Car Will Not Move

List:

I am about to drop the head onto the block. I am using a chain hoist to lift the head over the block and then slowly lower it down. I want to get the head as close to proper alignment as possible so the studs will exactly slide into the holes in the head.

The chain hoist is hung from a structure i beam in the ceiling. The beam runs left and right of the engine compartment. So I am able to position the load precisely left and right, by rolling the chain hoist to the correct position. However, there is no forward and backward adjustment with the chain hoist.

I want to move the car forward and get the head in the right position. Obviously, I cannot start the car to do that.

Yesterday I pumped the tires to 30 pounds to reduce the rolling resistance as much as possible. I put the gear selector in neutral from park but was not successful pushing the car. I then jacked up the car under one front suspension and placing a wheel chock (a piece of 4” X4” wood cut at an angle) under that front tire to gradually let the car “roll down the hill” . I also placed a second chock in front of the same tire to limit its movement. I moved the gear selector to neutral.

I lowered the car and it did move forward on the first try. The head is 6” too far forward. On the second try, the car did not move.

It feels like the transmission is still in Park. Thinking about it, when I first shifted the transmission from park to neutral it did not feel normal. That is, it felt as though the gear shift was not connected to anything.

Would removal of the head affect the ability to change the gear from park to neutral? Is there a way to easily move the gear selector to neutral? Or, since the transmission lock only affects the rear wheels could I put a wheel dolly under each rear wheel and then do the front wheel hill?

Thanks

Lou

I can’t see how, but with a nut and long extension you can try using the hubnuts to turn the wheels and thus the car. Is the handbrake released and not jammed?
Did you drop the car in neutral? (In gear works too, but in park the claw might bind).

Is there a way to easily move the gear selector to neutral?

Well, it enters the transmission on the side. Inside the transmission there is some kind of cam that pushes the parking brawl upwards into the toothed wheel on the output (I guess) shaft.
It should have a spring to aid release.

Or, since the transmission lock only affects the rear wheels could I put a wheel dolly under each rear wheel and then do the front wheel hill?

Of course you could do that, or see if maybe, just maybe, the jack is enough to roll the short distance.

David

Lou,
How long has this car been sitting in its current position? Is it in a damp location? If it has been there a while perhaps one of the brakes have seized and the pads are stuck against the rotor.

Try lifting each tire/wheel off the ground to see if they will spin.

Paul

Paul:

The car has been sitting two years.

I will try the wheel turn test.

Thanks

Lou

Oh, that long. It is possible.
I took a picture of my BW65, valve body removed. Sorry, it is blurry.


The big shaft on the left (the input side of the transmission) is your input shaft from the shifter. The teeth provide a positive engagement, utilizing a spring with a little roller against the teeth. What looks like a tube, horizontal in the picture, goes to the rear where it‘ll actuate the thick plate, vertical, upwards as to lock the output shaft. I doubt you will need this, ever, but the transmissions are known for jamming on inclines (maybe also owed to weak handbrakes).
Do you have an LSD? If not you can lift the whole rear, if you can spin a wheel it is not the brakes. I guess it is, though. however, it moved… flex in the driveline?
Good luck, David

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Negative, Lou - unless you have done something completely unnecessary when the head was lifted…:slight_smile:

That the car rolled forward initially, but now won’t budge backwards, implies that that the parking pawl in the box is not the cause. But you should of course verify that the gear lever actually moves the lever at the gearbox out of ‘park’. The initial movement from ‘park’ to ‘neutral’, should completely free the parking pawl…

Another point of interest is the handbrake. If the car has been standing for some time; slight disc rusting is expected - increasing brake drag. and, of course, the handbrake is more effective when moving backwards. Dolly on the rear wheels will solve both pawl and brake problems. Brute force will solve a brake problem - as will turning the propeller shaft for more leverage…:slight_smile:

However; if the parking pawl is stuck; force must not be applied - disconnecting the propeller shaft (or dolly) will allow repositioning of the car for the head operations. Or a bit of assistance, manhandling the head, is an option - hoist is a great help, but not strictly necessary…

Frank
xj6 85 Sov Europe (UK/NZ)
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The car should roll in any gear other than Park, so if you can verify that the gear operating lever on the side of the trans is actually moving, then you turn your attention to rusty brakes. You have limited slip diff, so you can’t really turn one rear wheel to see if it is dragging. Get both up, then when you turn one forward the other should turn backward. Or use wheel dollies if you have them.