40 replies to this topic

[rich.d81]

Just like to say, i follwed this repair thread after experiencing no gears or drive when slowing down for traffic lights or roundabouts.( i have a 53 plate 65000 mile fusion 1.4 petrol) i found a tight bush once i removed the actuator shaft, once the bush was reamed out and the shaft polished i reassembled with grease and now the car performs perfectly.

Great tip, saved a fortune.Many thanks.

[Jay578]

Hi,

I have a ford fiesta 1.4 durashift (ESP) petrol 2004.

Since servicing the car at dealer the car has began to shudder and stall on morning start up and stalling altogether. The dealer had serviced the car changing the engine and brake fluid oil and provided a check up.

However, yesterday the car stalled with a loud thump noise when I was reversing. It would not drive forwards either. When put in reverse it makes a loud grinding noise as if the it's not in the right gear repeatedly.

Occasionally the transmission light comes up and then disappears. As dealer engineers are closed I called a local mechanic and they investigated and found a low level of brake/transmission fluid level, but to my horror a leak from a pipe, which they said should have been picked up by EAG.

Any idea's what kind of damage has caused to the car and what checks I can do. Obviously with the leak I am not going to drive it, basically the car doesn't move.

I appreciate all the help as I am new to Ford.

[Mogger]

Lasse1955, you are an absloute legend my friend.
My wife's got a 2003 Fiesta 1.4 with Durashift box. Since I have stopped using my bike this has been my only vehicle for doing my 60 mile a day commute so is important to me. We have always had a few issues with this particulat gearbox since we bought it second hand in 2007, missing gears, hesitation in selecting gears and an annoying judder when pulling away.
Well, 2 weeks ago things got worse. Pulling up at junctions still in 5th gear, taking ages to fing neutral, real long hesitation between 2nd and 3rd gear and juddering worse than ever. I spoke to a mechanic friend of mine who suggested undoing the electrical plugs and cleaning them out with WD-40, I was sceptical because it definitely sounded mechanical. I could not believe it,... it worked, well for about 200 miles until on Wednesday morning, the coldest day of the year at 6 am going to work. I pulled out from the bottom of my road, went from 1st to 2nd no problem, 2nd to 3rd NO WAY! Pulled over and that was that, no gears, no neutral, no engine, would even turn over. I ended up having to be towed home and spent the day researching.
Then I came across this forum and it started to make sense and so using Lasse1955's post me and my mate Wilsky (mainly Wilsky) tackled the problem.
Now I am in no way a mechanic but I have to say that this was easy. It took us in total about 2 hours including tea breaks and popping in to watch the football.
On my car the larger of the 2 spindles were absolutely jammed solid and took a bit of work freeing it up. Once it was out we got some 15mm copper tube and attatched some fine sandpaper to it and went about boring out the cyclinder until the spinlde moved freely up and down. Put it all back together and took it for a spin. I am not exagerating when I say that it drives better than when we bought it and the judder has gone aswell, for now anyway.
So sorry for the essay but I felt I needed to share and say a big thanks to Lasse1955, there are more than a few beers waiting here for you mate. Greetings from UK.
If anyone wants more info on how to do this then just ask. I'll be more than happy to help. I should have taken more photos I know.

[leccy]

hi there i was reading this post and have all of the above probs no display on dash just 2 little lines appear for a few seconds then nothing wont start
i took the starter relay out and bypassed it got the car started but no gears so hhopefully this fix will do it cant try till weekend but just wanted to know
is all the work done over the bonnet or from underneath also what else has to be dismantled to get at the motors
thanks

[lasse1955]

rich.d81, Mogger and many others:
It really makes a boost to my life to read the stories you write, and collect the happiness within. I sure am glad my thread being helpful.
I also feel good about the fact that many of you added some tip and make some better explanations than me. I just wish I had taken more photos.

leccy:
Most of the work, to remove the actuator from the car, is done from underneath.
If I remember right, a bolt (or two) that fastens the actuator by the gear box is better released over the bonnet ( but I really don’t remember exactly, as it is two years since I did this, but you sure find it out when you start working).

[beatcon]

hi i know i may sound totally daft but which bolts actually hold the gearshift actuator in place?????

[Dan62]

There is 1 bolt at the top but you cannot see it, if you look at the actuator and gearbox casting you can work out where it is, remove this from above. There are 2 bolts which are easily removed from beneath, 1 goes through the linkage pivot and there is another to the left. Just remove these three bolts,unclip the linkage arm and pull back the black rubber boot where it connects to the gearbox (don't remove the bolt) and the unit will come off.

[danny54]

hi...have done everything as above,car worked for about 2miles as soon as i pulled in to drive-way engine cut out ..and will not start or show which gear car is in as nothing shows on dash..any help would be great ...tks 

[beatcon]

ok need some advice i took the gesr shift actuator out there it moves freely.....seems to be fine. I put it back in and all was still the same. i noticed that the thing that was stopping the gears selecting is actually the little gear selector arm that clips into the plastic ball joint of the actuator rod. I disconnected the ball joint and the whole actuator mechanism seems to actually work it moves up and down as it should looking for the gears. 

 

Could this be the clutch or gears that are the problem rather than the actuators.

[wase16ll]

i did a write up on another common fault with the durashift, well worth checking at the same time if your repairing the bush, or maybe your problem if the above trick didnt work.

http://www.fordowner...hift-problem-2/

[frogsuk]

Re. initial post by lasse1955 and actuator rack sticking

 

Yesterday my daughters car broke down 180 miles from home with three of us in it. The RAC came out and bless the chap, he spent 2 hours trying to repair it. The problem was that it would jam out of gear so not able to start. In the end the car was recovered to my home and they gave us a new VW to use as we have onward travel cover (Fantastic cover from RAC and only £55 cover for two people using  Tesco Club and points).

Car was returned to our home this morning and the same thing that you reported was wrong. Took 1 1/4 hours to remove it, repair and refit as you post says... A very easy job... I removed the headlight (three screws and a connector) and access was great. Didn't even need to jack the car up.

Thank you so much for your post... Saved me a heap...