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MG Midget and Sprite General - Gearbox noises

I drove my 1500 for the first time today and noticed that when downshifting, from any gear, it would crunch. However when the car was stationery it changed without noise.
So, am I changing gear incorrectly? Could the syncros have gone? Or could the clutch need bleeding?
I'm also getting 5MPG and an idle which varies wildly between 1000rpm and 2000rpm, but those are subjects for another thread.
Thanks Ben
BH Harvey

Sounds like your clutch may not be complete disengaging, e.g. needs bleeding.

Can you (slowly) engage reverse when stationary and engine running without a crunch?

If not, definitely not releasing OK.

A
Anthony Cutler

It does crunch when going into reverse, however if I put it into neutral wait around 5 seconds, then put the clutch down and wait another 5 seconds, and then engage reverse it doesn't crunch (sometimes, it reduces the noise anyway).
BH Harvey

also level and age of gearbox oil need checking

5 mpg petrol must be pi**ing out to somewhere!

I always recommend a full and proper 36,000 mile service on a car new to you - that will find and/or prevent most common problems
Nigel At

I replaced the gearbox oil about a month ago and the car has only done around 10-20 miles on the new oil. I did put thicker than reccommended oil in the box to give the gear change more resistance.
The owners handbook states that 28mpg is normal for urban driving. So roughly 6/7 of fuel going in is going somewhere unknown, there is no smell, drips or puddles so for now i've just leaned the mixture right down (I also carry 10L of fuel in the boot).
BH Harvey

I think that I found the problem, the slave piston was seized into the bore and everything was covered in gritty brown sludge. I sprayed some oil onto it, then hit it with a 10lb mallet. Once the piston was seperated from the slave body I cleaned both with fine wet & dry paper.
However now I don't seem to be able to bleed it, I've tried with the mc cap off and on, to no effect.
The slave is moving with the pedal and does not leak and the rear of the car is higher than the front.
BH Harvey

This thread was discussed between 02/09/2011 and 04/09/2011

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