It really is rough to shift.  Is there anything people might recommend to improve it?  Is there another tranny available anywhere?

Dugg

Drain and refill the gearbox with 20 weight engine oil.  Then check that the clutch is operating properly – try "pumping" the pedal.

Jan Eyerman

Usually the gearshift was the thing most praised by period road testers, the gearbox is excellent.  It even stands up to much more power behind the Lotus engine in the Jensen-Healeys.

Have you changed the oil in the gearbox yet?  Most Rootes cars I've bought have had the wrong oil in them, and shifted badly because of it.
It should be filled with motor oil, NOT gear oil.  I use straight 30w non-detergent, primarily because a few of my cars have overdrives.  But many people use conventional multiweight motor oil, like 20W50.  If I recall, the factory manual says to use the same oil as for the engine, and the recommended weight varies by the climatic temperature.

Another possibility is the clutch system.  Does the shifter move smoothly when the engine isn't running, but shifts roughly while running?  The clutch may not be disengaging fully.  My Arrow does that, as the shift fork is worn.  When I had the gearbox out to replace the clutch, a new fork wasn't available.  I've since collected all the bits to do the clutch yet again, this time swapping in an overdrive 'box at the same time.

Hope this helps,

Jon Arzt
Omaha, NE USA

As some others have said the Rootes gearbox is one of the nicest around.  So your problem must be in the clutch, or the shifter.
This is assuming that the gearbox just isn't totally worn out, even then it shows up as poor selection of one gear.

There is the problem of some mechanic putting "gearbox" oil in it instead of the recommended SAE 30.  This will make it change very badly and tends to damage bearings inside.  Solution is to first drain it and refill with the correct oil, this usually will correct the problem.

You didn't say if it was a flor shift or column shift.  The floor shift is usually no problem but the column shift is prone to wear and maladjustment.  This will make changing gears a problem.  Solution hear is to repair and adjust or take the cheats way out and fit a floor change.

If the clutch is not disengaging properly then this also will make for poor changes.  To check the clutch operation is fairly easy get somebody to push the pedal in and look under to see what the operation lever that goes into the bellhousing is doing.  I think the later clutches had a long travel slave cylinder and a non adjustable pushrod.  This type don't have a return spring on the actuating lever.  If a spring has been installed it will pull the slave back to the closed position and this will give too much free play on a partly worn clutch.  Pumping the pedal will often make it disengage, but this also applied if you have leaking hydraulics.

The only gearbox I have found that was as nice as the later all synchro Hillman was the Ford Escort one.  Which had unbeatable synchros.

Keith

Dugg

So, gear oil came out of the transmission... it is now shifting better, not great but certainly better.  Thanks to everyone for pointing me in that direction, I would never have thought of it.

It is as if there is no sychro in either first or second.

 ... (snip) ...

Dugg

If there was EP90 gearbox oil in there it may take a little time for it to be flushed out of the synchros.  That heavy "gearbox" oil sticks to everything so give it time.  You may have a non synchro first gearbox but second should work. Taking it for a decent drive and warming it all up may work wonders.  What a hardship having to drive your Hillman :–))

Keith