aussiecowboy Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I have recently got myself a ferret project, it was a restored vehicle but unfortunately the shed where it was stored caught fire and caused a lot of cosmetic damage, as well as melting a good part of the wiring loom. The owner then dragged it outside where it sat in the weather for quite a few years, this has caused more damage than the fire. I have been working towards getting it running and driving, just to make sure I have a good gearbox and engine before I strip it down completely for restoration. I have freed up the frozen pedals and got the engine running and have started on the gearbox. Opening the top cover of the box reveals very clean internals with very little rust, this was a nice surprise. That's where the good news stopped though as the gear change pedal doesn't seem to do anything, I can move the gear change lever on the side of the box through it's full range of movement by hand, it is obviously not engaging the busbar. I started to open the side cover where the spring is but got nervous and stopped when there was obviously a lot of spring pressure behind it. Has anyone seen this problem before, or can anyone advise me of how to fix it? Is it possible for the busbar pushrod to fall out of position? With thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Hi mate, Looking at the adjusters, the condition of the bands looks good. When you said removal of side plate, did you mean the large plate with the selector lever on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiecowboy Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 Hi Richard, I was hoping you'd see this one. By side plate I mean the plate that would be at the top left corner of the above picture, it sits at an angle to rest of the gearbox housing and is secured by 6 rather long bolts. Looking at the gearbox drawings it looks like it houses the busbar spring. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Hi Richard, I was hoping you'd see this one. By side plate I mean the plate that would be at the top left corner of the above picture, it sits at an angle to rest of the gearbox housing and is secured by 6 rather long bolts. Looking at the gearbox drawings it looks like it houses the busbar spring. Cheers Hi, Don't remove that one, special precautions needed there, and I doubt very much that this will help you. Do you have the EMEI for the Ferret? regards, Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiecowboy Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 Unfortunately I don't, I haven't been able to find a copy as yet. Can the busbar pushrod be accessed without stripping the box? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Unfortunately I don't, I haven't been able to find a copy as yet. Can the busbar pushrod be accessed without stripping the box? Sending you a PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexton Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 I suggest you remove the small cover with 4 bolts, shown removed below. This allows you to see what is happening at the other end of the gear-change cross shaft with a bright flashlight. The drawing shows the sleeve/rod assembly, 13 and 22, that connect the cross-shaft lever to the busbar. The sleeve part of the assembly can slide on the rod part, so it is possible to move the external gear change lever to some extent without moving the busbar. By using a piece of pipe on the external lever, like shown in the photo, and pushing it as far back as you can towards the fuel tank, the rod should bottom out in the sleeve and the busbar should move down until it bottoms out on the floor of the gearbox. Due to the large spring, it takes quite a lot of effort. The sleeve is retained in the cross-shaft lever (1) by 23, the sleeve retaining plate, and the rod is retained in the busbar (11) by 12, the rod retaining plate. Either of these retainers coming loose or breaking will allow the sleeve or rod end to pop out of its socket, disconnecting the lever from the busbar. I think you will be able to check for this through the small cover, although visibility is not good. By the way, it looks like you are in neutral. If you are, the neutral strut holds the busbar quite far down, so the pedal ends up being quite close to the floor. And if the gear change pedal linkage isn't set up correctly, the pedal can hit the floor before it pushes the busbar down enough to disengage neutral and change to the gear selected. Malcolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin craig Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 That is a great explanation Malcolm Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiecowboy Posted December 21, 2015 Author Share Posted December 21, 2015 That is a great explanation Malcolm, thanks for posting it. Stay tuned for results! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njjeeper Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 This was exactly what happened to me a few weeks ago. Linkage was too long and the trans wasn't in the correct position due to the engine not being installed(too low to the floor where it meets the engine). That added up to the pedal travel not being enough to get it out of neutral. Disconnected the linkage, put a pipe on the cross-shaft lever and pulled toward the rear until it "clicked". Then it came way up and grabbed a gear. TJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 This was exactly what happened to me a few weeks ago. Linkage was too long and the trans wasn't in the correct position due to the engine not being installed(too low to the floor where it meets the engine). That added up to the pedal travel not being enough to get it out of neutral. Disconnected the linkage, put a pipe on the cross-shaft lever and pulled toward the rear until it "clicked". Then it came way up and grabbed a gear. TJ This is a common problem, you can only adjust the pedal linkage with 1st gear engaged as that is the gear with least free movement. All other gears will come right, providing busbar heights are correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiecowboy Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 Well the news is good, with a piece of pipe on the gear change lever, I was able to select all 5 gears. The action is smooth and free and hopefully with some pedal adjustment I'll have a functional gearbox. Next step, check fluid level in the fluid coupling and a very slow test drive around my backyard. Once I'm happy it all works the strip down can commence. Has anyone sandblasted a ferret hull, is it too aggressive? A big thanks to everyone who offered input here, once the tear down commences I'll start a restoration thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin craig Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Aussiecowboy (with no name) You are doing what many others including myself have done, Richard makes it sound so simple which it really is if done properly. Pictures required for such a thread, always makes it all pretty and we get to see where you work. The ferret is such a supportable and great machine. Just ordered seal for the fluid flywheel on our work Ferret and the bearing all locally 1 day away from wharehouse stock. Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiecowboy Posted December 24, 2015 Author Share Posted December 24, 2015 My name is Heath :-) At 6'7" I am going to have to modify the ferret seat a little, it will basically just be a thin cushion on the floor pan I suspect. I acquired the ferret as part of a package deal with my Centurion and was only lukewarm on it as a project, the more I dig into it however, the more enthusiastic I am about it, truly a fascinating and fun little vehicle. And yes, Richard does make it sound easy. I owe him a huge thanks, he has really gone above and beyond in helping me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexton Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 6'7"! Good grief, Heath, you'll be a tight fit in a Ferret, especially when you are messing with the wiring under the "dash". I'm 6' and the best advice I got was get a "bump" cap. It makes your head sweat but it stops it bleeding. Malcolm CAP BUMP BASEBALL VENTED NAVY by CONDOR | Bump Caps |Head Protection Acklands-Grainger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeferret Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 WOW !!!!!! At 6 foot 7 inches tall that has to be a record for a person in a Ferret !!!!!!!!!!!!!:wow: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeferret Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 Aussie Cowboy welcome to Ferret ownership...Good luck with your Ferret.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiecowboy Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 More good news, using a piece of pipe as a gear shift lever and a length of twine as throttle control, I have managed to drive the ferret in all 5 gears around my yard with all 5 gears functioning. I will leave final measurements and adjustments until I have the motor and gearbox out of the hull, at my height there isn't a lot of room in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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