4 out of 5 ain’t bad, except with transmissions
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Roscoe790
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Wed May 24, 2023 3:22 pm
- Your car is a: 1981 Fiat Spider 2000
4 out of 5 ain’t bad, except with transmissions
I recently acquired a 1981 Fiat Spider that refuses to go into first. The previous owner mentioned parking on a hill in first without engaging the brake multiple times leading up to this issue, and that there is a $70(ish) part that can fix this. I have never heard of this, but most of my knowledge comes from previous failures and YouTube. Does this issue sound familiar to anyone? My dream is to one day use all five gears, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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18Fiatsandcounting
- Posts: 3798
- Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2019 11:23 pm
- Your car is a: 1969 and 1971 124 spiders
- Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Re: 4 out of 5 ain’t bad, except with transmissions
Fiat spider transmissions can be hard to get into first, so that's kinda "normal". Hard, but not impossible. Can you ever get your transmission into first, or is it just very difficult?
One "trick" that sometimes works is to slip the clutch very, very slightly as you try to put it into first. On level ground with nothing in front of you, engine idling while in neutral, very slowly let up the clutch pedal while you push on the shifter towards first gear. If you can catch it right as it engages, very quickly disengage the clutch again, otherwise the engine will stall.
If it absolutely, positively, will not go into first under any condition, then yes, there probably is a $70 part to repair this, but that part is likely inside the transmission. That requires the transmission to be removed, disassembled, fixed, new seals and gaskets, reinstalled, and that can easily be upwards of $1000.
But, before we get into removing the transmission, how does your shifter feel? Is it fairly tight, or really floppy? It's possible that the shifter extension is really worn (or even broken) at its lower ball joint, and that would be a much easier and cheaper fix.
-Bryan
One "trick" that sometimes works is to slip the clutch very, very slightly as you try to put it into first. On level ground with nothing in front of you, engine idling while in neutral, very slowly let up the clutch pedal while you push on the shifter towards first gear. If you can catch it right as it engages, very quickly disengage the clutch again, otherwise the engine will stall.
If it absolutely, positively, will not go into first under any condition, then yes, there probably is a $70 part to repair this, but that part is likely inside the transmission. That requires the transmission to be removed, disassembled, fixed, new seals and gaskets, reinstalled, and that can easily be upwards of $1000.
But, before we get into removing the transmission, how does your shifter feel? Is it fairly tight, or really floppy? It's possible that the shifter extension is really worn (or even broken) at its lower ball joint, and that would be a much easier and cheaper fix.
-Bryan
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Roscoe790
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Wed May 24, 2023 3:22 pm
- Your car is a: 1981 Fiat Spider 2000
Re: 4 out of 5 ain’t bad, except with transmissions
Bryan
Thanks for your reply. I just started messing around with it, but I have noticed that if I am on somewhat level ground and let out the clutch a bit, I can get a toothy, grindy feeling. The rest of the time, it feels like a brick wall where first should be. I will do more experiments next time I get it in an empty parking lot. The transmission does not feel tight.
The $70 part requiring $1000 worth of work makes a whole lot more sense than some plug-and-play part. Not that I would have argued with plug-and-play...
Roscoe
Thanks for your reply. I just started messing around with it, but I have noticed that if I am on somewhat level ground and let out the clutch a bit, I can get a toothy, grindy feeling. The rest of the time, it feels like a brick wall where first should be. I will do more experiments next time I get it in an empty parking lot. The transmission does not feel tight.
The $70 part requiring $1000 worth of work makes a whole lot more sense than some plug-and-play part. Not that I would have argued with plug-and-play...
Roscoe