Alfa33 1st gear synchromesh problems

["Clonan, Lloyd" <Lloyd.Clonan@dsto.defence.gov.au>]

	It appears to me that no one really understands the Alfa 33 or
Alfasud or 105 or 116 gearbox first gear synchromesh.
	Synchromesh when selecting first gear from neutral on all Alfa
models mentioned,  up until the Alfa 90 and / or GTV6 with
	 the "Isostatic" change mechanism was very bad.   The reason for
this is that there is no synchromesh when effecting this
	 change,  due to the omission of the "brake shoe" on the inside
of the synchronizer of first gear.  If you study carefully
	  the  exploded view of any or all of the abovementioned boxes
you will notice that 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th gears all have two
	 "brake shoes", but 1st gear has only one, meaning that the box
was designed for synchronised shifting from 2nd down to
	 first but not when shifting from neutral to 1st.
     	This was changed when Alfa adopted the "isostatic" gearchange
mechanism, by the inclusion
	 of a second "brake shoe" with a spring separating the two.
This system worked somewhat better but still not 100%.   The
	only successful way to select 1st gear from neutral is , as
suggested, to select another gear (usually 2nd, although this will
	 increase the wear on the 2nd synchro), and then slip smoothly
into 1st.
	I hope this has shed some light on the problem. Dare I say "
They all do that. "

	Lloyd Clonan

	AROCA (SA Div.) Technical Committee
	http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/8137
	1600 Giulia Sprint GT Veloce 1966
	Alfa 33 Ti  1985
	SIRIUS Gp.A Sports Racing (Alfasud based mid engine RWD)
	ASP  Clubman  (Datsun 1200 powered)
	Lada Niva  (workhorse)