Have experienced a recent marked increase in difficulty with selecting second gear, to the point where it's almost not worth bothering to try each time (though sometimes, for badness, it goes in easy). This makes no difference whether attempting from 1st or 3rd, and goes hand-in-hand with difficulties I've had from the start with selecting reverse (though nowhere near as severe), only being able to get into first when all but stopped, and a slight crunch changing from 4th to 3rd.
Not technically minded enough to know what on earth is wrong - clutch or gears? - and certainly not technically able to deal with either myself!
Have tried double de-clutching but frankly can't get my head round it. The garage that did an initial check when I bought it in September noted that the clutch fluid was dirty-looking.
Any ideas?
Ta
Mel
Difficulties selecting gears
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2F45T4U
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Nathan Mwk 627G
Hiya, this is totally a stab in the dark!! i dont have an exact answer to the question but i would recomend that you change the fluid if its dirty, because like brake fluid it can lose its goodness and efectivley turn into water!!
(most motor shops only sell clutch/brake fluid)
I would start by changing the fluid, its probably the simplist and cheapest thing todo at this stage!!
The clutch pedal should have some stiffness to it if the fluid is at full working capacity and not feel soft and spongy!!
Sounds silly and i dont mean to insult you but you have checked the level of fluid? When i first got mine i didnt check it as often as i should have and i losed all my gears as the master cylinder had run dry!!
I now check mine at least once a week if the car has been driven alot during the week!!
Like i said its a stab in the dark and the guys on here may have other ideas but i would try changing the fluid as its the cheapest thing to start with!!
Good luck!
Nathan
(most motor shops only sell clutch/brake fluid)
I would start by changing the fluid, its probably the simplist and cheapest thing todo at this stage!!
The clutch pedal should have some stiffness to it if the fluid is at full working capacity and not feel soft and spongy!!
Sounds silly and i dont mean to insult you but you have checked the level of fluid? When i first got mine i didnt check it as often as i should have and i losed all my gears as the master cylinder had run dry!!
I now check mine at least once a week if the car has been driven alot during the week!!
Like i said its a stab in the dark and the guys on here may have other ideas but i would try changing the fluid as its the cheapest thing to start with!!
Good luck!
Nathan
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Jon Tilson
- Guest contributor
- Posts: 11179
- Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2006 9:45 pm
- Location: Middlesex
Start...
by telling us what sort of dolly you have...year and model because the gear boxes do vary and there are numerous possible causes.
Jonners
Jonners
Note from Admin: sadly Jon passed away in February 2018 but his humour and wealth of knowledge will be fondly remembered by all. RIP Jonners.
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canuck
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1300dolly
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melj
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Jon Tilson
- Guest contributor
- Posts: 11179
- Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2006 9:45 pm
- Location: Middlesex
Oh dear...
If its a 1500 (yes I should have spotted that from the avatar) you may well have excess crank end float.
Try and move the front pulley in and out of the engine. If you can feel more that the slightest perceptible movement its time to change the crank thrust washers. This is more often linked with difficulty in engagingt gears from rest so it may not be your problem. Worth checking cos the 1500 is prone to this and has feeble crank thrust washers. These wear if the car is used a lot in traffic and you sit in gear with the clutch down a lot. Not good technique on these engines...sit in neutral at the lights or in traffic.
Could also be some worn bushes in the selector mechanism. I'm not familiar with fwds in this area though.
Sorry but I doubt if bleeding the clutch wil make any difference unless the peddle feels spongey. In fact if the level hasnt dropped I wouldnt even bother. Unless you are good at bleeding you are more likley to get air in the system and make it worse.
Jonners
Try and move the front pulley in and out of the engine. If you can feel more that the slightest perceptible movement its time to change the crank thrust washers. This is more often linked with difficulty in engagingt gears from rest so it may not be your problem. Worth checking cos the 1500 is prone to this and has feeble crank thrust washers. These wear if the car is used a lot in traffic and you sit in gear with the clutch down a lot. Not good technique on these engines...sit in neutral at the lights or in traffic.
Could also be some worn bushes in the selector mechanism. I'm not familiar with fwds in this area though.
