Any (Ford) technicians on tFB?

Haych

I received an SOS text from my wife this morning.  She drove her car to the station and abandoned it asking me to walk over and pick it up because she was having trouble changing gears.

I did as I was told (always a good idea) and collected her car.  It's not good.  1st and 2nd gears are unavailable and moving between 3rd, 4th and 5th is like trying to extract Excalibur from the stone!  I drove it back home via a little back road - didn't fancy the standing hill start onto the main road in 3rd gear, so it's smelling a little of hot clutch but otherwise the clutch was doing its job perfectly, so I don't think that's the problem.  Selecting reverse gear is not an issue at all, and I can come to a halt in gear with the clutch down no issue.

I've checked the gear linkage underneath the gear stick and that all seems fine.  I can't locate the linkage on the gearbox as there's all sorts of other bits in the way.

Is there anyone on here who might be able to give me an idea where the fault is likely to be?  I'm thinking it's pretty terminal at this point and is most likely to be an internal gearbox problem.  However, I might not be completely inept when it comes to cars, but gearboxes are not my forte other than changing the odd clutch here and there.

The car in question is a 2005 Ford Fiesta 1.4 Zetec.

Any and all help at this point is much appreciated.

TIA

Funkfingers

Haych said:

I'm thinking it's pretty terminal at this point and is most likely to be an internal gearbox problem.

No and yes, in that order.

I cannot remember how difficult access is to the gearbox casing. This will have a bearing - no pun intended - on the labour cost element of having repairs carried out.

Haych

Funkfingers said:

Haych said:

I'm thinking it's pretty terminal at this point and is most likely to be an internal gearbox problem.

No and yes, in that order.

I cannot remember how difficult access is to the gearbox casing. This will have a bearing - no pun intended - on the labour cost element of having repairs carried out.

Thanks bud.  To be honest with you, if it is a gearbox problem, and if we decided to repair it, I'd source a new box and fit it myself.  I don't have the appetite for digging around the internals of the gearbox.

I imagine, though, that she'll choose to bin it if the repair is that involved.

ESBlonde

There are specialist Ford forums where tech types hang out and that might be a good place to search/join and post.

If it looks like the alleged 'internal stuff', it is often cheaper in labour to get an exchanged used gearbox given the age of the vehicle. The usual advice is to change the clutch at the same time unless it's been done recently (this saves all the labour cost of taking it all off again in 6 months. But how long you intend to keep the vehicle and the state of the clutch currently installed can modify that decision.

All that once you are reasonably sure of the fault.

If you have access to tools and workspace, this is a job you might tackle yourself (perhaps with a competent mate if it's your first time).

Fretwired

Have you got a hydraulic clutch? I recall Ford fitted them to Fiesta's and if the fluid is low it can affect the gear change.

Gagaryn

My money is on this being linkage cable issues and a cheap and easy fix.

Haych

OK, a bit of an update.

I've done a clutch test and it seems good but does slip a bit.

I've managed to force the lever over and can now select 1st and 2nd gears.  After doing this gears 3rd, 4th and 5th are now much easier to select.  However, there is definitely a lot of friction when moving the lever to the left in the neutral position and a definite point when that friction stop s when moving the lever to the right past the third gear position.

So maybe @Gagaryn was on the money and it's more a linkage issue than anything else.

Haych

I spoke too soon - it's not the linkage.  I traced the linkage cable back to the box and it attaches to a small lever.  If I disconnect the linkage at that point the cable runs free and without any friction, but manually actuating the lever it attaches to has all the same friction that can be felt through the gear lever.

Damn!

Fretwired

Can you select the gears when the engine is switched off?

Haych

Fretwired said:

Can you select the gears when the engine is switched off?

Yes

Fretwired

Haych said:

Fretwired said:

Can you select the gears when the engine is switched off?

Yes

In that case I'd be looking at the clutch .. pretty sure it's a hydraulic clutch which give problems similar to the one you are experiencing. Good news is it should be easy to fix.

Haych

Fretwired said:

Haych said:

Fretwired said:

Can you select the gears when the engine is switched off?

Yes

In that case I'd be looking at the clutch .. pretty sure it's a hydraulic clutch which give problems similar to the one you are experiencing. Good news is it should be easy to fix.

I'm quite sure the clutch is ok - it slips a bit but I've done a clutch test and it's definitely working.  See my update a few scrolls up for latest findings.

Fretwired

Haych said:

Fretwired said:

Haych said:

Fretwired said:

Can you select the gears when the engine is switched off?

Yes

In that case I'd be looking at the clutch .. pretty sure it's a hydraulic clutch which give problems similar to the one you are experiencing. Good news is it should be easy to fix.

I'm quite sure the clutch is ok - it slips a bit but I've done a clutch test and it's definitely working.  See my update a few scrolls up for latest findings.

Not quite - it could be the clutch hydraulics or the friction plate.

Try one of the Ford Fiesta forums ... some knowledgeable mechanics might be able to help.

RiftAmps

The slave cylinder is notorious for failing on these, most garages will replace it as a matter of course when doing a clutch replacement.

DiscoStu

I had something similar with an old Focus. I could only get 3rd and 4th gears and only after forcing the stick. The clutch plate had seized. 

m_c

The clutch sounds fine.

It's more likely to be a seized gear selector on the gearbox. If it's similar to the gearbox I'm thinking of, it's not a major job to do, but I'm sure a new selector assembly is about a couple hundred pound.

Haych

m_c said:

The clutch sounds fine.

It's more likely to be a seized gear selector on the gearbox. If it's similar to the gearbox I'm thinking of, it's not a major job to do, but I'm sure a new selector assembly is about a couple hundred pound.

The clutch is fine.  What you've described seems much more likely to me.

Anyway, she's decided enough is enough and the car is on eBay for spares or repair.

notanon

Fretwired said:

Haych said:

Fretwired said:

Can you select the gears when the engine is switched off?

Yes

In that case I'd be looking at the clutch .. pretty sure it's a hydraulic clutch which give problems similar to the one you are experiencing. Good news is it should be easy to fix.

I had exactly the same symptoms. The garage asked me the same question and ours was the same, easy to change when engine was switched off. He came to the same conclusion and new clutch solved it.

Our car is a ford fiesta edge.

Haych

It isn't the clutch, the clutch is fine.  One of the selector shafts is binding.  I don't even have to put it in gear to feel it.  It's moving through the neutral position where the issue lies.