Technical Stiff change up from 3rd

[Sbf500]

Evening all.

So for as long as I can remember the car has always had an intermittent issue of it being stiff to get it out of 3rd gear when changing up to 4th.

However I have been using the car quite a lot more recently as a bit of a shake down ahead of a big move over to Ireland from South Wales at the end of September. As a result the issue is definitely getting more pronounced.

It usually only starts happen once I have driven a couple of miles. The down change from 4th to 3rd is fine and it comes out of 3rd fine when changing down to second.

It is a 500 f with 70k on the clock, the box has never been rebuilt but oil changed regularly with the last change only done 6 months ago and level check only last month.

Any thoughts on what could be the problem or where to start trouble shooting that would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Al

 

[smart51]

Are you saying it stiff coming out of 3rd or going in to 4th? Not that I can advise on the gearbox problem.

 

[Sbf500]

Are you saying it stiff coming out of 3rd or going in to 4th? Not that I can advise on the gearbox problem.

Out of third, basically it feel like it is stuck in there and you have to give the gear stick a good yank. The odd think is it only when going up the box so revs high to low.

If I’m going down so revs are low it comes out of gear just fine.

 

[smart51]

When I first got it, my car was stiff coming out of gear when the engine was hot. It was low on gearbox oil. When I topped it up, it was better. I don't know why that would be.

 

[Goldnrust]

My 500f is also intermittently a little stiff to come out of 3rd when doing a 3-4 upshift.

Likewise is an original box that hasn’t been rebuilt, done approx 50 thousand miles and has fresh oil recent level check.

The only thing I’ve noticed so far, is that it seems worse if I’m pulling the gear-lever back with a little pressure to the right, instead of directly backwards. It’s habit of mine to have that little bit of sideways pressure to avoid accidentally shifting to 2nd instead of 4th.
A bad habit picked up with previous cars with worn gearbox mounts where miss shifting was easier I think. I guess also cars where the gear lever’s side to side action is sprung, unlike the 500 you need that bit of sideways pressure.

It doesn’t happen very often in my car, and the work around helps, but if there’s a worn part to replace, or another fix to be made, I’m all ears!