The Triumph 2000/2500/2.5 Register Forum

Working on a 2500 in a '71 car with a J'Type O/D. The gearbox is to close to the N/S edge of the gear-stick hole. So bad that the mechanism is touching the surround and the gaiter cannot be fitted.

This is a pre-existing problem as some foam rubber had been stuffed in there to seal/quieten it.

The front x member is the early type with only one set of holes, so incorrect for the engine, but could this cause this problem? It looks like the adapter to the gearbox mount needs to shift the unit to the O/S by about 1/2", but the adapter looks the same as the one on Chris's site.

Any ideas? I'm probably missing something obvious. The spacers are 1-1/2" long.

Is the gearbox mount fitted the right way around ?
Tony.

Surely there are two ways the top of a box can be fouling on the gearlever hole - either a mounting is wrong so that the whole box is shifted sideways, or else the box is tilted?
Bent front or rear crossmember?
Incorrect crossmember?
Crossmember not fitted correctly - washers omitted - or the wrong way round?
Incorrect wedges affecting tilt?
Incorrect mounting - automatic or non-standard?

Richard B - can you post some pics of the mounts etc.

Thanks for that Tony. Did not realize they were handed. I did look at this in situ and could not see anything obvious.

Well I've swapped the mount around and it seems a bit better, although this mount seems almost symmetrical. It is still not far enough over to the O/S to get the gaiter on to the surround. Looking at some online pictures the mounts offered are more offset so this could be the cause. Has this been a problem with previous aftermarket mounts? I don't know how long its been on there, car was only bought last autumn.

Are the polyurethane ones any good?

Chris Pictures attached, this was before I turned the mount around.

Is there a spacer block fitted under the offside engine mount? Triumph part no 147026?
These were used to tilt the engine over towards the nearside on later facelift cars, which would also have an affect (albeit to a lesser degree than the engine itself) on the rotational angle of the gearbox itself, effectively moving the gear lever over to the nearside. I have seen cars with two blocks fitted which would compound the issue even more.
It also looks like the gear lever is sitting too high in the aperture, hence why an attempt has been made to bend the edge of the pear shaped metal cover in the console to accommodate the gear lever.
I would be tempted to check that the correct spacers have been fitted between the floor and gearbox cross member, under the gearbox, as there were various lengths, depending on auto / manual and A / J type gearboxes, plus if an A type box, that the adapter is correctly fitted.
I didn't think there was a particular way that the gearbox mount was fitted - I thought they were asymmetrical, although over time, I have seen them drop; sometimes on one side more than the other which can only really be checked by removal.

There are two engine spacers on the O/S, none on the N/S. This car has a 2500S engine in it with HS6's. I think that the engine cross-member should have the holes off-set, but doesn't as its an early one.

The gearbox cross-member spacers are 1-1/2" long. I have a nagging suspicion they should be 1-7/8"? Could someone confirm what they should be for a J'Type please?

Yes, it looks to me like the gear-stick is too high in the aperture.

The gearbox cross member is handed, there is a dip for the exhaust to run over, and the gearbox mount itself is handed!!!!!

There is no dispute re the gearbox cross member - any person with an ounce of common sense knows the path of the exhaust!
However, I have just checked a nos (in its box!) metalastik gearbox mounting and measured it, and it is totally asymmetrical in its dimensions, therefore it can be fitted any way round.
Yet on the CW site, he has had some reproduced and the picture gives the impression that the upper mounting bracket of the mounting is offset in the moulding. I have never had the need to buy one but if his are offset, then this may be the answer to Richard B's problem.
But the genuine / originals (that I have, and I have a few nos!) are definitely not handed Charles!

Chris W has done a piece on gearbox x-members for the Feb SIXappeal which is being mailed out this Tuesday (28th jan). May be something there that may help?
Here is a snippet from the piece: