The problem?
When I first got my 10 year old MGF it had the sloppiest gear change I had ever seen in my life
trying to find a gear at all was a challenge at first, but if you're a bit practical this is not a hard thing to cure and as you're reading this section then believe me you can do it.
Tools needed:
10mm socket, long extension, 10mm spanner, 7mm spanner
The Fix
After lifting the trim surrounding the gear gaiter you will see the mechanism used to transfer your gear selection to the gearbox.
In photo above you can see two of the three nuts which you need to tighten. The third one, the one towards the rear of the car just out of shot. It is a little difficult to reach. I used a socket on a long + short extension pieces and put it through the hole under the arm rest and removed the ashtray to help guide it towards the nut.
It is possible to over tighten the nuts so before you pack everything away take it for a spin and make sure you're happy with it. After adjusting mine it became a pleasure to drive and gear selection became crisp and precise.
Now you can put the tools away and go for a drive and enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done as you should now have crisp precise gear selection
Now you've done a practical job, interested in a cosmetic mod in the same area?
The case for change:
I had always thought the gear lever in the MGF was too tall and wanted a shorter gear lever.
The finished shorty gear leaver
Tools needed:
Large sheet or black bin bag (actually the colour is unimportant
) Hacksaw with metal blade, mole grips (or similar), 12mm drill bit, electric drill, flat head screw driver.
The fix (You may need to slightly modify these instructions as this was done on my MK2 MGF):
Remove the gear knob by twisting and unscrewing.
Put the car into 2nd gear ( or any one which you find to be a comfortable position, that sounds odd
, I mean so its a comfortable position for you to reach whilst sawing through it
) and then spread the sheet or bin bag around the lever to catch the metal shavings. Next, using the mole grips to hold the gear lever steady and cut off the top of the gear lever, leaving about 8 ~ 10mm of thread.
OK that sounds easier than it is because you're sitting twisted and it takes longer to saw through the lever than you first anticipated, so after doing this liquid refreshment is advisable
.
Depending on your knob you will have to adjust things to make yours fit
Now we move to the gear knob itself. The lower part of the lever shaft is wider than the threaded section so you need to drill out the lower section of the gear knob to get it to go over it. I drilled it out so that the top of the gear lever actually reaches the underside of the top of the knob, you'll need to check as I don't remember the exact depth but remember to leave the last 10mm inside the top of the knob untouched so you can screw the knob on.
Nearly there, all you have to do now is cut down the gear gaiter.
The gear gaiter is held by a ring which needs to be unclipped from the gear surround (use the screw driver to release the four clips. Cut off 3cm of the gaiter and reassemble. I used a cable tie to keep the top of it against the gear knob. Clip the whole thing in position and go for another drive and enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done as you should now have crisp precise gear selection made by a short shifting gear lever