Hewland m 9 linkage fabrication

[eflachbart]

Hi Folks,

I fabricated new linkage for my Ensign. All polished stainless tubing and apex joints. Its very pretty, now its down to making it work.

I am at the last joint before the gearbox and just realized I have no idea what gear the box is currently in. Obviously I need to get it clocked right, before I drill the final holes thru the apex and tube on the last link.

I tried moving the shifter shaft with vicegrips but no go.

Suggestions? I am kinda stuck!

Thanks

Eric

[Robert J. Alder]

Take off the rear most cover (the little 7/16" nuts) so you can see where the shift flipper (and shift rods) are positioned for the various gear selections (or neutral). Then make sure your shiftier upfront and the linkage can reach the various gears (or neutral) before deciding exactly where to drill the flipper. A good shift linkage will have the ability to adjust it's length and its rotational indexing to accommodation about anything. Usually your shift lever has limited adjustability and that those adjustments are really to properly set the shift lever in relation to the steering wheel and driver's hands for cockpit convenience, not to "set" the linkage at the rear flipper. If you're linkage doesn't have interim length/rotational adjustabiltiy, drilling the flipper correctly can be a challenge.

[john f]

Some where on a straight section that you can get at:
1) cut the tube in half
2) fit a pc of solid the same size as ID
3) weld into one half and clamp other side with a 2 pc shaft collar over OD of tubing

You can now adjust both fore-aft and rotational with one adjustment. If the fit is correct between the ID of the tube and OD of the solid the clamp is all you will need. Otherwise, after setting, drill for a dash 3 bolt. Just my

john f

[Robert J. Alder]

Wow. That's an amazingly elegant, easy to fabricate adjuster. Hate to tell you what all I did to accomplish the same thing. Cool.

If the linkage was basically the correct length to begin with, it would be advisable to cut out maybe 1" of the tube when splitting it, make the rod is plenty long into the adjustable tube, then cut a slit length wise, maybe 1", into the adjustable tube so the shaft collar could clamp onto the rod. As belt and suspenders, I'd probably but on two shaft collars in case one worked loose. But that might be overkill.

[stephen wilson]

I like a threaded turnbuckle with jam nuts for adjustment. It seems like the split tube would be more likely to slip. My RF78 just has a threaded shifter lever and jam nut, so you have to disconnect something to make a length adjustment.

[Earley Motorsports]

If you are just trying to find neutral just put a small screwdriver or something through the hole in the trans selector shaft (where your shifter will attach) and either twist it or push in or pull out. That way you can get it into neutral and go from there. That is what I did.

[Brian]

On Lola's like T440, T492 the final connection to the gearbox shift finger is a simple split slip joint with a clamp that bolts around it to tighten it up. Dead simple to adjust and never came loose for me.

[eflachbart]

Thank you all. I like the idea of the slip fitting. More fab to do I guess.

Can one of you take a look at the attached pic and tell me how these levers work. From the hewland manual it appears that the selector finger has the top gear selector rod engaged. Where is the neutral position?

Thanks

Eric

[kea]

Yes, your picture shows the shift finger in the top (3rd-4th) position.

[Earley Motorsports]

when all the blocks (the finger is in the 3-4th block in photo) have the grove in the center of them all line up and the selector finger slides through them all. That is neutral. Hope that is clear So where it is now, pull the block out one click and the center groves should be lined up.

[Brian]

If the box is well set up, it takes around 20 lbs of force to move a shift rod. Usually you can just grab the finger and pull out, or push in. To me it looks like you are in third gear, so just pull the finger back or lever with a screw driver, and it will pop into neutral. Top Tip - there are interlocks so adjacent shift rails cannot be in gear at once, so if you are in third gear, the 1/2 rail is locked in neutral. But - you can be in reverse and either third or fourth gear at the same time. So if you want to lock the box up so you can loosen or tighten the shaft nuts, just push the lowest shift rail forward to engage reverse, then push the uppermost shift rail forward to engage third, and the box is locked and the gears cannot rotate.

Brian

[eflachbart]

Thanks all!