Gearbox Crunches

[Adam219]

Hi All, just wondering if anyone else is having this problem. sometimes (not all the time) when you press down and go to go into reverse, its either hard to put it into reverse until you wiggle the gearstick around and sometimes it crunches when you put it into reverse, even though you got your foot flat to the floor on the clutch. any help will be great full. (Edit) It's Starting to get hard putting it into 1st Gear Now.

Edited 16 May, 2019 by Adam219

[Dean_0]

Yep I find the gearbox is quite tight when it's cold, the reverse can be a little tricky and then coming back into first can also be tight. I have found that on cold mornings before selecting reverse gear placing the box into first before reverse can loosen it a little. However, after this, once the car reaches nominal operating temperatures it seems to be much easier. How many miles do you have on the clock?

[Adam219]

10 minutes ago, Dean_0 said:

Yep I find the gearbox is quite tight when it's cold, the reverse can be a little tricky and then coming back into first can also be tight. I have found that on cold mornings before selecting reverse gear placing the box into first before reverse can loosen it a little. However, after this, once the car reaches nominal operating temperatures it seems to be much easier. How many miles do you have on the clock?

only got 25 thousand on the clock but will definitely try selecting 1st before reverse see if that makes a difference. thanks

[mrgf]

On cars of old, you used to have a spot of difficulty here and sometimes, going from second (Or higher) Back to first. The trick was to double de-clutch. That is, lower the clutch, slip in to neutral, raise and lower the clutch again and then select the required gear. The same thing might be needed here. If it won't select the gear, raise and lower the clutch again, then try. 

 

[Adam219]

Just now, mrgf said:

On cars of old, you used to have a spot of difficulty here and sometimes, going from second (Or higher) Back to first. The trick was to double de-clutch. That is, lower the clutch, slip in to neutral, raise and lower the clutch again and then select the required gear. The same thing might be needed here. If it won't select the gear, raise and lower the clutch again, then try. 

 

its fine if your going up or down a gear, example approaching a roundabout clutch down from 5th to 4th or 4th to 3rd, its fine easy as pie to change but its mainly when reversing or usually getting it into 1st, only recently started doing it only had the car on the 12th of april this year.

[mrgf]

.... Yeah, gears are synchromeshed to slip in smoothly. Reverse is and always will be a tricker issue. (Who wants to slip into reverse easily, whilst still travelling, albeit slowly, forward)?  If it is doing it in first, could still be a synchromesh issue, unsure as to if the first gear is syncro-ed along with other gears. Usually 1 to rev or rev to 1 is fiddliest. (Lower gears-higher power). The usual advice is to drive off asap after starting the engine and drive/change gear early and gently until the vehicle has started to warm up. Avoid forward/backward routines as much as you can so if you need to turn around in the morning, etc, do that last thing, prior to parking up. You will be amazed at how much this helps and how little people do it! Also, block change when slowing down, I.E, don't go down every get, one by one, letting the gears slow the car. Slow down on the brakes, change from the gear you were in (5th, 4th, 3rd, etc) to two but not always sequentially so you slow to a lower speed and use the gear you then need. This helps better selection anyway, whilst causing less strain on the gears. 

If as you suggest, it is a newly developing thing, perhaps the clutch is on the way out!  Again, using gears to slow down, will add wear to not just the gears but to the clutch, too! You will be lifting the clutch with varying speeds at both ends, so to speak and then forcing it together with a differing gear ratio. This and revving the clutch whilst finding the bite, is one of the big wear issues of clutches friction surface.  I often notice people keeping the revs going too, whilst changing from 1st to 2nd... They keep the clutch slightly pressed throughout the whole of the first gear move off, until they then fully depress it for second gear. You are then wearing out the clutch far too quickly!

 

So, cold changes... Try to keep them to a minimum but DO change up as you drive. Try not forward/reversing until at least almost warm and get fully off the clutch before revving.

To be honest, I am unsure as to if you do any of those but it sounds like either gear wear or clutch wear (Cheaper option) . Do you know if the clutch seems to come quite high up in its travel, before bite takes place?  This is usually a slow process and most owners don't really notice it as it is progressive. A good may to test for worn clutch is to drive up a hill, pop it in to a higher gear then you know you should be in and then, put your foot flat to the floor, to try to accelerate. If the car revs but does not speed up, the clutch is slipping. If the car just tries to build up speed slowly, no extra excessive revving, it may be ok.

