Hi all,
Last week when road tripping through Norway the beloved multipla experienced some issues.. driving through hill/mountain area had to brake for another car. Pushed the clutch pedal, got some resistance, pushed through and snap, the clutch cable broke. The plastic part on top snapped, while the rest of the cable seems ok so far (see attachment). Pushed car to side of the road and drove away without clutch. Was able to drive for about an hour to nearest fiat dealer in Kristiansand. They checked the car when on the bridge and tried to disengage clutch by hand, but concluded the clutch is very stiff and only a little movement was possible. They concluded the clutch needs replacement, and the cable of course (apparently it is not hydraulic).

Although very friendly and helpful, the lads were not able to help us in the coming two weeks since parts are not available in Norway (probably first time for them to see a multipla, haven't seen one so far on the road). So decided to try to drive back to the Netherlands to do the job myself, as parts are easier available and labor is super expensive here.

Drove away in first gear, bit messy to shift gears on roundabouts and all, but went ok shifting from 1st-2nd-3rd gear. However, when entering high way I lost speed and was not able to get the car in second gear, came to a hold and was unable to get it in first gear again. Stuck, pushed the car to a safe spot and called garage. The very friendly guy came and was able to drive away in 2nd gear (I tried to but no success).

Car is now parked at the garage, first gear is gone. Possible I did this when driving without clutch?? Garage is trying to improvise a fix on the cable to see if we can get the clutch back so I can drive it home without first gear. If they don't succeed it's practically impossible to repat the car since entering the ferry to Denmark without clutch is undoable. Then there are three options: order new clutch/gearbox and put it in myself on parking, order new clutch/gearbox and have dealer put it in (practically no option due to high labor costs, expect 1000 euros) or end of multipla.

Car info:
Fiat Multipla 1.9 JTD 110 ELX 81 kW
Mileage: 340,000 km
Changed cambelt 4000 km ago

Previous owner (1) always kept it maintained at official fiat dealer, apart from mentioned issues the car is in good condition (for 340k).

Any suggestions to bring the multipla back to life?? Would be great to keep the thing on the road for some time!

Regards,
Multiwagpla

If you can get to ferry and explain you can't drive onto ferry , I expect the lovely ferry crew will get you on and off by towing.
This is common on ferries between UK and France.
Get car home and fix it yourself, maybe a used gearbox .
Good luck and let us know what you do.

Thanks for your reply Jack. Managed to get the car home with improvised clutch cable plastic attachment. Got airbox and battery out, tomorrow last bolt of the battery tray. Hope to access both the clutch cable and gear shift cable easily from there. Any comments on this? Should I lift the car for access from below?

I either want to replace the whole clutch cable unit or only replace the broken plastic part (if possible). The other problem is the inability to shift in 1st gear, it feels blocked. Other gears work perfectly and no pain to shift, except for second gear which sometimes makes a clunky noise. Car drives fine, no weird sounds or anything.

It seems that somewhere in the gear shift stick mechanism something bent. The stick sits way more forward, when in neutral it seems it is in third gear. Any suggestions about which part can cause such symptoms?

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Multiwagpla

You may find it hard to get help from UK members of the forum: All right hand drive JTD Multiplas have hydraulic clutch operation, not by cable. So the problems you are experiencing don't happen here. But don't worry, we have a big collection of problems with clutch hydraulics of our own

Clutch cable break was almost certainly due to the clutch becoming stiff. The original garage diagnosing a replacement clutch needed is almost certainly correct.

Changing gear without the clutch will put a strain on the gearchange cables, and it is likely these have suffered. Hopefully adjustment will fix, as new cables seem very expensive for most cars.

If you don't have a manual, download the one on here from the Downloads section. There are instructions on how to create a CD from the multiple .rar files. That will show you how the gearchange cables should be set up. Hopefully no damage inside gearbox.

I too am thinking you may have a gear shift cable problem as well as clutch cable problem

I had a similar problem with Multi #4 , the cables were very dry so I took them off and hung them vertically from my garage beams, made a plasticine funnel formed it round the ends of the cable and filled it with oil, it took two days to creep right thru the cables but they felt very slick afterwards, put back on and adjusted, better than new, nearly two years later and they're still good. (P/S: I'm now on Multi #6 , with Multi #7 waiting to be either done up or done away for spares)

Oh, almost forgot: check your gearbox oil, it's amazing the punishment it takes and doing an oil change can improve matters considerably

Many thanks for the suggestions! I replaced the clutch cable so the initial problem is tackled. After fiddeling around with the gear cables I was not able to get in second gear anymore, in addition to the lost first gear. Made me think even more it has something to do with the cables, rather than the box itself.

I will take out the cables to apply oil and also refresh the gearbox oil. Not really clear for me how to adjust the gear cables, any comments on that?

Regards,
Multiwagpla

Multiwagpla said:

Many thanks for the suggestions! I replaced the clutch cable so the initial problem is tackled. After fiddeling around with the gear cables I was not able to get in second gear anymore, in addition to the lost first gear. Made me think even more it has something to do with the cables, rather than the box itself.

I will take out the cables to apply oil and also refresh the gearbox oil. Not really clear for me how to adjust the gear cables, any comments on that?

Regards,
Multiwagpla

Click to expand...

Yes
The gear change cables are not adjustable.

To check 2nd gear engagement
Get under vehicle so you can see gear box levers while some one else in vehicle selects 1st gear several times, then ask them to go from first to second.
You will see what should be happening.

Took gear cables out, oiled and inspected them. One of the cables seems slightly bent. I know where to get a new cable, but figured out it might be more than just the cables.

Today at the auto parts store I asked for gearbox oil, had a chat with the store guy, and he suggested to manually check if all gears are selectable before replacing oil and cables. Probably a good idea. Did that, took quite some time to figure things out. Seems I can get it in neutral, 3-4 and 5-R but not in 1-2. If I'm correct the cables push one of the selectors down (for the other gear pairs the selector is positioned center and up) while the other selector goes left or right and selects either 1-nothing-2. I can push the selector down, but it seems there is still ~4mm left before it's all the way down. I'm worried now as it seems I cannot get it in 1st and 2nd gear.

I suppose it's either something with the selector rods inside the box, after the cable attachment, or something deep down in unknown gear territory. To check the selector rod mechanism I unscrewed the two 10mm bolts that hold the bracket on the box. However, as both EPER and CD do not work for me today I paused since I don't want to damage anything. Should I be able to lift out the mechanism with the box still in the car?

I hope you helpful people have suggestions! Also if I'm wrong in my thinking please correct me..

Regards,
Multiwagpla

Update:

Turned out the synchronizer ring of the 1st gear was broken in 2 pieces. Figured this out after taking the gearbox out and apart. Followed the guide from the Fiat CD for revising the gearbox. Brought the axle with gears to a transmission expert who put the new synchronizer ring on and checked everything else for wear. Costs: 100 euro for labour, parts and advice when rebuilding gearbox (excluding clutch and oil). I rebuilt the box with patience and logical reasoning. Not a hard job as long as you stay patient and label all parts you take out. Fitted a new Valeo clutch, fitted everything else in and drives like a charm. :worship:

Don't be afraid for gearbox inner parts as it turned out to be a pretty straightforward job. Thanks for the advice and ill be following this forum! In case of questions feel free to ask put take into account it may take some time for an answer.