Anyone know about Fords?

[Quinnie]

Sorry if I'm not supposed to post here but....

Ok. So my wife's car has an issue selecting gear. It is extremely difficult to engage any gear. The clutch feels fine. There's no grinding, only into reverse. With the engine off it goes in and out of gear perfectly.
I think the clutch isn't disengaging properly.
It's a Fiesta mk6 2003. Been perfect other than this. Weird thing is we did a 40mile journey and pulled into some services and the car and gear selection was fine. 20 mins later after a coffee and a smoke it started being a little s**t.

Any help is mucho welcome.

 

[Ronnie R]

Clutch cable?

 

[Mark-F]

check the selector mounts

 

[Quinnie]

Is there an idiots guide as to how to check these things?
I read somewhere that to check if the clutch is disengaging I need to prop the front of the car up, put it in gear then depress the clutch. I understand that and I understand that the wheels should spin in gear and then not when the clutch is pressed and they should also be free spinning by hand with the clutch in. But I don't understand what this tells me if they do spin with the clutch in. Apart from it's broke.

 

[lemonnobby]

Sounds like clutch drag.
does it creep forward when in gear.

 

[MrDave]

the other half has the same car and its always been a pig to get in reverse (from new)

 

[Quinnie]

Sounds like clutch drag.
does it creep forward when in gear.

No it doesn't creep forward. What's the common cause of this and what's the common fix?

the other half has the same car and its always been a pig to get in reverse (from new)

Yeah it has always been an arse but even more so now. It's grinds really bad into reverse but not the other gears.

 

[Bluebeard]

If you get in the car, foot on clutch, put it into 1st gear, start the engine, then release the clutch....

Does that work? Does it pull off as normal?

Or when you start the car does it lurch forward?

 

[MikeClio172SPT]

Hi, on the fiesta's mate, connecting the gearstick to the gearbox, all you have is two Cables, the one cable is a fixed length, & thee other is adjustable.
As for the reverse gear..... same old fords, been like it for years... little trick..... when you come to a halt.... press the clutch up & down twice, then engage reverse, should find it will engage better. Unless you do have something that has gone wrong.. this should work. As for the clutch.... its operated via a master cylinder (under dash), & a concentric slave cylinder which is mounted in the bellhousing of the gearbox around the input shaft, there is no clutch cable

Pretty good system to be fair.

 

[Quinnie]

Or when you start the car does it lurch forward?

Nope. Doesn't jump forward. And yes. It pulls away fine.

 

[Bluebeard]

I'm 99% sure that's a selector/linkage issue then.

 

[Quinnie]

Hi, on the fiesta's mate, connecting the gearstick to the gearbox, all you have is two Cables, the one cable is a fixed length, & thee other is adjustable.

Could this be my problem then? Does the adjustable one need readjusting?

 

[Quinnie]

I'm 99% sure that's a selector/linkage issue then.

So it's a garage issue for me then.
Cheers

 

[Bluebeard]

So it's a garage issue for me then.
Cheers

The thing is, if you're led on the floor outside your house, messing about with something you know nothing about, when the alternative is pay someone £40 for an hour of their time/expertise then it's a no brainer imo.

 

[Quinnie]

I agree. That's why I've not touched it. Just used the free knowledge available from you guys.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply and help me.

 

[MikeClio172SPT]

Could this be my problem then? Does the adjustable one need readjusting?

It should never need adjusting dude once set, as the adjustable cable has a little lock on it, to stop it loosing the adjustment once set, the lock is at the gearbox end of the cable. i have changed a few cables in the past on focus's, fiesta's due to problems engaging, but not usually the main problem.

Also.... the gearbox's in these are prone to oil loss..... over time once it looses all its oil, the box will crunch... they leak from the bottom selector shaft, the seal falls apart.. & its almost on the lowest point of the gearbox, u can check this by popping the front plastic cover off the front of the gearbox where the cables connect, you will spot the leak if its major.

You say it engages gear fine when the engines turned off....... does it feel how it should do?? So if you cant engage when its running..... its either a clutch issue..... or internal Gearbox problems.

 

[Quinnie]

You say it engages gear fine when the engines turned off....... does it feel how it should do?? So if you cant engage when its running..... its either a clutch issue..... or internal Gearbox problems.

Yes. It's all tip top with the engine off.
I really can't be bothered checking this and that for issues. It's in the garage on Monday anyway.
Thanks for your help though.

 

[smokeybone]

New clutch needed changed loads of them for same problem. The trick with putting into reverse is to select fith gear then down to reverse that will stop it crunching