[Adam219]

i use the clutch to start rolling then apply throttle as the clutch comes off but thanks for the tip, clutch it high but someone i know said it can be adjusted (not sure if its true or not)

 

[KenONeill]

The clutch shares its hydraulic fluid with the brakes, so when was the brake fluid last changed?

[Adam219]

13 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

The clutch shares its hydraulic fluid with the brakes, so when was the brake fluid last changed?

No Idea only had it on the 12th of april this year

[Emil]

If clutch plate doesn't move freely on clutch shaft it might cause symptoms you told. Slight corrosion on shaft will cause problems. I've also read from up! forum that some bad clutch pressure plates have been replaced. 

 

So your clutch may need attention if gear selecting gets too difficult. 

[peter3197]

If the brake fluid change has not been done, it needs doing. Should have been done in 2017 if it's a 2014 car.

[Adam219]

1 hour ago, Emil said:

If clutch plate doesn't move freely on clutch shaft it might cause symptoms you told. Slight corrosion on shaft will cause problems. I've also read from up! forum that some bad clutch pressure plates have been replaced. 

 

So your clutch may need attention if gear selecting gets too difficult. 

might aswell trade the car in against another if the clutch is gonna go 

[Emil]

New clutch would be cheaper than car trade. 

[Ootohere]

@Adam219

I hope if you trade in cars that are needing a simple item like the clutch changed that you then post the Reg Number on-line so that others get forewarning 

before getting landed with a New to them used car needing a new clutch.

(a note hidden where a car valeter might not find it but a new owner might saying the car needed repair is sometimes a nice thing to find.)

[Adam219]

3 hours ago, Emil said:

New clutch would be cheaper than car trade. 

suppose so 

[Emil]

As stated above you may could live with it. Just remember it is conventional manual gearbox. If you can't select reverse, try again. Reverse isn't synchronized, so it might need another attemph every now and then and it is normal.

 

Just don't sell it yet. I just told you worst case scenario. Let's hope there's nothing wrong with it. 

[Adam219]

1 minute ago, Emil said:

As stated above you may could live with it. Just remember it is conventional manual gearbox. If you can't select reverse, try again. Reverse isn't synchronized, so it might need another attemph every now and then and it is normal.

 

Just don't sell it yet. I just told you worst case scenario. Let's hope there's nothing wrong with it. 

it doesnt always happen so i guess its just one of those things... thanks for the help though

[Adam219]

11 minutes ago, Emil said:

As stated above you may could live with it. Just remember it is conventional manual gearbox. If you can't select reverse, try again. Reverse isn't synchronized, so it might need another attemph every now and then and it is normal.

 

Just don't sell it yet. I just told you worst case scenario. Let's hope there's nothing wrong with it. 

A Clutch Isn't that dear for it anyway, good thing is if it needs one it won't need another for a long time so that's a bonus i suppose 

[Zlin]

… worth remembering that the gearchange linkage (Bowden-style cables) can be adjusted at the gearbox end too. Don't force it into gear, just give it a little time. I had a VW Up! on the Faroe Islands and it was a little tease. It hated going into reverse first thing in the morning and first gear wasn't much better. I used to have to ease it into 1st and roll it forward about 30cm then it let me select reverse. Ha! But it was great fun on the twisty narrow roads and the engine sounds like a Rolls Royce Merlin (ok maybe not but you get the idea). Enjoy your car! 🙂

[Adam219]

1 hour ago, Zlin said:

… worth remembering that the gearchange linkage (Bowden-style cables) can be adjusted at the gearbox end too. Don't force it into gear, just give it a little time. I had a VW Up! on the Faroe Islands and it was a little tease. It hated going into reverse first thing in the morning and first gear wasn't much better. I used to have to ease it into 1st and roll it forward about 30cm then it let me select reverse. Ha! But it was great fun on the twisty narrow roads and the engine sounds like a Rolls Royce Merlin (ok maybe not but you get the idea). Enjoy your car! 🙂

car goes great and engine sounds amazing and the car fly's if you want it to on back roads ;) just the gears in the morning that is a pain but will try what you said. Thanks

 

[mrgf]

Try getting the fluid changed as thats quite a cheap job, in reality. Make sure they do both the brakes AND clutch. Bleed all the old, replace with new. 

This cannot be a bad thing anyway. My guess is though, that the clutch may be worn but still have a year or so left. When it does go, or you know it is about to, try looking around decent clutch places as they will differ greatly in price.

Best of...