Very sticky gear shift - manual wont select gears when cold

alfesti

alfesti

Member
Hi guys,

Dont suppose anyone has any idea whats up with my 2000. When its cold you cant push the (manual) gear stick into any gear other than reverse, which graunches like crazy.

Once its warm its better but still quite stiff. With the engine off you can select 1st quite easily and turn on with the clutch down, but the change up to 2nd is, errr, interesting...

I recently changed the oil in the box, so I dont think thats the problem. Does it sound like an iffy clutch (that was changed a couple of years ago, but the car was laid up for most of the intervening time and has only done a few thousand miles) or might it be iffy master/slave cylinder or more fun a knackered box?

Any suggestions appreciated

Thanks

matt
 
As far as I know sticky-shifts are caused by the release bearing sticking on the shaft & some boxes have had holes drilled in to allow WD40 or somesuch to be sprayed onto it without dismantling . Apparently it only puts off the inevitable & it's quite a common problem. Must be the lack of use causing you the grief.
 
I would use it more, but my work piles on the miles - the Freelander, new in October 2002 has 55,000 miles on it (and I use hire cars about half the time) - so the P6 has become a weekend car. When I get a weekend off, that is. There is a spare box in the shed, was hoping not to have to do a swap.

Can a Ford 5 speed from a Sierra fit - they are pretty cheap and tough...?
 
I made the same enquiry on the forum a while back but didn't get much feedback as I don't think it's a common transplant. Alimorg said to find an engineering firm who could make an adaptor plate. Have a look at the thread in the gearbox section.
 
Ta RM, I'll have a look. It may be the clutch though as when I started it in gear this morning there was drag on the engine even though the clutch was hard down.

Maybe its time to change the master and slave cylinders again. Does anyone get more than a 5 years out of those things?

Failing that I think an LDV or sherpa box is a fairly straight switch - or am I thinking of V8s?
 
Sounds like the clutch is dragging ,Is your cold idle speed too high? (when the choke is out). I can't get my 3500S into gear when cold at anything over 750 rpm
I've got the clutch master cylinder off to fit new rubbers as it was leaking. The coil spring inside has cracked in 2 places and scored the bore so I need a new cylinder
Maybe gear engagement will be better afterwards.....
Dave
 
Well, I bled the chutch last night, pretty much replaced all the fluid by pumping it through (I would have done it all but my girlfriends patience ran out...) The stuff coming out was almost black.

This morning it was still a tiny bit sticky getting ito 1st but the peddle feel was much stiffer and as a test drove into central London and the further it went the better it got.

Moral here do the easy and obvious stuff first before panicking into expensive difficult stuff
 
Your clutch problem can be likely traced to your hydraulics. You should be sure that system is in refurbished shape before you spend pounds of money and pounds of sweat in removing clutch assemblies.

The black colour of your clutch fluid is a combination of rubber particles and rust particles from inside the steel lines.

Having suffered through the problems you describe, I recommend an order of resolution.
1. You have pumped through fresh fluid in the clutch lines and reviewed the colour (showing a potential problem).
2. Remove the clutch slave cylinder. Purchase a rubber seal kit.
3. Hone out the inside of the slave cylinder bore and be sure there are no rust pits before re-assembling the cylinder with a new kit.
4. Refit the cylinder to the clutch hydraulic line. On two occasions I had to bleed the slave cylinder in an unorthodox way to be sure there was no air in the line. I had to lay down the slave cylinder on the ground and then pump the pedal. Look for an opportunity to purchase self-bleeding screw nipples from a parts place. It has a little spring and a moving plunger inside the nipple. This allows you to avoid annoying your significant other. You can do all the line bleeding yourself.
5. OR you can assemble the cylinder back onto the gearbox and bleed afterwards.
6. When you refit the pushrod, you might want to adjust the nut slightly up the shaft *slightly* to give you more travel of the actuating rod pushing the clutch release.

When you retest the clutch with the car running and the lines bleed, be sure that the engine idle speed is as close to the recommended level as you can get. A higher than recommended idle speed will cause you difficulty getting into reverse.

Eric
 
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