Beast stuck in fwd gear - Volvo MD1

dylanwinter

dylanwinter

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www.keepturningleft.co.uk
After recent reapirs to the beast Jill and I went from Wisbech to Boston over the weekend

had a great day out on the Wash - at low tide it has some of the most sublime beaches I have ever walked on

the beast ran beautifully.... much less virbration than before Al and Stewie fixed it

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=277001&highlight=beast

but by the time we got to Boston - maybe two hours with the engine on - it refused to come out of fwd gear

the engine ran for about two hours on Monday coming back against the wind - which was on the nose and blowing as thougbh from a hairdryer - a good force six and hotter than a hot thing.



so.... is this a common fault on the MD1 and any suggestions about getting it back into neutral

amy I doing any harm to it by running it stuck in gear

fortunately I spent most of the second year of KTL without any gears so I can live with it and the beast is a great starter so not too many owrries about it not starting

but......

blimey these inboards....

Dylan
 
Same thing happened to me at weekend. Engine is a one year old Beta. Turned out that a split pin had dropped out of the end of the gear cable on the engine control lever and had disconnected itself!
 
Had this problem once on an MD2b. Eventually traced it to a severely corroded control cable. I don't know if the Slug has control cables or just a gear lever! If the former, disconnect cable at gear box end and see if the control lever on box will work the gear box O.K. If box O.K. then replace control cable. If box not O.K. then await replies from other forumites-I knoweth not!
 
dylanwinter said:
but by the time we got to Boston - maybe two hours with the engine on - it refused to come out of fwd gear

the engine ran for about two hours on Monday coming back against the wind - which was on the nose and blowing as thougbh from a hairdryer - a good force six and hotter than a hot thing.

so.... is this a common fault on the MD1 and any suggestions about getting it back into neutral

amy I doing any harm to it by running it stuck in gear

Dylan
Click to expand...

This is not uncommon with this type of gearbox and often happens for instance if you sail the boat with the gearbox and shaft locked in reverse.

There are cones in the gearbox which are sort of servo assisted by the rotation and if anything is not qite right they can rotate and screw the cones a wee bit too tight into the female bits and then they don t want to come out.

The easiest way to get back to neutral is to rotate the shaft in the direction the gear lever is set to with a stilson. If you are in ahead then turn the shaft anticlockwise . It should come free and rotate and then you will be able to move the gear lever.

This of course is after you have stopped the engine and also confirmed the small lever on the gearbox is moving when you move the gear lever.

The same goes for stuck in astern except then you turn it clockwise with the stillson.

You will do no harm running the engine in gear however it does add extra load for starting.

As others have said check your oil is up to level and clean. Use the correct oil which for this gearbox I d use Tesco's best Mineral oil for diesels also in the engine. The cones were not designed for good modern oils and molyslip etc.

If even with the right oil and correctly set linkage this repeats then maybe it will need to involve you in more pub visits and Trannie trips down from up north to check out the innards. The cones might need a bit of TLC. Nothing that a good mechanic can t sort once he knows what he needs to do and could wait till the winter as you seem quite adept at harnessing the wind.
 
thanks

Bilgediver said:
This is not uncommon with this type of gearbox and often happens for instance if you sail the boat with the gearbox and shaft locked in reverse.

There are cones in the gearbox which are sort of servo assisted by the rotation and if anything is not qite right they can rotate and screw the cones a wee bit too tight into the female bits and then they don t want to come out.

The easiest way to get back to neutral is to rotate the shaft in the direction the gear lever is set to with a stilson. If you are in ahead then turn the shaft anticlockwise . It should come free and rotate and then you will be able to move the gear lever.

This of course is after you have stopped the engine and also confirmed the small lever on the gearbox is moving when you move the gear lever.

The same goes for stuck in astern except then you turn it clockwise with the stillson.

You will do no harm running the engine in gear however it does add extra load for starting.

As others have said check your oil is up to level and clean. Use the correct oil which for this gearbox I d use Tesco's best Mineral oil for diesels also in the engine. The cones were not designed for good modern oils and molyslip etc.

