| Author | Message | ||
     Chris Browne Experienced User Username: chrisb Post Number: 50 Registered: 2-2010 |
Hello everyone, I have recently purchased a “barn find” 1958 Silver Cloud 1  . The car had been standing for over six years without being started or moved when I found it but after nine weeks intensive surgery, especially on the brakes which were seized solid, it passed its’ MOT. The car will now be the subject of a body off, ground up restoration but before I start on that, there are some issues with the gearbox which I would like to resolve. The gearbox sump has been removed and cleaned out as has the strainer and new fluid filled to the correct level. When range 4 is selected, the car moves away smoothly in first gear and changes smoothly into second. Third gear, however, is selected with a considerable jerk on all but the gentlest of throttle openings and when it is time for fourth gear to be selected, the gearbox seems to go into neutral for a few seconds before fourth gear is taken. If I change gear manually, the symptoms virtually disappear. I would be most grateful for any opinions and advice anyone may be able to give about these problems and would be particularly interested to hear if they are typical of this type of gearbox and may be improved by adjustment of the adjusters on top of the casing. I did attempt a gradual adjustment of the front adjuster on the top of the gearbox, as per the manual, one flat at a time. I road tested the car after each tiny adjustment and there was an improvement after six full turns of the adjuster. Shortly after that, however, the gear oil became extremely hot and the transmission seized so I had clearly overdone things! I was able to wind the adjuster back to its original position and once the box had cooled down, it performed as it had before with no apparent damage. If anyone has any experience working on these transmissions, I would love to hear from them. Kind regards, Chris Browne | ||
| David Hughes Experienced User Username: wedcar Post Number: 30 Registered: 7-2004 |
Hello Chris Speak to Graham Whitehouse at www.gwautos.com, they are highly regarded in servicing the Hydra-Matic gearboxes. Regards David | ||
| Robert Wort Grand Master Username: robert_wort Post Number: 417 Registered: 12-2004 |
Hi Chris, I you click on Topics/Technical Forum/Silver Cloud & Bentley S/Gearbox Silver Cloud 3, You might be able to attend to this yourself. Hope this helps. Robert Wort | ||
| Chris Browne Frequent User Username: chrisb Post Number: 53 Registered: 2-2010 |
Hello David and Robert, David, I am now in contact with Graham and will let you know how I get on. Thank you. Robert, thank you for that. I'll look it up. Kind regards, Chris | ||
| richard george yeaman Grand Master Username: richyrich Post Number: 499 Registered: 4-2012 |
Hello all I was speaking to a gentleman yesterday at an event R.R.E.C Ireland section he has a Cloud 11 in Romania that has a problem with reverse gear ceasing to function. The box then was rebuilt and reinstalled only to have the same fault occur after about 100 yards. I know its a long shot but can anybody shed any light on this I noticed in the above post that Chris Browne had been in touch with Graham Whitehouse and I was wondering if this had been of any help any advice that I can pass on would be appreciated. Richard. | ||
| Chris Browne Prolific User Username: chrisb Post Number: 251 Registered: 2-2010 |
Hi there, I am sure Graham Whitehouse would be able to help but we had our Cloud 1 gearbox rebuilt by another company which was nearer to us and the box has performed faultlessly ever since. I am not familiar with the loss of reverse gear as this did not happen to us. I wonder if it might be an issue with the gear linkages not being correctly adjusted rather than an actual gearbox fault? Kind regards, Chris | ||
| richard george yeaman Grand Master Username: richyrich Post Number: 500 Registered: 4-2012 |
Thank you Chris any amount of things could be the cause including your suggestion that it may be the linkages not being properly adjusted, The rebuild itself was carried out by the owner and some helpers given the fact that the gentleman in question owns an Irish bar and grill establishment in Romania one could see how maybe the fault could have been rebuilt back into the gearbox ( Im only saying maybe ) Richard. | ||
| Chris Browne Prolific User Username: chrisb Post Number: 252 Registered: 2-2010 |
Hi Richard, One thing I do remember that our gearbox rebuilder told us was that if parts are sourced from the UK, the wrong type of clutch plates are usually supplied. The UK sourced ones are flat whereas the proper GM ones, sourced from the US, are wavy. Flat ones do not work very well but the wavy ones were original equipment and do the job properly. I don't suppose the fitting of incorrect clutch plates would cause the loss of reverse gear though. Kind regards, Chris | ||
| ChristopherCarnley Unregistered guest Posted From: 5.80.53.29 |
A small correction. The wavy edged clutch plates are peculiar to Rolls-Royce and follow from the steel disc clutch as used in the early prewar small h.p cars, wit the R-R heavy clutch, as the offset segments provide gradual engagement. The normal GM parts are flat, and only the firm in the USA "Fatsco" are the manufacturers and suppliers, of wavy plates. (Message approved by david_gore) | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 2051 Registered: 4-2003 |
Christopher, It is my understanding the "wave" clutch plates were fitted by GM to up-market prestige models like the Cadillac to give imperceptible gear changes by allowing some clutch slip during the change. However , this had the downside of reducing the life of the clutch plates especially if the car spent most of its life in stop-start city driving. I recall one of the York Motors mechanics in Sydney saying they often had to replace the R-R/B T400 clutch plates after less than 100,000 miles as they were worn out. | ||
| Haydn Deane Unregistered guest Posted From: 151.227.138.197 |
Hello Chris from a not so sunny Belfast, N Ireland. Richard (RGY) has kindly posted on my behalf the problem with my lovely 1960 S2(Mrs Simpson), which I have in my holiday home in Transylvania, Romania. 2 years ago she refused to proceed backwards. Forwards in all gears is perfect. With the help of the manual, a rebuild kit from Introcar and a local engineer we rebuilt the gearbox and were happy that she then procceded backwards. Shortlived though. She moved 100yds backwards up a hill, proceeded down the hill in forward but then solemnly refused to move astern again! Have checked all we can think of but are obviously missing something. We feel it might be a problem outside the gearbox, as surely it would be difficult to build in the same probelm after a rebuild if all the steps were followed correctly and nothing was visibly broken/ damaged. ? maybe linkages? Any thoughts? Many thanks. Loved Australia when I was out there. (Message approved by david_gore) | ||
| Jim Walters Frequent User Username: jim_walters Post Number: 85 Registered: 1-2014 |
Haydn, very likely worn linkage bushes or incorrectly adjusted shift linkage. I've come across this same problem a few times over the years. Also I've found most harsh shifting issues to be an incorrectly adjusted throttle valve or worn linkage on same. SRC18015 SRE22493 NAC-05370 www.bristolmotors.com | ||
| David Hughes Frequent User Username: wedcar Post Number: 54 Registered: 7-2004 |
Haydn Jack up the rear wheels or place the car on a hoist (lift). Disconnect the shift linkage and operate the lever on the side of the gearbox to make sure the 4 distinct "clicks" take place. The correct adjustment of the linkage can take place and run the car with the wheels off the ground. Trust this helps. Regards David | ||
| Haydn Deane Unregistered guest Posted From: 151.227.138.197 |
Many thanks Jim and David. Will do that this week and let you know. (Message approved by david_gore) |
