Technical Gear lever disconnected

[cloudhop]

Hi

I broke down last week..the gear lever just went limp and couldnt change gear
Breakdown man said gear selector cable ..small part required ..perished rubber/pin ???

My garage says part is £130 !! plus 2-3 hours labour..am I being ripped off
does more stuff nead replacing on this type of repair.?

Fiat ulysses 2.0 petrol R reg.

 

[normd]

Hi Cloudhop, had the same happen to me yesterday; tried to change gear and nothing happened other than a floppy gearstick. Found the problem though! The cable ends in a metal 'O' ring with a rubber insert, this fits over a ball joint on the selector arm at the gearbox. You need to remove the air filter box to see it, it's at the upper rear of the gearbox. Once the car reaches a certain age the rubber insert is past it's best and the 'O' ring can pop off the ball joint. Using muscle power mine is back on and it works fine. I guess the permanent solution is a new part.
HTH