Hi Tom,
Good to hear from you! Hope all is well Downunder. The
stuff is up on GoMoG but only within one of the Gearbox Manuals..I believe
the R380's,
and hard to find unless you know what to look for. So
the following applies to LT77 or R380 Morgans which encompass;
Plus 8s from 1977-2004
Plus 4s (Rover versions) 1985-2002
The cars use the same bellhousing and gear shift remote...from the Sd1 sedan produced from 1976-1986. Problems with the remote will manifest themselves as gearbox issues and often send the owners in the wrong direction for a cure.
1. THE RUBBER BUSHES
2. GRUB SCREW
3. THE TENSIONING CUP
John
is correct. There are 3-4 minor remote (aka the shifter) problems that
cause scary symptoms. They are VERY common problems. Yet they all can easily
be fixed. Sadly both have often had owners and garages removing the gearbox
and engine in vain only to find out later how easy it was to fix in situ.
One problem one is the plastic rubbery bushings that interface the remote's bolts to the gearbox. Over time these rot and the remote becomes loose on its gearbox bolts. As one tries to shift, the remote moves on its bolts and has difficulty (or impossible) to move anything meaningfully or correctly in the gearbox.
The solution is to remove the gearbox/remote cover, allowing easy access to the remote and replace the rotten bushes. Ideally, get the new polyurethane ones (Rover Part # UKC854POLY..they will last forever. The rubbery ones (Rover Part # UKC854) will last a 5-20 years depending on how quickly they contaminate.
In a pinch, to continue your trip, one can swap the same
type rubber bushes from the side of the remote and use washers for spacers
at the
sides until you find something better in an auto shop.
The grub screw issue is interesting. There is a progressive (or quick) deterioration in the ability to shift. It continues until the driver is stuck in one gear (if they are lucky) or neutral (if they are not) and cannot shift at all. This one develops faster than the bushing problem. They are unrelated save in effect.
As you can seen from the diagram below, the remote has the gear lever attached to a fitting that in turn attaches to the remote's rod by means of a grub screw that has its point in an indent in the rod. This method still allows the rod to be turned but as long as the point of the grub screw is in the indent, the rod and lever stay together.
Sadly the grub screw is installed without anything special to hold it in place...so they eventually fall out. Loctite will work (it has for me for the last 40,000 miles on two cars) or one can wire it (best idea). When the screw falls out, the gear lever and the remote rod disconnect from each other with shifts rearwards (2nd, 4th and R380 reverse). Once disconnected, shifting ability is totally lost (leaving Audrey and I roadside in Mississippi!).
Access
to the grub screw is not difficult. Remove the gearbox cover (Instructions
are available if needed) and one will find a contoured plate underneath
the remote at the gear lever end. It has 4 screws, remove them but hold
the plate as the grub screw is most likely to be found lying at the bottom
of the plate. There is a codicil. All these plates have a hole in them
to let water escape. With the later plates, these holes were made large
enough to allow the screw to fall out onto the road. It is for this reason
I suggest that owners of the noted Morgans carry a spare grub screw in
the glove box. When replacing the grub screw, if you notice that the plate's
hole is large enough for the screw to go through, tape it partially closed
with some metal tape to prevent that. I am attaching an image of my spare
remotes as an illustration.
These grub screws are not complicated but they are nowhere to be had unless made at a machine shop. I had a bunch made ..all but my own spares are gone now. Let's see if the grub screw is the problem. If it is and it gone, we will find a way.
Lorne
P.S. Someone may owe me a pint! (hopeful smile)
Adjusting a Later LT77 Gearbox Remote
Reverse Baulk Plate
The first adjustment is to the reverse baulk plate. Select
neutral and make sure the lever is in a vertical position. Release the
lock nuts and slacken the 
adjusting
bolts until the baulk plate just contacts the backing plate then tighten
the two bolts equally until they just start to move the baulk plate.
Now using a spring balance, connected to the top of the gear lever, measure the force required to move the lever to the reverse gate. Here we have fitted a nut to the lever to prevent the spring balance slipping when under tension. Adjust the two bolts to achieve the correct operating load; this is (30-35 lbf) but keep in mind, when the lever is in the neutral position, a minimum gap of 0.25mm (0.01 in) must be left between the upper face of the baulk plate and the lower edge of the gear lever bush.
1ST/2ND GATE STOP
Next,
adjustment of the 1 st/2nd gate stop. Engage 1st gear and measure the gap
between the gear lever and the edge of the baulk plate. It should be 0.25-1.25
mm (0.01 -0.05 in). The gap is adjusted by fitting shims behind the baulk
plate spring carriers. After making an adjustment re-check the load required
to over-come the baulk plate, as reverse is selected. When all readings
are correct, fit the bottom cover.
Gear Lever Bias Spring
Now the gear lever bias spring, engage third gear and adjust the two bolts so that both spring legs are 0.5mm (0.02 in) clear of the cross-pin. Lightly pull the lever to the left, to take up any play, and adjust the right hand bolt downwards until the right hand spring leg contacts the cross-pin. Repeat the procedure on the other side, holding the lever to the right; then select neutral and rock the lever across the gate. The lever should return to the 3rd/4th gate when released. The two locknuts can then be tightened.
Reverse Light Switch
Finally, the reverse light switch, connect a battery and test lamp to the switch terminals. Select reverse, release the locknut and rotate the switch until the light just comes on; then rotate the switch 180° in a clockwise direction and tighten the locknut.
To finish the rebuild, fit the bellhousing, the clutch release bearing and support sleeve, the withdrawal lever and slipper pads and the pivot pin. The box can now be refitted to the car.
One final point, after filling the box with oil, fit a
new fiber washer to the filler plug, and tighten the plug to the correct
torque.
tensioned
down against its springs. Part # UKC3159. It's weak point is the little tab (flange) used
to secure it with a bolt to the remote body. (see the diagram) When this
tab breaks, the shifter will seem loose and wobbly. To repair, one must
carefully remove the lever and the cup (there is a little spring that will
pop out at the rear of the ball section of the lever..(don't lose it) and
either spot weld it or try to find a new one. (they are very difficult
to get a machine shop to replicate) Try Ashcroft Transmissions, Rimmer
Brothers or Rpi. Be clear on which remote you are talking about..use this
page or the diagrams if necessary. For example, the Morgan R380 version
was only used by Morgan and on Sherpa Vans. 