Hi all, had my Mk1 Fabia vRS since new in Sept 2004 and it has over 180k on the clock now. Unfortunately I cannot afford a new car at this time but up to now it has been very reliable. I had a strange problem at the weekend where I was having problems changing gear and then all of a sudden during a gear change I was stuck in neutral with nowhere to go. It just would not go into any gear. I coasted to the side of the road and after turning everything off and restarting it was OK. I thought it may have been a one off so continued my journey only to have the same problem when on the M40 twice! But on the 2nd occurrence had to leave the car off for a bit longer before being able to engage a gear, the same with the 3rd occurrence. From there luckily I had a clear run into London so tried to stay in the same gear as much as possible and once I was off the North Circular stayed in 2nd as most of it was 20mph anyway and at lights etc was able to pull away in 2nd. I was very surprised and relieved to get  home as I really thought it was going to be an RAC job.

 

I was wondering if anyone has any idea what could be the issue, gearbox or clutch? Both of which are original to the car and have not been changed.

 

When I am 'stuck in neutral' I am able to move the stick in neutral, it's not jammed in one place but won't engage a gear or move into a gear space on the stick. The clutch feels normal, no harder or looser that I can tell.

 

Appreciate any advice and best regards to all.

 

Edited 23 October, 20196 yr by jifster

possibly knackered clutch release bearing

 

with that mileage may be worth looking at changing the whole lot especially while the gearbox is off, I would be looking at

 

clutch / flywheel / release bearing and gearbox oil change, probably looking at a 4 figure sum for that

you can also reset the shifter mechanism

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeOoDJuhSx8

Thanks for the advice Jase, will have to have a think about what to do. I'm in that horrible place where I can't afford a new car and can't chance buying an old banger as I do quite a bit of millage and won't know what to expect with someone else's cast off. May just have to stump up, get It fixed and hope I get another couple of years out of it.  

I’d be happy to take a look sometime

1 hour ago, jifster said:

Thanks for the advice Jase, will have to have a think about what to do. I'm in that horrible place where I can't afford a new car and can't chance buying an old banger as I do quite a bit of millage and won't know what to expect with someone else's cast off. May just have to stump up, get It fixed and hope I get another couple of years out of it.  

Maybe trade in job

 

i was in the same place last year could not risk buying a cheap car and problem after problem so i went for a lease deal with maintenance and road tax

 

so all i need to worry about is tyres / fuel  / insurance and hopefully problem free motoring

20 hours ago, Tech1e said:

I’d be happy to take a look sometime

 

Thanks for the offer Tech1e, with my schedule (shift work, kids, travel) that won't be easy. I've booked it in now for Wednesday as need to stay on the road.

19 hours ago, BigJase88 said:

Maybe trade in job

 

i was in the same place last year could not risk buying a cheap car and problem after problem so i went for a lease deal with maintenance and road tax

 

so all i need to worry about is tyres / fuel  / insurance and hopefully problem free motoring

 

Can't even afford a trade in at the moment, tax bills, job uncertainty plus tax changes coming next year (IR35 forced compliance for the private sector) are all going to make it a very difficult year for me. If I make it through I'll have to look at some kind of lease or finance deal. Thanks again for your input. I'll see what they say on Wednesday and will take your comments into account.

I hope it's something like a worn shifter cable end TBH. Video linked above shows the bits involved. Unfortunately, they are somewhat hidden under the air intake, battery box etc.

47 minutes ago, vindaloo said:

I hope it's something like a worn shifter cable end TBH. Video linked above shows the bits involved. Unfortunately, they are somewhat hidden under the air intake, battery box etc.

 

Thanks Vin, hopefully they will know how to check for that. I'll make a note of it.

Does it go in all the gears without the engine running?

13 hours ago, TMB said:

Does it go in all the gears without the engine running?

 

Hey TMB, I'm sure it does but will check tonight when I attempt to drive the 180 miles home as I am sure the problem will happen on the way.

 

 

Drove 180 miles to home overnight and the problem did not happen once. Although I was being careful and stayed in 5th for the whole of the 90 miles of M40 I travel before taking the M42 etc. Also kept gear changes to a minimum for the rest of the journey. Not sure what that tells us though. I'm sure if I had done the usual amount of changes up and down the gears it would have happened though but with the state of the weather/roads overnight I was very grateful for a stress free journey.

 

 

Edited 26 October, 20196 yr by jifster

You should top up your gearbox oil.

2 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

You should top up your gearbox oil.

At 180k be better dropping it anyways and banging new oil in

On ‎26‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 21:57, BigJase88 said:

At 180k be better dropping it anyways and banging new oil in

 

This has been done last year I think. I'll check with them Wednesday. Did another 40 miles today, only one instance I thought it was going but luckily did not happen. Again, not over using the gears.

On ‎23‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 09:27, BigJase88 said:

possibly knackered clutch release bearing

 

with that mileage may be worth looking at changing the whole lot especially while the gearbox is off, I would be looking at

 

clutch / flywheel / release bearing and gearbox oil change, probably looking at a 4 figure sum for that

 

I heard back from the garage this afternoon, new clutch / flywheel going in.  I asked them about the release bearing and they said that was included in the work.

 

Thanks again for your advice Jase and all.

Edited 30 October, 20196 yr by jifster

15 minutes ago, jifster said:

 

I heard back from the garage this afternoon, new clutch / flywheel going in.  I asked them about the release bearing and they said that was included in the work.

 

Thanks again for your advice Jase and all.

Ouch at least it will be good for a few more miles