4th gear popping out

[PAV1980Spider]

My 4th gear pops out when I release the gas pedal. It does stay in when accelerating though. I suspect the fork needs to be fixed (based on what I read here in the forums).
My question is if anyone can direct me to a good repair shop in St. Louis, Missouri area that has some experience with Fiat 2000 Spider?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[joelittel]

Sorry, I don't know of any shops in Missouri.

Worst case scenario would be to ship the transmission to AutoSprint in Chicago. Those guys know FIAT inside and out.

[PAV1980Spider]

Thanks for the info. I will most probably use them when the time comes.

[joelittel]

http://www.autosprint-imports.com/

I can't compliment this shop enough, but you get the idea.

[BEEK]

dont wait, the longer you use the 4th gear in this way, you will ruin the gear and eventually cost yourself much more money. Right now, most likely a fork, syncro and a shift hub will be needed, if you wait the gear will also be ruined.

[PAV1980Spider]

Good point. Have to convince my wife now that the car needs some money. I know what she will say - our oldest daughter is getting married in September.

[Exit98]

Priorities.

The wedding will have to go on hold.

[BrianS]

I had a similar situation with mine only was the 1st gear not staying in. After a tear down on the transmission, looks to be the 1st/2nd shift fork shaft might be my culprit. the cutouts on the shaft that the detent balls slide into to hold it in gear were severely worn. I assume not holding the shaft in place. the fork its self has very little wear. but the thing about it is, once your into the transmission you start replacing parts and before you know it you parts bill is 500.00 lol!!!

after searching this website i was able to find a ton of knowledge and tips to do the rebuild myself. so far the tear down and inspection has went great. just waiting on the parts now. should be putting it back together this weekend.

I have found a couple rebuild manuals on line and can give you the links if you decide to attempt it yourself.

[Nanonevol]

the cutouts on the shaft that the detent balls slide into to hold it in gear were severely worn. I assume not holding the shaft in place. .

That's interesting! That's the first I've heard of that problem. In what way were they worn? What would cause that? I did a rebuild last year and really paid little attention to that area.

[BrianS]

Nanonevol, 5th/rev and 3rd/4th shafts looked brand new no wear at all. when i pulled 1st/2nd shaft out the was a gouge between the center detent cutout and what would be 1st gear detent cutout. there was a smaller gouge running into the 2nd gear detent cutout too, but not as deep. I really dont know what would cause it. there was not what i would call a significant amount of metal in the pan nor any large pieces. the 1st gear fork looked great, but the teeth on the synchronous sleeve and the first gear were wore down pretty good. probably from popping out several times. by the looks of things i get the impression the transmission has been worked on in the past.(before i bought it) maybe something happen to the fork shaft at that time.

the 3rd/4th fork had the most noticeable wear. never had any issues with them gears but will get a new fork anyways.

[PAV1980Spider]

I would appreciate if you can pass the links to the rebuild manuals. I guess a part of the Fiat ownership is the DIY aspect.
On the worn forks, I read somewhere about their wear and that it could be repaired by a knowledgeable shop by welding metal to the fork and then grinding it to the proper shape. The address of the shop was given too. Don't remember the price but it was less than $50 per fork.

[BrianS]

the shift forks in the fiat are made of brass, I assume it is so they wear before the synchro sleeve does. but in any case they run about $38.00 with the exception of 5th/rev fork. i think it is about $120.00
this was the one that i felt was the most useful and easiest to follow http://www.moflo.org/trans/5spd_service_man.pdf

[Nanonevol]

I mostly used the Brooklands repair manual for Spiders. Very detailed and some useful tips.
This site to the Niva transmission has good info. Very similar transmission.
http://ladaniva.co.uk/baxter/resources/Gearbox.htm

[PAV1980Spider]

Thanks a lot for the links! The one to the LADA/NIVA brought back memories - I was born in Bulgaria and more than 70% of the cars were LADA's. Never had to work on one of them though because I was "blessed" with the ownership of a 1973 Mostvich, which was a "dinosaur" when compared to the LADAs of the time, even though their were badly assembled 1966 Fiats.