Gear Selecting

[Riss Kick]

Hello all new to the ford forum :)

hope you can help with this niggle, driving around today and 3rd gear seem to a bit difficult to engage.

The other gears seem a bit notchy too when selecting, there is no whining or any other noises the reverse gear is also a bit dodgy to select some times.

would this be gear linkage ? or can you adjust these ? when i had my seat leon you could lift the gaitor and lock the gear knob and adjust the cables, can you do this with the fords ?

or would a fluid change sort this problem out ? ive had a search on the web and not much comes up about the mk2 focus just the mk1

its a focus 05 1.6 zetec petrol 5 speed box its done 34k had a new clutch at 16k

Thanks in advance

[btmaldon]

Wow, I've never heard of a clutch going at 16k miles.

Is your car parked outside or garaged? Did the gear changeing get any better with use?

It is quite common for the gear oil to thicken in cold weather and make gear changing more difficult. 1980's Fords were especially effected by the cold. I remember driving 200 miles to Shropshire without having to change gear. When I did have to slow down and change down at a roundabout on the A5, I couldnt get it out of gear.

[Riss Kick]

me too mate it had been done before i brought the car only had it about 6 months now,

Parked in a garage most of the week as i have a work van, it was on the way back from a 2 hour drive (motorway) went around a roundabout and it didnt want to go into 3rd after i got annoyed with it and rammed it in it was ok,

but it always has been a bit notchy, i should start by changing the fluid i guess easier route.

that must of made you a bit like me yesterday ;)

What is it with fords and that anoying reverse gear always wanting to play about i remember this from a 97 escort i had

[jeebowhite]

Is it definately the clutch and not the gear selector, or the linkage / gearbox itself.

Short of a manufacturing fault on the clutch theres little you can do to prove its inherent without spending a lot of money, even then you might be pushing the boundaries of the six year remit where you can claim a replacement as its a faulty product...?

[Riss Kick]

^{not sure mate it is weird to explain}

Anyone know how much gear oil these hold ?

And also where is the drain plug hole on these boxes ?

[flying clutchman]

About 3 litres. There isn't a drain plug. If you take of the plasic gearchange cover you can remove the gearchange stop, but htis will only let out half of the oil. There's no drain plug because the gearbox oil is supposed to last the life of the car. Gear oil isn't subject to high temperatures and carbon contanimation like engine oil and should last indefinitely. Many people swear that their gearchange is smoother after changing the oil, but 30% of Americans claim to have been abducted by aliens!

[Riss Kick]

lol ha ha :D

Many people swear that their gearchange is smoother after changing the oil, but 30% of Americans claim to have been abducted by aliens! :P

i done some research yesterday and found it holds 2.3 ltrs and its a ib5 box only way to properly drain is to pop the drive shafts, but i did read somewhere that you should just top it up doesn't really need changing , the mtx 75 box you can drain.

saves me a job then ^_^

[flying clutchman]

Popping the drive shafts only drains about half the oil as well. (unless you turn the car on it's side st the same time!)

[Riss Kick]

lol it aint worth all the hassle might see if it needs to be topped up one day

[Eric Shaun]

My ford had same problem before, especially when the weather is cold. I did full service at local garage and checked gear fluid was fine, they said. But it was still happening a couple of weeks ago. Now problem solved by Cataclean ta daaa. I putted Cataclean fluid on when a fuel tank is 1/4 full, an instruction said to drive 20 minutes long then refill the fuel, as for me I drove 20 minutes then refilled some more 5 liters. Drove with that for till the tank was almost empty. Amazingly a car is very responsive and as well as gear problem solved, moreover it smoother to shift then before. Save my money :)

[flying clutchman]

sorry to dissappoint you eric but if you even put nitro glycerine in your fuel tank it couldn't possibly affect the gearbox. The gearbox and engine are totally seperate entities.