Clio 97 P-reg Gearstick 'out of sync'?

[turnbull85]

Hello,

this is my first post, although not the first problem i've had with my Clio 97 P-reg RL...

i've had a few problems with it recently inc. brakes, cutting out, leaking headlights and exhaust falling off (all fixed thankfully)....last night i came onto the motorway and accelerated into 4th, then tried to get into 5th and it just wouldn't engage with 5th.

managed to drive home in 4th and lower (just!)

i'm thinking the gearstick is out of sync, but not sure... i can drive and get into 1,2,3,4 and Rev, but it feels like they are loose and in different positions to where they used to be...

anyway, any help or advice would be really appreciated. just want to know if its something minor i can fix?

 

[geesus69]

whereabouts in the country are you pal?

are you pretty good with mechanics?

 

[turnbull85]

i'm in Newcastle, and not great with mechanics, just the basics really.

I had a fiddle round under the gearstick cover this morning, and managed to get into 5th, but it resulted in not being able to engage with Rev. really frustrating...

mot is due in a week also

cheers

 

[geesus69]

ah thats a start, so its not a gearbox issue if you can get fifth!

basically what must have happened is either one of the selectors under the car has moved/loosened itself or the bush on the end of the gearstick is worn.

sadly its a bit of trial and error in order to get all the gears if its come loose, if the bush is worn you will need a new one and see what happens. i'm in harrogate (possibly a bit far from you) otherwise i would have a look at it for nowt

 

[turnbull85]

yeah a bit too far, but thanks for the offer mate.

that gives me something to go on. i've heard that bushes are tricky to replace because the linkage is always plastic and breaks easily...?

probably means i should not attempt it myself

thanks for the quick reply!

cheers

 

[geesus69]

right if you look under the car there is a plastic bush on the end of the gear lever, this is my short shifter but you can see it here in white (yours is prob red ish?)

check to see if that is in tact, if its goosed it might be that. if that looks ok, follow the linkage down towards the gearbox, you will have a nut and bolt thats holds the linkage together, check to see if that is loose at all or if you can move the linkage in and out of the sleeve. if anything is loose it will need adjusting so you can get all gears and then tightening back up

hope that helps you mate, give us a shout if not and we'll take it a step further

 

[turnbull85]

managed to get it fixed, luckily it wasn't the bush. the linkage was loose!

put it for its MOT, it failed. front brake disks, so not TOO bad. now its passed and i get another 12 months of waiting for it to go wrong again.

thanks for you help.