Technical stiff gearchange

[oldhammer]

hi all.
any ideas here.
the gearchange on my sporting is stiff. dosent grind going into gear or anything tho.

clutch is good and as only done low miles since replaced at last owners cost.

car was parked up for a few months before ibought it so ipresumed it will free off with use, which it has done slightly. and it hasn't botherd me
but cold weather and Arthritis done mix so im going to have a go at making it abeit free-er.

anyideas appreciated.

 

[MikeSalt]

Not sure on the Sporting, but on the HGT there is a linkage on the top of the gearbox that stiffens up over time. Cleaning that up and lubricating appropriately makes a big difference.

 

[s and b]

most likely an inner linkage cable sticking
you could take the ends off the gearbox and try dribbling down the end,but i would suggest oil might be better

 

[oldhammer]

most likely an inner linkage cable sticking
you could take the ends off the gearbox and try dribbling down the end,but i would suggest oil might be better

Thanks
iwill give that atry .

 

[PuntoHowTo]

Had a similar thing on my hgt a while back the braided inner cable had rusted and frayed inside the outer sheath, snagging the inside of the sheath and making the gear changes more and more difficult till the cable snapped.

On my multijet I have the issue of the plastic bushings swelling up and making it so the gear stick wouldn't spring back to the centre between changes which was cured by cleaning all the parts up and gently opening up the bushings again so as not to be tight, I then used the lead from a graphite pencil to minimise friction between the parts

 

[Ziggy122]

it could forwell be the pivot balls on the linkage itself also been a pain in the arse - so could be ideal to pop them off as well - clean them out and the same for the balls

Fill it with grease - push it back on - it'll splurge out but hey you know it'll be lubed then

Ziggy

 

[oldhammer]

Thanks all.

 

[oldhammer]

isprayed some 3 in 1 oil down the cables.
seemed to make it better but its the same again..so new cable time me thinks.

can these just be swapped over with no setting up to do or do the cables
have to be re-adjusted ?

never done them before on a fiat so thought id ask here 1st

thanks inadvance

 

[s and b]

hi oldhammer nice to see some read my posts and act on them
only one cable will need readjusting its the one with the square plastic top on it,you pull the tag back push the square bit down and then slide it on its inner bit
cables arent cheap so i suggest you get s/h complete linkage off local scrappy and wiggle it afore yee buy
spend approx £25 notes

you could just swap the cables over if you like wiggling on your back
remember the subframe doesnt like axle stands though,they can slide about no matter what anyone tries to tell you on here

 

[oldhammer]

Thanks again for the advice..much appreciated

idont use axle stands.ive got a pit in the garage so no problem there,

are the cables all the same on punto's mines a 6 spd box ?

 

[s and b]

Thanks again for the advice..much appreciated

idont use axle stands.ive got a pit in the garage so no problem there,

are the cables all the same on punto's mines a 6 spd box ?

never swapped a 6 speed sorry
i did fit a gearbox this week and couldnt get the gears though so thought i had fitted a six speed box
turns out the neutral lever nut on the box had been loosened in the distant past learning about things as you do

 

[oldhammer]

Thanks again.
ive fitted a few boxes but never the cables. so im lost lol.

iMight just try and find someone local to fit new cables.
its not at the 'carnt find it grind it stage yet tho so not too bad.

 

[a1ant]

Hi mate,

The cables are the same iirc. I just had a quck look on eper and they are te same part numbers for both 5sp and 6sp.

Last set I fitted were around £85 EACH genuine Fiat. So as s and b says, if you have the option, get them second hand.

As for replacing them, its fairly straight forward. what I normally do (if there are no existing selection problems other than stiff gear change) is line the new cable up next to the old cable on the bench and make sure they are exactly the same size. That way you dont need to adjust it once its on the car.

Also worth noting that one cable controlls left and right, other up and down. Often you can get away with just replacing the one cable (ie if its stiff left to right then only replace that cable).

Apart from that, pop off the ball joints on the cables at gearbox end. Remove spring clips.

Undo the securing clip that holds them together in the middle of the subframe

(some models you need to remove the centre section exhaust heat shield). Underneath the car below gear stick you will see a plastic cover with about 6 torx screws securing the cover on. remove the plastic cover. Pop off the two ball joints (these can be a bit of a pita sometimes) remove the two spring clips.

Remove cables.

Refitting is reverse of removal lol

Alan

 

[oldhammer]

Hi mate,

The cables are the same iirc. I just had a quck look on eper and they are te same part numbers for both 5sp and 6sp.

Last set I fitted were around £85 EACH genuine Fiat. So as s and b says, if you have the option, get them second hand.

As for replacing them, its fairly straight forward. what I normally do (if there are no existing selection problems other than stiff gear change) is line the new cable up next to the old cable on the bench and make sure they are exactly the same size. That way you dont need to adjust it once its on the car.

Also worth noting that one cable controlls left and right, other up and down. Often you can get away with just replacing the one cable (ie if its stiff left to right then only replace that cable).

Apart from that, pop off the ball joints on the cables at gearbox end. Remove spring clips.

Undo the securing clip that holds them together in the middle of the subframe

(some models you need to remove the centre section exhaust heat shield). Underneath the car below gear stick you will see a plastic cover with about 6 torx screws securing the cover on. remove the plastic cover. Pop off the two ball joints (these can be a bit of a pita sometimes) remove the two spring clips.

Remove cables.

Refitting is reverse of removal lol

Alan

thanks

 

[BradThomas]

Mine is very stiff when changing to first but this mostly happens when the car is moving still, obviously it's not good to change to first if your not moving but it's a pain to stop the car completely then change into first. But yeah, when the car is going very slow and nearly at a stop it will go into 1st okay but then when I'm going a little faster it either takes more effort or feels like something is blocking it from changing

 

[oldhammer]

Mines different mate.
its all the gears. its more notchy than rough if you get what imean.

it is the cables that a fubard tho.

 

[oldhammer]

Update got it sorted .

2 big cans of wd40 from aldi and alls well.
took an age to get it all sprayed into the cables but it was worth it.

 

[jonyid]

glad to see you got it sorted mate, think the same issue is with mine (1.2 8v) and was wondering how much it would cost to do at a garage? Would you say it was an easy job to do if you follow the instructions above? I'm quite a novice but want to learn and thinking the best way to learn is to actually do it!

 

[oldhammer]

Have alook on the cables gear box end.
you will see rubber dust cover.

Mine was split. this is where problem starts ithink
so get someone to work the gears and spray away with the wd40 or 3in1 oil.

try not to get it on eggsauce pipe it stinks

 

[jonyid]

cheers mate, will have a look at the weekend, have to redo my rocket cover gasket (hasn't sealed for whatever reason) so will have a look at the cables at the same time