I've been having problems with changing gear in my 12 year old Mitsubishi ASX since the middle of last week. It seems to have gone very stiff sometimes when changing into 1st from neutral, then from 1 into 2. All the other gears change fine, smooth shifts from one to the other. Reverse sometimes feels like the teeth aren't quite matching up and sometimes just doesn't want to engage.
My first thought was clutch (it's done 87K) but it doesn't exhibit any other clutch type issues, and the shifting problem isn't a continual problem. For example, today I drove into work and reversed into my normal parking place without any problems at all, but yesterday morning I had problems getting it into reverse then first gear pulling out of a parking space. It then drove find the rest of the journey. Having had clutches replaced on 3 cars in the past (Renault 5, 2 month old Focus - knackered hydraulics apparently, and a 160,000m Vectra) , it feels nothing like any of them did when they were on their way out.
I'm puzzled, so any suggestions would be most welcome.
For info, it's a 6 speed manual box on a 1.8 diesel and the car is 4 wheel AWD. The gearbox and diff. oil was changed about 3 years ago. I'm currently doing about 10K a year, some of which is towing caravans or basic off road, farm track type of stuff.
Without knowing that particular model - when I've had reluctant gear selection on vehicles in the past (that haven't been the gearbox itself being goosed*) its been on vehicles where the shifting is cable actuated and those cables getting worn or gummed up
*I once limped a Sprinter into a specialist to get a replacement gearbox and they reckoned it was the most ****ed they'd seen on a vehicle that had actually managed to arrive under its own steam. So it was nice to know I wasn't replacing it a moment too soon 🙂
Cheers @maccruiskeen. I might just get my local garage to check that out first in that case rather than calling a clutch specialist and booking it in.
I second what Mac just wrote - gearboxes are tough beasties and it doesn't sound like a clutch issue.
The weak link is probably the 'link' between gearstick and gearbox. Most modern vehicles have rods or cables that do the motion transfer and I'd check them out first :o)
Thanks @JAG , I'm going to pop into the garage on my way into work tomorrow, see what they say.
I've had that on a Transit, it was the selector unit which goes into the top of the gearbox, seized bearing in it. About £20 for a new one but about 4hrs work for me, if you're paying for labour probably cheaper to put a new selector in.
As above, cables is the other, probably more likely culprit. Easy DIY check. Remove gubbins around the lever, disconnect and wiggle. If the lever is stiff it's that, if it's free reconnect and then go underneath and disconnect from the selector. Wiggle the lever again. If it's stiff it's the cables (in theory easy DIY job but very much depends on how easy they are get at, could be a pain in the bum) If it's still free then it's selector or gearbox.
Thanks for the suggestions, @andrewh.
From what you've all said it sounds like it'll be a lot cheaper than a new clutch. Although I'd normally be quite happy to dig around and try to fix it I'm going to pop in the garage as I've recently knackered my back.
