Felicia Gear Selector/Linkage Refurbishment

[gmrtn14]

This guide explains how to refurbish the selector rod on a Felicia, solving the very common problem of a sloppy gear linkage.  The parts list is from a 1999 1.9D as are all of the photos - parts may vary by year and engine variant so please do not rely upon them for your own vehicle unless you have a 1999 UK RHD 1.9D like I do. 

Play in the gear linkage is most commonly caused by wear in the joint at the gearbox end of the selector rod.  My car also had a gearbox oil leak from the selector rod oil seal so I replaced that too.

 

Parts list:

 

For the gear linkage:

6U0711893A - Sleeve - £6.51 

N0137671 - Expanding Nut - £0.70

6U0711458 - Pin - £1.55

N90043201 - Seal x2 - £1.26

N90362001 - O Ring x2 - £3.32

N10439701 - Pin - £0.23

 

Selector oil seal:

002301227B - Gasket (Gearbox oil seal) - £1.29

 

Steps:

1) Remove the roll pin at the gearbox end of the linkage using a punch and hammer.  I used these for the job http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Pin+Punch+Set/p44554 but found they were a bit too long for a cramped job under a car on a driveway.  Did the job though.

2) Remove the bolt at the gearstick end and unclip the gaiter.  The gaiter is packed with grease - so you're going to get dirty - wear gloves.

3) Having removed the linkage rod from the car, take it to your bench / garden wall and drill out the expanding nut that holds the joint in.  It's been flattened out at each end a bit like a rivet, so just removing the first few mm will let the nut be knocked out and the joint free.  Unfortunately I only have photos of the newly re-assembled rod but it looks the same just cleaner!

 

4) Remove the sleeve from the inside of the joint so that you can see how the new one is to be assembled:

 

 

5) Assemble the new sleeve with new o-rings and insert it into the joint - then fit the outer O-rings.  Result will look like this:

 

 

6) Refit to the end of the selector rod and insert the expanding nut

 

 

7) Use a hammer to flatten the ends of the nut so that it looks the same as it did when you removed it

 

 

8A) If you want to change the selector rod oil seal, pry out the old one using pliers/a flat head screwdriver.  If your car is like mine and has covered a lot of miles, the rubber will disintegrate into a million pieces leaving behind a metal collar.  You need to get it all out of there (a set of picks help) before pressing the new seal in otherwise you'll spend a long time swearing at it and wondering why it won't go in.  Using a big socket like a spark plug socket to press the seal in helps it go in a bit easier.

 

8B) Fit the linkage rod to the car using the reverse of removal (I refitted at the gearstick end first, then the gearbox end) using the new roll pin.  

Hope this guide helps and I'm sorry that I didn't manage to take more photos

 

 

 

[pickupmike]

Just wat im after thanks a mil for the post!

[RicardoM]

Please renew the links to photos.

[mannyo]

I don't think the photos will be coming back, the post was created several years ago and link to now dead facebook links. The OP has not been on Briskoda for quiet sometime so I am guessing will not even see this and we cannot recreate links to photos that no longer exist.

[RicardoM]

...and we cannot recreate links to photos that no longer exist.

Shouldn't that be a lesson for modifying the minuscule (2 MBytes) attachment quota? The photos would have been now on the forum server, not lost for ever...

[volcom]

looks like this is one of my first jobs to do on the new pickup. Where is the best place to buy the parts?