[TR] Engine Oil and Transmission Problem

[John Finlayson]

I have been using Valvoline VR1 Racing Oil 20w-50 in the engine of my ‘62 TR4 for several years and am now considering changing to Lucas Hot Rod and Classic 20w-50. Does anyone have any opinions on the two oils and which one may be more appropriate for a TR4? There appears to be more zinc and phosphorous in Lucas and also possibly more corrosion protection.

BTW several years ago I swapped out my original non overdrive transmission in my TR4 for a TR6 overdrive one. Shortly thereafter I started having intermittent shifting problems. I would attempt an up or down shift and found I couldn’t get past neutral. I got several suggestions for the cause of the problem from list members. The one that seemed the most likely to me based on the symptoms I was experiencing was a problem with the shift interlock mechanism. To confirm the diagnosis I replaced the top cover on the overdrive transmission with the top cover from my original non overdrive transmission. I expected the problem to go away. This top had given me zero problems in many miles of use on the original transmission . The shift problem continued, however, with this top on the overdrive transmission. I had trouble accepting that the problem wasn’t in the top. I tried two more tops. They all failed in the same way. I pulled the overdrive transmission and reinstalled the original transmission. 

After pulling the transmission, it appears the problem is caused by the reverse gear operating lever fulcrum pin (part 106448) that is threaded into the inner side of the transmission case. It was threaded out too far and appeared to be intermittently causing the reverse shift assembly to interfere with the shift mechanism for the forward gears, causing the interlocks to activate .  I’m confident this will resolve the problem but I have not yet reinstalled the overdrive transmission in the TR4. 

If anyone has a similar problem, it’s worth checking that pin to be sure it’s within spec. Several members had asked me to let them know when ever I discovered what the problem was. It’s been a long saga. 

If you have any views on the engine oils, please let me know.

Thanks,
John   
    
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