loss of gears Olympian.

[Pete]

Hello Folks,
I've got a problem on my 1986 Olympian and I'd really appreciate some advice.

The bus loses the gear (it can be any of them) but if i flick it from the lost gear, back to the start position, and then back to the gear again, I get the gear back ( a bit tricky when turning at a busy junction ! )
Sometimes it can drive hours without doing this.
I'm sure the gearbox Oil is ok (checked when running as well).

Any advice or suggestions gratefully accepted.

Pete

[Jonathan Smith]

Hi Pete,

The gear change on the Olympian is electronic, It may be dirty contacts on the gear selector unit. If there is a loose conection then you will lose the gear. I gather it is a semi automatic with the stumpy 5 speed selector to the right of the driver?

Are the gear box fuses in place and the correct type? There should be two fuses in the fuse cabinet in the stair well.

Normally the olympian loses all of the gears and requires the engine to be shut down, then the battery isolated before restarting the engine.

[Pete]

Hi Jonathan,

Yes it is a semi-automatic with a stumpy gear stick on the right. H1 thro' to H4 and Auto. Not checked the fuse ratings, I'll have a look tomorrow.

I'll check the contacts on the gear selector and squirt some contact cleaner on them.

Thanks for the tips I'll let you know what happens.

Pete.

[Pete]

Hi Jonathan,

well, I removed the Selector Unit and gave it a good clean it was extremely dirty, and so far so good.

So thanks very much for your advice, I'm keeping my fingers crossed it's cured the problem.

Pete.

[Jonathan Smith]

Hi Pete,

Hope that sorts it, the leyland gear selector looks like a ball with the gear stick poking out of it. The ball should have a light coating of grease to lubricate it and keep it moving freely, I'm not sure what type of grease they use. I used to find myself covered in the stuff when over keen mechanics smeared the stuff all over the gear selector.

[fredwhitworth]

Dunno how similar the Olympian is to my Daimler Fleetline but see a similar problem that I was having with my shifter below. My problem seemed to "cure itself" but I'm pretty sure that it was probably related to the relay. My bus is "fully automatic" -- i.e. it has only a "R" and "A" position (aside from the neutral position) on the shift quadrant.
There are 16 relays behind the driver's head (body built by Northern Counties in Wigan in 1976). I'd love to have a guide showing what each one does but this info isn't in the chassis workshop manual or in the engine manual (I have manuals for Daimler chassis and O-680 engine).
I'd suggest that you check your relays -- this "dropping out" symptom is a classic sign of a weak relay but the shifter quadrant is also a frequent problem area.
Good luck, Whitworth Fred