Gearbox Slipping into neutral

[Andrew James Turner]

Hi all

 I work for a small newspaper in a small British overseas territory and our company car is a mk 6 fiesta zetec TDCI. over the last few months we have been having a problem where the gearbox will pop out if second gear into neutral when you are engine braking even on slight slopes. its caused a couple of near-accidents recently and because we live on a very hilly island. Does anybody have any idea what would be causing this and what we can do to fix it?
thanks

 

[Luke4efc]

Is this a manual or auto tranny?

[Bobr]

If it's slipping out of second gear it's got to be manual.   Not an unusual problem with Ford boxes.

[MJNewton]

The engine braking aspect sounds like it could be a big clue. In such a situation the engine will be pushed towards the front of the car and the engine mounts limit by how much this occurs. If a mount is loose/worn it may allow the engine (and gearbox attached to it) to shift too far forwards and, in doing so, be pulling in the opposite direction of the downwards action for second gear (as gearsticks pivot above the cables, pulling the stick pushes the select lever forwards). This could lead to it being pulled out of gear.

It could be a variety of others causes too, but I would start by getting the mounts checked and a general feel for how far the engine can be rocked forwards.

[Andrew James Turner]

On 5/25/2017 at 6:42 PM, Bobr said:

If it's slipping out of second gear it's got to be manual.   Not an unusual problem with Ford boxes.

 So what is generally the solution to this? 

[karl46]

2 hours ago, Andrew James Turner said:

 So what is generally the solution to this? 

Check and replace the mounting bushes.