gearbox problems

[Oldman prof]

Morning,the bike I'm looking at has started having problems changing into 1st,but not into 2nd and difficulty getting back into N and I'd like to find out the causes before I make an offer on the bike,my thought is a worn or bend selector fork so I would like to find out if there could be another reason eg:the owner says he thinks the end of the selector drum(plate and pins) is comming loose but as far as I know that should effect all the gears or am I mistaken.Anther thing I need to ask is that if sombody has played around with the final drive gearing and what the best combination is,I've only ridden the bike a few times and it seems to me that it could stand for a bit of longer legs on the long road or is it not needed.I thought it best to ask the experts,you guys will know all the little in's and out's of these bikes and I think I can get this bike for a good price,R15000 if the box does'nt need to come out,I will post pics and I have been doing all the serviceing and tuning on the bike and I really want it if I can get it.
Thank you
Anthony

[Harvy]

My guess would be the clutch is not fully disengaging. Check at the clutch slave cylinder for fluid leakage (if the paint below it is missing and/or bubbled that's a good sign that its leaking). Slave cylinder kits are available from Randy RPM on this site.
Gearing wise - 18/38 is about as tall as you would want to go - is what I use and I prefer it myself.

Harvy

[Dan Filetti]

Then again, if there is a problem in the gear box, it's not a small job.  Engine out, split the cases etc.  Know this before you buy it, and factor it into the price.  Shifting where you run it up to high RPM in first and then grab second quickly but distinctly, should engage and not pop out or go to false neutral as you run up through second to say 8-9k RPM.

It may be hard to tell if Harvey is right, and the slave is weak, but a good positive shift and gear selection test should still be possible.  

Dan

[Oldman prof]

Thanks guys,I will check the slave because I remember a few weeks ago about him telling me he had to bleed the system and top up.I do know the work involved in getting to the box,and I might try a rebuild on the motor anyway.The second gear is not the problem,goes into second from N but won't go back and won't go into 1st from N,I know about the second gear from my XS11 can fix that too,I'm just trying to find out if there can be any real damage on the bike. 

[racerrad8]

I would say it is a slave problem. If there is any drag on the clutch then finding the half-dentent of neutral is going to be tough.

The end of the drum cannot come loose as it is completely welded and in the light weight shifter actuator will bend/deflect prior to any drum damage.

If there is trans issues it will jump out of second gear under hard acceleration, unless someone else has already been in there and poor repairs were completed.

Randy - RPM

[andyb]

On a drag launch, the FJ trans can also deflect enough to cause first gear to jump out.  Requires a pretty heavy hand on the clutch to make it happen though.

Mine was doing it mostly with the front end up 6" or so at about a length out of the hole.  That's a launch at WOT, around 5000 revs on the clock, so I don't imagine it's a common street problem (unless you ride like a nutjob, or me!)

[Oldman prof]

None of the gears are jumping out at all,from N it refuses to go into 1st almost like it's stopping against something,and it slips easely into 2nd FROM N but will not go into N from 2nd,everything else is ok and all gears (1st and N) work when bike is not running,I realy want to go see the bike again because the owner says the clutch is working "perfectly".To sum up:changing from N to 1st,no go/changing from 2nd to N,no go.pull away in 2nd and the rest work perfect untill trying to get back into N or 1st,no go again.He said it came right yesterday for a short ride and it's back to jamming again.

[andyb]

Half wondering if there's something external binding.  Would require pulling the clutch to see, though.

There's lotsa decent FJ's out there, take a pass on it unless the price is great.

[Oldman prof]

Tnx Andyb,also thought of that external idea,and I will be looking at the bike this weekend I hope and now I have a few thing to look over and the price is a good one because the go for anything between 20 to 25 thousand Rand(ZAR) for a decent one.I'll get back to you guys as soon as I've looked at it again and taken some photo's maybe even a vid to see what it does,thanks all of you,I'll let you know how it turns out.
Anthony