Can you select all forward gears?
Iain MacKintosh

when runnin it grinds will shift hard when engine is off
l.f. frank

Seems to me like the clutch is not clearing properly. Check that you have about 5/8" movement at the clutch fork at the point where the cylinder meets the fork and if not check out the hydraulics to make sure that they are in order and properly bled.
Iain MacKintosh

Indeed, grinding in reverse with the engine running, and baulking in forward gears, indicates the clutch is dragging. However you should still be able to move in and out of gears easily with the engine stopped, and the clutch pedal released, although not necessarily all of them without dipping the clutch for some of them.

Bleeding the clutch is a beggar, I reckon air gets trapped in the loop of pipe at the top. If never done top down bleeding because of this, but always bottom up i.e. reverse bleeding. And the simplest way of doing that is to connect the clutch nipple to the right caliper nipple (same size), open both, and use the brake pedal slowly and gently. Drain out some fluid from the clutch reservoir first to stop it overflowing. You should be able to virtually fill the clutch with even the old metal single-circuit brake reservoir, let alone the larger dual-circuit reservoirs, but nevertheless keep an eye on the brake level.
Paul Hunt 2010

went about it a diff. way rpms were about 1200 i reset the timing played with the carb brought rpms down to 700 then it shifts the way it is supposed to, les
l.f. frank

When I first got my car, had issues with going into reverse, and no revers lights - turned out that the reverse light switch was not properly seated, and was acting as a partial block. Had to get a new switch because it had been in that way for a while, and was actually bent.
Patrick Callan

Ah, if your idle speed is too high it can take a few seconds for the gearbox internals to come to a stop to allow smooth gear engagement. The fact that you have slowed it down will cut this time quite dramatically.
Iain MacKintosh

This thread was discussed between 04/04/2010 and 28/04/2010

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