dibbons
Well-Known Member
Just putting things back together on the '65 Formula S and have found a quirk that is going to be a big pain: Although the floor shift cables are both adjusted to perfection, the transmission haphazardly will not release the park sprawl (or whatever you call it). This permits the 904 to engage reverse or drive but prevents the vehicle from moving even an inch in either direction.
So I raise the differential, place a pair of jack stands under there, and then experiment with the floor shift in various positions (P, R, D, S, L). Now with the vehicle raised in the air, the park setting works like it should: locks the driveshaft in "P" and releases the driveshaft in "R" and all of the other gear selections.
So I lower the vehicle back to the ground and try to push it with the selector in "N" only to find it won't move again. After some cussing and fooling around pushing back and forth then all of a sudden it moves.
I don't know what the mechanism of the park system entails in the 904. My first guess is maybe a broken spring somewhere that may work in conjunction with the cable that causes the inconsistency: this on or off business with a mind of its own. It was free long enough last week to turn the vehicle around in the driveway once, then the problems turned up like uninvited leprechauns.
My next step is to connect and adjust the parking brake handle so I can avoid shifting into park (at first I thought the parking brake was holding the vehicle back, but since the cables were not even connected yet [hanging loose], that was not the case). I will try to drive the car for its maiden voyage on the street by using neutral and the hand parking brake lever in lieu of the "P" lever selection on the console.
Before the dis-assembly/restoration three years ago, I did notice a clicking noise when using reverse if the gear shift was not pulled closer to neutral when backing up.
So I raise the differential, place a pair of jack stands under there, and then experiment with the floor shift in various positions (P, R, D, S, L). Now with the vehicle raised in the air, the park setting works like it should: locks the driveshaft in "P" and releases the driveshaft in "R" and all of the other gear selections.
So I lower the vehicle back to the ground and try to push it with the selector in "N" only to find it won't move again. After some cussing and fooling around pushing back and forth then all of a sudden it moves.
I don't know what the mechanism of the park system entails in the 904. My first guess is maybe a broken spring somewhere that may work in conjunction with the cable that causes the inconsistency: this on or off business with a mind of its own. It was free long enough last week to turn the vehicle around in the driveway once, then the problems turned up like uninvited leprechauns.
My next step is to connect and adjust the parking brake handle so I can avoid shifting into park (at first I thought the parking brake was holding the vehicle back, but since the cables were not even connected yet [hanging loose], that was not the case). I will try to drive the car for its maiden voyage on the street by using neutral and the hand parking brake lever in lieu of the "P" lever selection on the console.
Before the dis-assembly/restoration three years ago, I did notice a clicking noise when using reverse if the gear shift was not pulled closer to neutral when backing up.
