Possible gearbox problem.. helppppppp!

[Tuccy]

hey folks... advice please

Today when out in my car the gear changes got very sticky..
The clutch cable seems ok and the clutch itself also seems to be inguaging and dis-inguaging ok, i topped the gearbox oil up about 3 months ago, so im sure thats ok too..

There is no grinding etc as you would expect from a dodgy cable or clutch,

Just when selecting gears its like it gets stuck, i had to push and shove a bit to get me home, eventually it goes into the gear after a bit of persuasion..

Ive a spare box here of my 3 i can use, just wondering if any of you guru`s had any ideas before i go changing gearboxes, it would be my luck to change the box than one of you guys telling me its a simple common fix or something :cry:

Thanks

[cliokiz]

Sounds like your clutch might not be disengaging properly. Whats it like when the engine is warm and the engine is switched off? Still feel sticky?

[Tuccy]

Sounds like your clutch might not be disengaging properly. Whats it like when the engine is warm and the engine is switched off? Still feel sticky?

Just went out and checked when the engine is off.....
it seems perfect with the engine off, also the engine was warm earlier when it started sticking, i thought i was gonna be stranded miles from home at one point, it got so hard selecting gears from traffic lights etc

If its like you say and the clutch not disengaging properly, would i be right in saying a possible stretched clutch cable or worn gearbox bush???

Would I be right in thinking that I could try adding a temporary spacer/filler to the end of the cable to effictively shorten the inner cable to see if that helps??

Thanks for the speedy reply

[Wobba]

Probably wont be the cause, but check the engine mount under the battery is done up ok and not snapped. Had some issues with gears when mine was loose a couple of years ago.

Could be cable I guess, or ratchet.

[cliokiz]

Trying to shorten the cable won't work because the cable is self adjusting.

The self adjusting mechanism on the pedal could be worn which means you might not be getting enough movement on the release arm to release the clutch, which will become more apparent when the engine/gearbox/clutch are hot.

You could try removing the green block (pedal stop) above the clutch pedal and see if this helps your situation. When you let the pedal raise higher than the pedal stop you'll hear the ratchet adjusting the first time you do it. Might temporarily resolve your problem.

[16v_paddy]

Get a helper to press the clutch pedal while you measure how far the clutch release arm moves, should be 17-21mm of travel, if it's less the ratchet is buggered & needs replacing :wink:

[cliokiz]

There are workarounds rather than having to replace the pedal :)

[16v_paddy]

You bodging ****er! :lol:

[cliokiz]

You should see what I use to fix it! :shock:

[Tuccy]

I took the pedal stop of and heard 1 or 2 clicks, replaced it again and tried, still sticky :cry:

Measured the movment on the clutch lever and its exactly 18mm :?

any more ideas? whats this botch job?, could i try it to see if i need new ratchet etc??

[Tuccy]

any more ideas folks,, ive tried everything above and its still the same,, just had the car up and all engine mounts are good too :(

[Tuccy]

damn edit lol

and ive also checked the gear linkage and cant see any probs, everythings tight etc

[fab]

100% cable or ratchet related. had the same happen to me last month after a clutch and cable change. turned out the cable rubber was torn.
Can you get us some pics under the airbox where the cable is?

[Tuccy]

Thanks for replys guys,

Sorry fab cant get pics here, im at a friends garage with no camera and no way of linking my fone camera to his laptop..

But since you had exact same prob, i have a 3 im using for parts and it was fine when i took it off the road so i will swap the ratchet/pedal and get a new clutch cable tomorrow hopefully...

will let ya know how i get on

in the meantime im doing a bit of engine bay tidy up, wires etc

Thanks again

[fab]

Tuccy try and get a genuine cable. Read somewhere that the non oem can give problems.

[Tuccy]

Weird $h1t

Ordered a new cable on sat from renault waiting on it arriving..
Meanwhile the damn thing has fixed itself lol

Problem completely gone now, maby my messing arond has freed the ratchet or something...

:o

[Tuccy]

Just to finish with

The sticky gear changes came back, cable arrived & i got to stripping the pedal/ratchet out of my 3.

After removing the 3 ratchet and the 1 ratchet i discovered that the 1 ratchet looked very new, the 3 one was a bit worn on the teeth..

so i just chucked the 1, one back in along with the new cable and hey presto all is good

Thanks for the pointers folks, much appreciated :lol:

[Wobba]

Great! Thanks for updating us with a solution. I hate never knowing if problems got resolved or not!