General Fiat 126bis vague/sloppy gear change

[jaygrint]

Hi everyone.

I've just bought a 126 bis (Yes!!)
Only had it delivered an hour ago but when I drove down the road and back the gear change seems quite sloppy/vague. All gears select fine but there is alot of side to side movement/free play at the gear stick when it's in gear or trying to select a gear.

I'm guessing there maybe be some bushes or bits that wear over time through the gear levers??

Any advice or links to info/parts required would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers[emoji106] [emoji4] [emoji4]

 

[gadge]

Hi everyone.

I've just bought a 126 bis (Yes!!)
Only had it delivered an hour ago but when I drove down the road and back the gear change seems quite sloppy/vague. All gears select fine but there is alot of side to side movement/free play at the gear stick when it's in gear or trying to select a gear.

I'm guessing there maybe be some bushes or bits that wear over time through the gear levers??

Any advice or links to info/parts required would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers[emoji106] [emoji4] [emoji4]

Hi jay welcome to 126 ownership the gearstick play is completely normal - it's actually supposed to do that. It because of the limited space within the cabin area the stick, which is attached to a kind of torsion rod, springs the gear lever into the centre area to give your knees a bit more room. You'll find plenty of querks in that little car

 

[F123C]

Iirc there's a bonded metal and rubber coupling at the rear where the gearchange rod connects to the gearbox, this can deteriorate with age due to oil and can also partially separate. Might be work having a look underneath and see if there's one fitted and in good condition. Otherwise the gearchange, as said above,is rubbery in feel and a bit imprecise, this was criticised in roadtests back in the day.

Al.

 

[Toshi 975]

You are right about the bushes. There is one in the gear lever housing which is located in the tunnel. The housing is secured to the tunnel by two bolts on the drivers side. If that bush starts to break down you will get a really sloppy gear change. There is a similar bush in the rear bulkhead where the gear linkage rod exits. I think that you can get access to the Bis workshop manual on the club126uk site

 

[jaygrint]

You are right about the bushes. There is one in the gear lever housing which is located in the tunnel. The housing is secured to the tunnel by two bolts on the drivers side. If that bush starts to break down you will get a really sloppy gear change. There is a similar bush in the rear bulkhead where the gear linkage rod exits. I think that you can get access to the Bis workshop manual on the club126uk site

That just what I've found out today.
The main bonded rubber part under the car is solid and tight, so I worked back from that and took the gearstick boot off. So while watching the whole area I slightly wiggled the stick. Now obviously I'm not expecting to be able to get it totally tight, but there is a small bush in the that when I move the stick there a bit of free play. The small amount of free play at the bush is obviously exaggerated by the time you get upto the gear knob.

So I've been looking about for this little bush but can't find it listed anywhere, only thing I can find is the whole assembly.

So my next step is to take the assembly off, get it on a bench and have a good look. I'm sure I will be able to improve it somehow, even if it's a small amount.

By the way I love the little thing, so easy to work on.

Thanks for all comments and any input is great.

[emoji2]

 

[jaygrint]

Sorry meant to ask if it's normal for the gearstick, from the knob down, to be able to twist all the way round? Not just the knob but the whole shaft.

 

[Toshi 975]

Sorry meant to ask if it's normal for the gearstick, from the knob down, to be able to twist all the way round? Not just the knob but the whole shaft.

Perfectly normal as you will see if you remove the gear lever assembly. If it will help I should have all the new parts to do a recon job on the gear lever assembly.

 

[jaygrint]

Perfectly normal as you will see if you remove the gear lever assembly. If it will help I should have all the new parts to do a recon job on the gear lever assembly.

Sounds good.
What parts do you get/required?
We are talking about directly under the gearstick aren't we?
Is it like a ball and socket set up?
Like I say I've only looked down from the top so hard to tell what parts are replaceable.

Thanks for the help. [emoji106] [emoji2] [emoji4]