Last few days (less than a week) changing from fifth to third has been difficult on my 08 TJet 120 GP, realised (while playing with the gears sitting in the carpark at work this morning) that the issue is stiff/sticky gear changes.

What I mean is that the gear stick moves front to back no problem but side to side it no longer returns to the centre on its own but has a tendancy to stay on whichever side it is already on.

I have found a number of posts on the Bravo forum about something similar which point to the control cables probably needing relacement.

Should I book the car into the dealers and expect a big bill?

Is it possible on the GP to get access to the cables and would squirting some WD40 on them be a bad thing to do (im not thinking this is a solution but if it fixes things for a day then it kind of proves that the issue is the control cables so means replacing them is a good idea rather than a random geuss)?

Is it likley to get worse?

Appreciate any thoughts/insight

It does sound like a cable issue. I can't tell you how to get access to them on the gp but I can say that a bit of engine oil used to help the clutch cable on a previous car of mine considerably. You may have got some water in there which has corroded the cable inner.

It'll probably be partial seizure of the selector pivot on top of the gearbox (a common problem that affects every model fitted with the C510- Fiat or Alfa).

Fairly simple fix if you're confident- pop the cables out, undo the three 13mm bolts (5) holding the bracket on and slide it out of the rubber boot, undo the 17mm nut (2) on the pivot and slide it out. Clean off any corrosion inside the bracket and on the pin, replacing the 2 plastic bushes (4) if necessary and smear grease/copper-slip on all rotating parts. Rebuild and refit, ensuring the finger slides into the boot on the gearbox and engages in the notch on the shaft. Takes 15-20mins.

Quick update, seemed to improve when I filled up with petrol about a couple of days after first becoming a problem. Thought I would see if this was just random or not and it appears it was random as it is almost as bad this monday morning as it was when I first noticed.

Thanks for the replies, if i feel brave ill attempt to look myself, otherwise ill book it into the dealers end of the week.

Hi, the gbox does the same in my gps 1.9. It's been that way since I bought it 2nd hand 3 months ago so no idea how long it was that way before.

It hasn't got any worse and hasn't bothered me so I left it but should I think about fixing it? Will it cause future problems do you reckon?

No way to tell if it will cause problems, I will get mine looked at as if it gets worse I may have trouble changing gear which itself would be a problem. I have enough to deal with most of the time already - 3 year old in the back seat.

Please could you post up any info you get about it or which parts needed replacing/rough cost. That's be sweet

Lived with the problem for a while but bit the bullet and took the car to the dealer a week or so back, they confirmed that the gear linkage cables needed replacing and as the car is out of warrenty it cost over £300 including labour. Gear change has been fine since so it seems fixed. No doubt I will get more problems soon but for the moment I can get from point A to point B Interestingly the free wifi at the dealer blocks this forum - im thinking they dont approve of any information thats not from them.

Nathanm said:

Interestingly the free wifi at the dealer blocks this forum - im thinking they dont approve of any information thats not from them.

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Hmmm I would rather believe posts on this forum than anything from the stealers!

D4nny8oy said:

It'll probably be partial seizure of the selector pivot on top of the gearbox (a common problem that affects every model fitted with the C510- Fiat or Alfa).

Fairly simple fix if you're confident- pop the cables out, undo the three 13mm bolts (5) holding the bracket on and slide it out of the rubber boot, undo the 17mm nut (2) on the pivot and slide it out. Clean off any corrosion inside the bracket and on the pin, replacing the 2 plastic bushes (4) if necessary and smear grease/copper-slip on all rotating parts. Rebuild and refit, ensuring the finger slides into the boot on the gearbox and engages in the notch on the shaft. Takes 15-20mins.

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Thanks for this. Worked a treat and saved me spending money on cables that were unnecessary? As you said 15 mins and a bit of copper slip. Sorted.