Hello all,
I am having my first major car drama. When I went to pull up and straighten my parking I put the once trusty panda into first gear but it went straight the gate. It is now stuck in reverse so I can not even tow it away. Any tips on what to do/ how to get it into neutral/ how much £££ might it be???
Thank you all
Are we talking manual or auto? If auto I know nothing
If manual does the gear lever feel loose, slack etc. If so it may be cable related as cables often break.
If possible with engine safely switched off, looking at top of gearbox hopefully you will see two cables that move the selectors outside the gearbox. One moves the side to side gate when you are inside the car and the other does the forward and back , so first/neutral/second or third/ neutral/fourth etc. So if you are lucky you may move them to the central position i.e. neutral by waggling both levers at the same time, as one is probably jamming the other. Rocking the car at the same time may help.
If this doesn't work even after as a last resort you disconnect the cables from the gear levers at the box then it sounds more internal in the gearbox which is obviously a pain.
Depending on skill levels you may be able to remove the gear selector cover and move it internally into neutral to move the vehicle although either way the gearbox will require a major rebuild.
From a garage point of view for towing, if it is just a case of dragging it onto a transporter, they may do just that, although by using a garage trolley jack to lift one wheel the car should be mobile as the diff gears will turn then allowing car to be loaded depending on access to your property etc.
Price wise if just cables you may get pattern ones for under a £100+ fitting, however gearbox removal and overhaul plus vehicle recovery could put the price nearer to £1k so ouch! I am retired now so only very rough estimate, others on Forum can advise better.
