Question for those that may be mechanically inclined. Is it possible for the engine/transmission to “ shift back” (come loose from their mount points and move backwards)?
i experienced a never before encountered mechanical today that has me thinking I may need a mechanic with a lift to comfortably diagnose my problem.
I took my 2013 VS built speedy for the first longish + 50 mile ride of the season. As I was getting home driving up an a steady hill my engine rev up quickly ( without me stepping on the pedal, +4000rpm and would not come down when I removed my foot completely from the pedal… it held steady at ~+4000. … I thought my throttle cable got stuck/ frayed in the tube and I quickly turned the key off and rolled to a stop. ( about 5-6 seconds transpired from rev up to me engaging the clutch and pulling the key).
- when I looked in the engine compartment I noticed the carbs where 3/4 opened, and again though the cable was frayed/stuck in the tube pulling the hex bar/ carbs to the open position.
- when I detached the cable from my CB hex bar the carb springs quickly pulled back to the idle stopper screws- to the closed position. All was good.
- thinking it was a bad cable that needed replacement, but before pulling it (I had a spare in the car), I wanted to test it to see how hard it it was stuck in the ltube… and to my surprise it moved freely inside the tube. ( pulling and pushing from the pedal and cable side i encountered no resistance).
- so I decided to reconnect the same cable to the carb linkage… and noticed the cable/screw connection point to the hex bar was now about 1cm further down the cable—- meaning, where before I had 5 cm of extra length in the cable I now only had 4cm with the hexbar/carbs in the closed idle only position- the carb spring stopper fully resting on the idle screws.
- I started the car, car idled perfectly and I proceeded to drive home after a little static testing of the gas pedal- cautiously.. . About a 4 mile flat side roads drive…everything ran smoothly...the pedal was as smooth as before, no cable/pedal resistance…. Engine ran and sounded perfect. Throttle was just as smooth as before… I could run the car through all the gears and up to 4300rpm without issue. … drove home and could not stop thinking- WHAT would make me need 1cm extra of throttle cable? Cables don’t shrink!.
- so I took the car back out for a test to drive and decided to take on some hills. No issues driving up, but driving down long hills, where I let the engine do some of the braking- when I stepped on the gas I would hear some knocking, and noticed my shifter move forward back in a new unexpected way- triggered by me stepping on the gas while driving down hill, or stepping off the glass and letting the engine do some of the braking. Pulled over and checked the shift coupler… noticed when in 1st and 3rd the shift coupler made contact with the pan/ frame. I felt this contact in the shifter, See pics:
car in 2nd looks ok:
car in 1st. Coupler makes contact with the rear of the frame. Coupler looks ok… but why would it suddenly make contact with the frame. When I put the car in first I definitely feel the contact being made in my shifter,
now with two symptoms—- having added 1 cm to my throttle cable length, and now seeing the shift coupler has slid back enough to now make contact with the pan when in 1st and 3rd gear.…. brings me back to my question: what would cause my engine/trani to shift back in my car?
unfortunately I don’t have access to a lift to easily inspect the underpinings, nor the expertese… any thoughts? Should I be looking for rotted out polyurethane engine or transmission mounts ( do these cars even have those), or loose engine/transmission mount bolts, or could my pan have experienced some sort of dry rot failure,
no leaks, no other symptoms..l just the knocking of the shifter/coupler when doing down hill and feathering the gas ( after having allowed the engine to do some of the downhill braking), and the longer cable.
ANY thoughts would be appreciated.…. Other than this, car runs great!!!!!… today I even took the hard top off for the season.