Free wheel problems

[babybazzer]

I've just finished the 2 month restorationof my '47 Tourer, which strangely ended up taking over a year and a half ( I bet we have all heard that one before ) Now shi is back on the road the free wheel is playing up.If I stop the car,put it into freewheel,engage first and set off ,eveything is fine. I can manage a lovely clutchless gear change into second, but then I have no drive at all. Sometimes, on putting her into freewheel and engaging first,I can let the clutch out and I have no drive whatsoever !! I did manage to get her to pull in second once or twice,but lost everything again in third!
There is no grating from the unit so I don't think the cable adjustment is too far out,even accepting it is slack rather than tight. Any advice? am I not waiting long enough for the revs to die down between changes ? could the oil in the box be wrong ? - I presume ths is common to the gears and freewheel.
I am rather conscious when increasing the revs after a gearchange,that if tey are too high the unit will re -engage with an almighty crash !
I could always leave it in the fixed position ! Help would be appreciated, David.
Oh yes,one last point,how do we go for insurance valuations for agreed value policies ?

[47p2]

You should check the cable adjustment again, it sounds like it is just a fraction out

[Phil - Nottingham]

Cable adjustment is usually the problem - it may be sticking. Oil is unlikley to be the problem unless its old an dsticky waht have you got in? I always use mine and provided idle speed is not to high no gear change noise/jolts occur and teh cahnge is hardly any slower than when fixed

It may also have been damaged internally perhaps the roolers have stuck/rusted - it can be removed in situ if necessary

[babybazzer]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. If anything,the cable adjustment is too slack.When the gearbox tunnel was out of the car ( well no it actually fell to pieces! ) I checked the operation of the lever on freewheel and all seemed to move smoothly. However,there was a gap of possibly 1/4" between the lever and the solderless nipple on the cable,which "took up" before the lever began to move.I left this alone, presuming at the time that this was how it should be. I still remain a little confused here though,does it not mean that a slack cable will prevent the freewheel from operating,i.e. it does not fully disengage and an over tight cable will keep the freewheel in operation,i.e. not being able to use "fixed" drive. I seem to have a slack cable giving the symptoms of an over tight one !!!! Could you advise Phil that if the cable is a fraction out, which way should I adjust it.

As far as the oil is concerned, I cannot say what is in there, other than it is clean and to the full mark on the dipstick.The car had been "serviced" prior to my purchasing it.Would it help to drain this and put a thinner oil in?
Thanks again for your time an patience, David.

[47p2]

This is taken from the RSR WSM.

The dashboard control knob should have approximately 1/8" of free movement at the rim of the knob. Over a period of time the cable stretches and if the free play exceeds 1/2" the freewheel may not fully disengage or may grate when freewheeling.

Adjustment is provided by means of an "in-line" cable adjuster close to the freewheel control on the dashboard. Access is achieved either from under the dashboard or via the bulkhead inspection covers depending on the model. On some models, the adjuster is directly attached to the rear of the control. Further adjustment can be achieved by repositioning the cable clamp on the gearbox. When this is done the cable adjuster should be "zeroed" for future adjustment.

When adjusting the cable ensure that the control is set to fixed and the freewheel itself fully engaged in that position. To ensure, place the car in gear and rock the car to and fro. Make absolutely certain after adjustment that there is some free movement measured at the rim of the control knob. The minimum is 1/8", the maximum 1/2"

[Phil - Nottingham]

I would not recommend putting in thinner oil just the correct type SAE90 straight gear oil not hypoid.

The cable seems to be OK although at max backlash - try reducing by half. It may be the the springs in the roller wedges springs have broken or stuck or gummed up which means dismantling and cleaning

[Hungry_Horse_1955]

I have recently inherited my father's 1939 Rover 16 Sports Saloon.

I had problems trying to start the vehicle and attempted to tow start the vehicle, which was not succesful as the freewheel seems to have engaged! We managed to start the car by other means, but now the freewheel is permanently engage and there is no engine braking whilst driving. Is the cure just a matter of adjusting the cable or have I b*gg*r*d up the freewheel.

Any help would be gratefully received as I would like to take it out for a run.

[RodScarman]

Hello David
Going back to your earlier posting [7May2009] in line, 3. You speak of the "lever" and "solderless nipple" This sounds a bit odd? What lever do you mean? also The only solderless nipple is inside the, f/wheel knob on the dashboard.
With all respect, is it possible you've been adjusting the clutch cable in mistake for the f/wheel cable?
On my 12HP 47 tourer, the f/wheel adjustment is accessed by removing the N.S. inspection cover on the bulkhead and is about 6 or 9 inches from the, f/wheel knob assembly.
Above there is an extract from the Manual that covers this issue. [from, 47p2 7May2009]
"IF" it is required to adjust the g/box end of the f/wheel cable, it is easiest to do it from inside the car, it is just below the bottom of the gear stick gate. But try the above first.
Your other point about insurance is something that interests me too, but does'nt seem to be discussed much here.
Rod Scarman

[paul williams]

Hi Clive,
first congratulations on being the new owner/driver of the 16, I am sure you will enjoy it. As to the freewheel issue a couple of things spring to mind, the first being that if the car is otherwise OK there is nothing wrong with driving it with the freewheel engaged. I very rarely use the freewheel in the fixed position when driving. You may not be so sure of the brakes but under normal driving, excluding steep hills etc all should be well if the brakes are normally OK. As to diagnosing the problem this is something else.

First, a few questions:
Was the freewheel working before the tow start?
Can you select and get drive in reverse? This is important because the freewheel cable goes through the reverse selector, if reverse is OK then the freewheel mechanism is OK and it's just a problem with cable adjustment. If reverse gear is not working then it would appear that the freewheel is stuck in engaged, this is unusual but not impossible.

If the freewheel is OK following the reverse test the best way to adjust it, in my experience is to take off the gearbox cover, eliminate the adjustment in the inline adjuster behind the freewheel knob and then loosen the cable clamp on the end of the freewheel cable. This is inside the screw-on cover at the back of the gearbox, look at where the freewheel cable enters the gearbox at the front for a reference. It is also worth checking at this point that the outer of the freewheel cable is correctly seated at the front of the gearbox into the reverse selector rod. With the car in a forward gear and the freewheel knob fully rotated to engage, reposition the cable clamp so there is some movement in the cable before it actuates the freeewheel rod.

All this is easier to do that to say, the freewheel extension can be removed from the rear of the box when the propshaft is released but read the manual first as there are a number of loose rollers and springs that can make a bid for freedom if you do.

Hope that helps

Paul

by the way on the question of insurance the club provides a written insurance valuation service. Anyone who would like to use this service please use the contact form on the website initially as this will prompt a reply from the club committee.

[Hungry_Horse_1955]

Thanks for the info Paul.

I believe that the Freewheel was working before, but I know that my father used to have problems selecting reverse. I also have had problems selecting reverse.

It is possible to select reverse, but I need to slam it in hard before it will go in, even then it can take several attempts.

It looks as if my first stop will be to check the cable. I'll give that a try at the weekend and see how I get on.

Thanks again for the help.