Sorry but I doubt if bleeding the clutch wil make any difference unless the peddle feels spongey. In fact if the level hasnt dropped I wouldnt even bother. Unless you are good at bleeding you are more likley to get air in the system and make it worse.
Jonners
Note from Admin: sadly Jon passed away in February 2018 but his humour and wealth of knowledge will be fondly remembered by all. RIP Jonners.
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MarkVeryard
- Guest contributor
- Posts: 177
- Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2006 12:06 pm
- Location: Swansea
Ok, mega stab in the dark here since I don't know anything about FWDs...
A while back, my Dad had trouble selecting reverse on his Stag - the problem turned out to be a worn reverse switch ( the switch that is threaded into the gearbox case). The switch had some sort of ball bearing thingy that got pushed in whenever you selected reverse - anyway, wear in the switch around the ball bearing caused the whole thing to jam up so that you couldn't select reverse. Tried a new switch and problem solved!
Perhaps this FWD has some sort of switch associated with 2nd gear as well as reverse?
Sorry, probably a stupid suggestion
A while back, my Dad had trouble selecting reverse on his Stag - the problem turned out to be a worn reverse switch ( the switch that is threaded into the gearbox case). The switch had some sort of ball bearing thingy that got pushed in whenever you selected reverse - anyway, wear in the switch around the ball bearing caused the whole thing to jam up so that you couldn't select reverse. Tried a new switch and problem solved!
Perhaps this FWD has some sort of switch associated with 2nd gear as well as reverse?
Sorry, probably a stupid suggestion
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melj
Well, we bled the clutch fluid today (how awkward a place is the bleed nipple!!) and I think it went well - the fluid was minging, and the car drove home ok from my mate's but not sure whether you would get an instant reaction or not if we did it wrong?
However, I do still have some crunching, on the downchange from 4th to 3rd (not new) and from 3rd to 2nd (this is new). Reverse it also still a bit stiff.
I gave the front pulley a shoogle as suggested by Jonners and there really was no perceptible movement there at all, so that doesn't seem to be part of the problem.
So, any further suggestions? I may just punt it along to the garage. I'm going to check/top up the gearbox oil level once I have a piece of tube or something to get it in there as it's very awkward!
Cheers
Mel
However, I do still have some crunching, on the downchange from 4th to 3rd (not new) and from 3rd to 2nd (this is new). Reverse it also still a bit stiff.
I gave the front pulley a shoogle as suggested by Jonners and there really was no perceptible movement there at all, so that doesn't seem to be part of the problem.
So, any further suggestions? I may just punt it along to the garage. I'm going to check/top up the gearbox oil level once I have a piece of tube or something to get it in there as it's very awkward!
Cheers
Mel
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Leeds Sprint
Gear Selection Problem
Hello Melj
I wouldn't normally offer technical advice, but I have had a simmilar problem with my shifting a month or two ago. If you search the threads you will find it.
My gears were very stiff and crunching into 3rd, 4rth and Reverse. It turned out to be the gear stick itself. My gearshift knob was stuck in the down position (for selecting reverse).
This ment that it was very hard to get 3rd in particular as it is just next to reverse. Shifting into all gears was stiff and in some cases it was jumping out of gear as I was not able to fully select gears due to the mechanism fouling on the reverse gate. The solution was just a bit of a clean and some grease to free the spring loaded mechanism.
Your problem sounds a little different, but check to make sure that your gear shift knob depresses and returns properly. A lack of proper action certainly created some gear selection problems for me and the solution was dead easy.
Good Luck
Chris
I wouldn't normally offer technical advice, but I have had a simmilar problem with my shifting a month or two ago. If you search the threads you will find it.
My gears were very stiff and crunching into 3rd, 4rth and Reverse. It turned out to be the gear stick itself. My gearshift knob was stuck in the down position (for selecting reverse).
This ment that it was very hard to get 3rd in particular as it is just next to reverse. Shifting into all gears was stiff and in some cases it was jumping out of gear as I was not able to fully select gears due to the mechanism fouling on the reverse gate. The solution was just a bit of a clean and some grease to free the spring loaded mechanism.
Your problem sounds a little different, but check to make sure that your gear shift knob depresses and returns properly. A lack of proper action certainly created some gear selection problems for me and the solution was dead easy.
Good Luck
Chris