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Evening all,
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OK, it's not quite a singlespeed, I can get 1st and 2nd gear, more of a dinglespeed. Whilst I am delighted to have these two gears I would rather like access to a wider selection.
It’s a 2004 Mk6 with 83k on the clock. 2.0 diesel, 85hp 5sp manual front wheel drive.
I have occasionally had difficulty selecting 1st, usually fine but sometimes takes two attempts. I always leave it parked in 1st as the handbrake is a bit rubbish.
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Tonight I went to move it and discovered that I can only get 1st and 2nd gears.
It feels like the lever is stuck, it won’t move to the right. So I dismantled it and after removing the cables it was completely free. Not that then.
On top of the gearbox is a little mechanism where the other ends of the cables go. It looks like this:
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The bit on the top (where the cable with the white end is attached) goes backwards and forwards when I choose 1st or 2nd, neutral is in the middle. There is a second cable to the right. The thingy which that is attached to doesn’t move. Should it? If it should what should I do? If it shouldn’t what else could the problem be and what should I do about that?
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Thanks in advance.
Stop driving!!!
There is a bolt inside the gearbox that handles the left right part. It can fall off and into the box, i get stuck 3/4 in mine. Needed it fished out and re applied.
There is also and issue with cable stretch etc that can be fettled instructions in the Haynes manual.
Cheers Mike. How would I go about fishing it out? More to the point, is it easy to put back together again afterwards? Don't suppose you took any photos last time you did yours did you?
I've got the Haynes book so cables should be easy, but it says very little about opening the gearbox.
I've been on the google and found this http://fordtransit.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=111349this
Gear selector bearing problem. Is it any use to you Mike? I'm going to try it over the weekend, if I can get new bearings quickly enough.
Exploded drawing here http://autopartmaster.com/en/?action=catalog_show&cat=ford&t_id=14740&id_pic=21123
I did the cable one myself following the instructions however the inside gearbox one I dropped (abandoned) at the local garage. He spent 3 hrs getting the bolt out.....
Bye the age of the van I think you have the gear box with the plastic selectors
Notorious for going wrong.
Cost about £ 500 quid to put right
Bye the age of the van I think you have the gear box with the plastic selectors
Notorious for going wrong.
Cost about £ 500 quid to put right
I sorted those with a screwdriver and some ramps unless they are completely gone.
Plastic selectors? Is that one of the bits inside? Part number 10 on here maybe? http://autopartmaster.com/en/?action=catalog_show&cat=ford&t_id=14740&id_pic=21123
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Also, £500 seems a bit steep. zccording to the Transit forum a whole new selector mechanism is £200-250. Even if new cables are required (£86!) and adding VAT to that it's still £400ish.
Did your £500 include labour?
On a related subject, if the mechanism is FUBAR then is it worth getting another from a scrappy rather than paying the price above? a) How can I tell if it's a good one and not going to have the same problem a week later and b) are they all the same or will I have to be careful to get an identical one?
I had a similar issue with mine, not to quite the same extent but I had to heave the stick hard from left to right to get between the gears. I rinsed it with WD40 to get me home, which kinda worked.
Apparently a common problem, on mine it was a bush seizing onto the gear selector shaft that caused it. The selector could rock backwards and forwards ok between 1st and 2nd) but it couldnt go up and down (the movement that takes you from the 1st/2nd gate to 3rd/4th etc.) The garage managed to get it sorted for not too much money.
While they were at it they noticed that the bolt at the bottom of the selector was coming loose as mentioned above, they thread locked it and nipped it back up to prevent any nasty bolt-to-gear interactions. this wasn't the source of my issue though.
gear selector linkage - not that expensive to repair, see the ford transit forum for advice.
Cheers guys.
Definately the bearing in the gear selector, that had completely had it. New bearing and seal will be at the dealers tomorrow. Bonus: no plastic bits anywhere.
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Supplementary question: while I've got the mechanism out and the top of the gearbox open should I top up the gearbox oil? If so, what oil should I use and how will I know when it's enough? Can't see a dipstick anywhere.
Usually there is a drain plug on bottom and filler plug on side
Gear box is full when parked on a level surface and oil is at the filler plug level
Do not go filling from any old place.
I don't think the plugs are there on Transit TR. The Haynes book talks of having to take the gearbox off to change the oil (sealed unit or something, can't remember how they phrased it) and refilling via the hole where the shaft to the diff goes.
I take your point about filling from any old place though, so I'll give it a miss. Easy enough to get the selctor off again though if ever required, it's not like a once-in-a-lifetime gearbox-off repair.
Stick some stupid tyres on it, advertise it with two gears and the classifieds will have a field day over the new niche what car...
[url= http://fordtransit.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=32257 ]Fat transits are us[/url]
Going well so far.
Got the selector out of the van yesterday, surprisingly easy. Disassembled it (harder, but mainly because I didn't know basic stuff, eg circlip easier to remove if you compress the big spring to move everything backwards). Completely degreased everything and removed bearing. Completely shot.
Bought new bearing and seal today. Fitted, reassembled and regreased. Seems to be working very smothly, makes a lovely clicking sound as stuff slots into place. Quite enjoyed it in an odd sort of way.
Need to reattach it to the top of the gearbox tomorrow. What could possibly go wrong?
I love a have a go mechanic thread, the feel good factor when you strip something down, find the fault and fix it can only be measured with the....
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It lives! It has just been driven about 3 miles and has used all the gears. It's actually a lot easier to select 1st from neutral than it ever was before, must have had the problem ever since I got it.
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Moonter, I've never been above 2 on the awsome-ometer before, dead chuffed with a 5!
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I am a reasonably competant bike mechanic, I do everything myself except wheelbuilding but as far as cars and vans go I have changed oil & filter, fuel filter, some bulbs, a wiper motor and a door catch, that's it, never done a job like this before. I am feeling really pleased with myself 😀
Good effort dude
🙂
FWIW, all our transits at work are very reliable apart from gear selectors, clutch's (due to steep hils and big trailers more than anything IMO) and endless electrical problems with central locking and rear lights....
Well done.
The tricky part of any job is finding the fault. It's great when you find a properly fubared component knowing you've found the root of the problem.
I started out fixing my bike, felt a bit overwhelmed when I got my first car, but with good advice and some decent tools gained some confidence. I'll have a bash at most things now.
gained some confidence
I think that's the key. It wasn't difficult (time consuming yes, but that's mainly because stuff was rusty and seized)
However, the thought of opening up the top of gearbox would have scared the willies out of me until very recently. As you say, once you know what the problem is it's easy (and helped a lot by the bloke on the Transit forum who had already done it and photgraphed every single step)
After I had put it all back together I switched the engine on, pressed the clutch and selected reverse. The scariest bit of the whole job was taking my foot off the clutch, it would either work or destroy the gearbox, I don't think there would be a middle ground of it sort of working...