Technical hard to.change gear

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Technical hard to.change gear

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When moving the gear stick from left to right it doesnt spring back into place, also getting into 3rd is bit of a struggle from 2nd.
I have cleaned the thing that moves and it has made it a little worse and one ant ideas ?

I have attached a picture of what I cleaned...
 

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When moving the gear stick from left to right it doesnt spring back into place, also getting into 3rd is bit of a struggle from 2nd.
I have cleaned the thing that moves and it has made it a little worse and one ant ideas ?

I have attached a picture of what I cleaned...

Cleaned in what way? Did you physically remove the linkage and strip the pivot pin and grease it? 99.9% of stiff gearlever movement (especially left-to-right across the gate) is due to this piece seizing-up.

Simple test, with the engine off, flick the cables off the linkage and see if the gear lever now moves freely, then, manually try to move the pivot pin on the gearbox. I bet the pin barely moves. ;)


You can strip the linkage in-situ, but its far easier to slip both cables out and undo the three 13mm bolts for the complete bracket and dismantle it on a bench. The problem is the pivot pin corrodes and swells against the plastic end bushes. You may get away with just cleaning the pin, but the bushes are available cheaply from the Dealer (same as an Alfa 147 JTD) and it'll last longer if you clean the corrosion out of the pin-hole too.
 
Why not get a new linkage from a breakers. Clean and re grease it, then simply swap it over to your own car. My Bro has an Alfa 156 they suffer similar problems with the left-right gate action
 
Cleaned in what way? Did you physically remove the linkage and strip the pivot pin and grease it? 99.9% of stiff gearlever movement (especially left-to-right across the gate) is due to this piece seizing-up.

Simple test, with the engine off, flick the cables off the linkage and see if the gear lever now moves freely, then, manually try to move the pivot pin on the gearbox. I bet the pin barely moves. ;)


You can strip the linkage in-situ, but its far easier to slip both cables out and undo the three 13mm bolts for the complete bracket and dismantle it on a bench. The problem is the pivot pin corrodes and swells against the plastic end bushes. You may get away with just cleaning the pin, but the bushes are available cheaply from the Dealer (same as an Alfa 147 JTD) and it'll last longer if you clean the corrosion out of the pin-hole too.

I cleaned it with a jet was lol... (was that the right thing to do)

so it is easy to dis mantle... my car is like my right and left hand if i dont have it then im usless haah.... although if i can fix it then i dont mind doing the jobs :)
 
This problem has started with my mk2 punto today! Feared the worst at first, not so worried now. Pretty convinced it needs a good clean out. Maybe not with a jet wash though! ha. :)
 
Also, if anyone fancies posting pictures and a little guide, I would very much appreciate it (y)
 
personally i would get your gearbox refurbished, or purchase a refurbished one, dont use main dealers tho or u might aswell buy a new car. im sure with a little tlc it will be back to knew :) just like mine was after my backstreet macanic had it for a couple of days.
 
personally i would get your gearbox refurbished, or purchase a refurbished one, dont use main dealers tho or u might aswell buy a new car. im sure with a little tlc it will be back to knew :) just like mine was after my backstreet macanic had it for a couple of days.

You had the 'box rebuilt because the gear linkage was a little stiff (15 mins tops to fix), as is the case in this instance? :confused:

Was it sore afterwards?
 
Have the same problem with my HGT, so going by this tried & failed to fix today. Any advice greatly appreciated!

Took me forever just to remove the battery compartment tbh, only socket wrench I could fit in there felt like it was going to break.



Finally got to it, and found what I presumed to be the remote box. Could pop off both linkages with a spanner ok, but couldnt see an easy way to remove them from the remote at the other end. Looks like there are some metal clips holding them in place here? Was just a bit worried about destroying it at this point, especially as it was getting dark. Also not sure where this shaft will be if I do remove it.

msWvMee.jpg


Also any ideas on where the drainage hose from the battery compartment is supposed to feed to (if anywhere), had a guess on the photo below, but wasnt expecting it when I pulled the bloody thing out.

X1vrgyk.jpg


Also spotted some sort of valve with a cap off, not sure if this is for fluid or I am missing something here?

Bv72CvP.jpg



Any advice greatly appreciated!
 
Did you replace your gearbox oil?

Battery compartment drainage hose should go where you supposed it should go. At least I put it there also :)

That open cap should be closed, and it's the clutch slave cylinder's bleeder.
 
you can lever those clips out. Put a wide bladed screwdriver between the round retained part of the cable and under the flattened part of the clip to start it moving and then wiggle it out with some grips. But why are you wanting to remove the clips? What part of the system is not moving? Now you have the cables free from the gear box the gear lever should be loose and able to move in all directions. If not you should be able to squirt some oil under those rubber boots?


What do you mean by the shaft that is not moving? It should be easily possible to change gears using your hands on the levers that come from the gearbox
 
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Did you replace your gearbox oil?

Battery compartment drainage hose should go where you supposed it should go. At least I put it there also :)

That open cap should be closed, and it's the clutch slave cylinder's bleeder.

Brilliant thanks! No haven't touched the oil. If thats the issue may just leave it for the professionals as it's due in the garage wednesday anyhow. Just thought I'd give this one a shot myself first!

you can lever those clips out. Put a wide bladed screwdriver between the round retained part of the cable and under the flattened part of the clip to start it moving and then wiggle it out with some grips. But why are you wanting to remove the clips? What part of the system is not moving? Now you have the cables free from the gear box the gear lever should be loose and able to move in all directions. If not you should be able to squirt some oil under those rubber boots?


What do you mean by the shaft that is not moving? It should be easily possible to change gears using your hands on the levers that come from the gearbox

Many thanks, Its the gearstick thats not springing back to neutral. (On all axis) I tried it with the cables detached and yep moves freely, also pulled at the cables gently and it moved the stick. Could the problem be in the actual lever in that case?

Connected them back up & same problem, the shaft I'm referring to is on the posts higher up where its been cleaned up with emery paper. Going by the guide here I'd have to remove the remote with the 3x13mm bolts to get at it?

It's going into the garage anyway on Wednesday for a boatload of issues :( but this is kind of low priority compared to the rest, so figured I might as well take a look myself.
 
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Brilliant thanks! No haven't touched the oil. If thats the issue may just leave it for the professionals as it's due in the garage wednesday anyhow. Just thought I'd give this one a shot myself first!



Many thanks, Its the gearstick thats not springing back to neutral. (On all axis) I tried it with the cables detached and yep moves freely, also pulled at the cables gently and it moved the stick. Could the problem be in the actual lever in that case?

Connected them back up & same problem, the shaft I'm referring to is on the posts higher up where its been cleaned up with emery paper. Going by the guide here I'd have to remove the remote with the 3x13mm bolts to get at it?

It's going into the garage anyway on Wednesday for a boatload of issues :( but this is kind of low priority compared to the rest, so figured I might as well take a look myself.

If the cables and stick can move freely then you have an internal problem. The three bolts do not have to come off to get access to the top of the gearbox which is held by 5 bolts. You will get a better idea of what is causing the resistance by removing the top of the gearbox. The box should have sufficient oil to lubricate the top part of the mechanism. Have you checked you have oil up to the drain plug facing the radiator about half way down the box at the front? However it is hard to imagine you have so little oil it cannot be sprayed upwards to the top selecting mechanism.
 
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