If even with the right oil and correctly set linkage this repeats then maybe it will need to involve you in more pub visits and Trannie trips down from up north to check out the innards. The cones might need a bit of TLC. Nothing that a good mechanic can t sort once he knows what he needs to do and could wait till the winter as you seem quite adept at harnessing the wind.
Click to expand...

the lever does not move at all

seems completely jammed

so does this have any impact on your advice

oil has been as per manual - but I will check that I am using the right stuff as opposed to a modern equivalent

but basically I need to turn the shaft in the same direction as forward - while holding the engine still

basically attempt to turn the shaft over over against engine compression

sounds like a plan

I usually sail the boat around with the engine in gear - but always in forwards gear

I did this on the basis that its better to lock a shaft up rather than have it turning over while under way

maybe that is a mistake

good to know that I can keep using the beast while I attempt to sort out this latest blip on the ktl trip

we do get three knot tides through the 'marina' at wisbech - could that be a factor

D

Dylan
 
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Many moons ago I had a similar problemwith an MD2B, in my case it turned out that the pin that slides the cones to & fro had broken when I tried to come out of gear. So several options to check.

I'd start with simple stuff like disconnecting controls, make sure they move freely, then try moving the lever on top of the box by hand. Mine moved, but nowt happened! If cones are stuck, i suspect yours won't move. If all else fails it is really quite simple to remove & take home to fix at your leisure.
 
lever stuck

Searush said:
Many moons ago I had a similar problemwith an MD2B, in my case it turned out that the pin that slides the cones to & fro had broken when I tried to come out of gear. So several options to check.

I'd start with simple stuff like disconnecting controls, make sure they move freely, then try moving the lever on top of the box by hand. Mine moved, but nowt happened! If cones are stuck, i suspect yours won't move. If all else fails it is really quite simple to remove & take home to fix at your leisure.
Click to expand...

I have rope controls for my gear changes - work very well

the lever will not move

so it sounds like stuck cones

so will try the stilson option

and change the oil again using cheaper rougher stuff buy the sounds of it

D
 
dylanwinter said:
I have rope controls for my gear changes - work very well

the lever will not move

so it sounds like stuck cones

so will try the stilson option

and change the oil again using cheaper rougher stuff buy the sounds of it

D
Click to expand...

The stilson will free the stuck cones and this should then free the linkage.

If it sticks again under prolonged running then the cones might need checking out . Unfortunately they are probably not available as new parts however if the problem is surface finish then this could probably be fixed. Just let us know what you find at each step.

To free turn the shaft in the same direction it turn for ahead and I think for your engine this is anti clockwise looking at the prop end.
 
this is such a good place

Bilgediver said:
The stilson will free the stuck cones and this should then free the linkage.

If it sticks again under prolonged running then the cones might need checking out . Unfortunately they are probably not available as new parts however if the problem is surface finish then this could probably be fixed. Just let us know what you find at each step.

To free turn the shaft in the same direction it turn for ahead and I think for your engine this is anti clockwise looking at the prop end.
Click to expand...


blooming brilliant!

full of hope now

Dylan
 
They are simply back-to-back metal cones that slide to & fro on the shaft into female housings; one at one end for reverse, one the other end for forward &, in the middle, both are disengaged for neutral.

It's so simple, but hard to describe in words. The diag below may help, the double ended cone in the middle is slid to & fro by the vertical operating lever. One way it engages with one female cone & give fwd drive, other way it mates the other cone pair for reverse.

< <|> >
 
MD1 with RB gearbox?

I am surprised you have gone as long as this without it happening before as it is a well known problem.
The RB box has a cone clutch which wears in the form of ridges and you end up with one ridge pushed past another locking the box in forward gear

To disengage you either wait till it all cools down or apply selective application of effort to the selector lever on the gearbox not the remote control.
 
this is all wonderful

scottie said:
MD1 with RB gearbox?

I am surprised you have gone as long as this without it happening before as it is a well known problem.
The RB box has a cone clutch which wears in the form of ridges and you end up with one ridge pushed past another locking the box in forward gear

To disengage you either wait till it all cools down or apply selective application of effort to the selector lever on the gearbox not the remote control.
Click to expand...

I feel like a bloke who has gone to see a Doctor fearing that he has some fearfully rare disease only for the Doc to tell him that what he has is a common problem and can be fixed with the application a small amount of brute force and tiny amount of knowledge.

Assuming the stilson solves the problem is there any way I can stop it from happening again

I assume that eventually those wear ridges will get me

of course we did experience high temperatures over the weekend - so maybe that was a factor

of course if it gets stuck in reverse then I could go fo a record circumnavigation in reverse

some bloke drove across the USA in reverse I believe




Dylan
 
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