Reverse lever repair

Gp79

Member
Messages
1,393
Finally got round to fixing the reverse lever, was all loose as the reverse gear lift / locking mechanism was broken.

New upgraded part from hill engineering -£100 and works perfectly now, looks much more robust than original.

Pic of original broken part:


image.jpg
 

Gp79

Member
Messages
1,393
Surprised it wasn't picked up on my PPI as it is so obvious once you know these cars.

At least easy fix.
 

Mr K

Member
Messages
321
Mine was broken in exctly the same way and because it wasn't my first QP I was in the habit of lifting before pulling back for reverse. So I didn't notice for some time that it could click the reverse microswitch by just pulling back without lifting. I was looking for broken or wobbly, and it was fine apart from not needing to lift.

Anyway, I fixed mine for under 3 quid, and it's not much work:

Buy a 50mm piece of 2.4mm dia titanium rod for £1.79 delivered: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111712980353

IMG_5100.jpg
Drill out 2.4mm holes exactly where the broken bits attached. Use a 2mm drill and widen until the rod just fits.

Then use a vice & hacksaw to cut the rod to fit the hole and protrude the right length.

Use JB Weld epoxy metal glue to glue in the pins you've made. After wiping off surplus glue, Sellotape the brass bushes over the pins to hold them in the right position while they set. I already had some JB Weld, and you only need a minuscule amount, but it's an extra £5 or so if you don't.

After 4 hours tidy up the glue whilst set but softish.

Leave somewhere warm to harden for 24 hours.
IMG_5106.jpg

I had to buy a new bolt as the original one that holds the fork to the handle had been glued in by a botcher and I had to drill it out. I bought 5 for 99p: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121543512907
You need M3 0.5mm pitch thread, 20mm long for the QP. I used a bench grinder to reduce the head diameter so that it would fit in the fork recess.

Use threadlock on this tiny bolt to prevent the handle coming loose.

Grease/reassemble.

On mine the black hard plastic handle had a small broken section, I tried a glue for hard plastic unsuccessfully, then JB Weld and it has done the job. I also tidied it up and resprayed it with plastic primer and Halfords bumper paint, and it looks almost as new/original.
IMG_5116.jpg

Note that there's nothing to stop you fitting the QP handle facing the wrong way. The plastic bit is less likely to break if you fit it the correct way, as shown here.

With this info you could probably do it in 30 mins, if you have the tools. So worth it for a £110+ saving for most of us.

The problem with the Hill Engineering solution is that they use larger diameter pins and do away with the brass bushes. This means that a muppet forcing the lever back without lifting (how they get broken) will more likely break the fork rather than a couple of pins, possibly leaving you unable to select reverse.
 

Gp79

Member
Messages
1,393
That is a lot cheaper fix.

Good work, I'll do that when this one fails in another 12 years!
 

Oxytorch

Junior Member
Messages
122
Is this exactly the same for the Gransport? After reading this thread, I checked mine and it must be broken. Never noticed because I always lift to pull the lever back. Is there any problem leaving it as is. Is the ecu dumb enough to allow reverse to be selected if moving forward at speed? I'm not going to test this out though.
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,539
It might eventually jam up and mean reverse becomes un-available. ECU won't let you select reverse unless you're stationary and (IIRC) foot on brake.

C
 

Mr K

Member
Messages
321
It's extremely unlikely to jam up - the broken pins and bushes don't go anywhere because of the proximity of the plastic housing when assembled. I reckon you could drive it like this for the rest of its life. Mine's been driven for thousands of miles like this; I've no idea how long ago it got broken. Worst case if the lever breaks or it jams up, here's a quick fix to get you on the road; separate the electronic part from the lever and with the electronic module exposed but plugged in to the car, use a finger to operate the plastic lever that presses on the microswitches. You'd only need to do this for reverse - right paddle instead of pushing forward.

In the QP you only need a single cross-head screwdriver to take it apart, and it only takes a couple of minutes.
 

Gp79

Member
Messages
1,393
My reverse lever was broken for 3 years and was just annoying being loose and obviously broken, never caused a problem getting reverse or being stuck.

Takes a bit more time on the GS as the centre console has to come out, since it is fixed from underneath.
 

Oxytorch

Junior Member
Messages
122
Mine is not loose or wobbly at all so I'll just leave as is. In fact easiwr now that I just have to pull it back rather than up and back. That upward motion was so energy sapping.
 

Mr K

Member
Messages
321
Mine is not loose or wobbly at all so I'll just leave as is. In fact easiwr now that I just have to pull it back rather than up and back. That upward motion was so energy sapping.

What's going on - a Maserti owner without OCD? Can't be right. Maybe sunshine cures it :)