Gearbox will only select 4th and reverse

[Mickeyluv]

I used the car today and suddenly couldn't get any gears other than 4th and reverse. No previous issues with changing in my short ownership, though the car was bought privately and could have had a problematic past. It did have a sloppy gearshift, though. Lateral movement was fine, but forwards and backwards had quite a bit of play. I checked under the bonnet and the selector cables are connected up OK with no external signs of there being a problem. The clutch operates fine. It seems as though the other selections are completely blocked.

At the moment the car is stuck about a mile from home, so I'm limited on options. I'd be grateful for any ideas or suggestions.

[TomsFocus]

Can you select gears with the engine off?

[Mickeyluv]

Only 4th and reverse.

[TomsFocus]

1 minute ago, Mickeyluv said:

Only 4th and reverse.

Ok, we can rule out a clutch fault then.  Next step is to remove the cable from the gearbox, and see if you can manually push the selector into other gears.  That will confirm whether it's the cable at fault or an internal gearbox issue.

Personally, I'd leave it in 4th and slip the clutch to move off and limp it home as it's only a mile.  (If you can manually get it in 2nd or 3rd, that would be slightly easier on the clutch, I drove about 5 miles in 3rd only a few years ago).

[Mickeyluv]

It's currently parked on a steep bank with a busy mini-roundabout at the top. I tried rolling back and slipping it in 4th but it stalls before I can get to the roundabout. I'll take a look at releasing the cables, but I can't figure out how they unclip and access is restricted.

[Mickeyluv]

I've just been back to the car and there's no access to the cables at the gearbox end - it would need the air filter, battery, battery box and ECU removing. I found though after repeatedly trying that it will now also go into 6th. So its missing 1,2,3,5. I've tried half slipping the clutch to see if it will engage, but nothing. It sadly looks like I will have to get the car recovered. Even if it was back home I don't have the facilities to remove the gearbox.

[Mickeyluv]

I had to leave the car overnight and come back to it this morning. After looking through ads for used gearboxes and familiarising myself with how the selector mechanism should look, I was able to investigate further. The arm that the rearmost cable attaches to will only move in one direction. I inspected the linkage at the shifter end and that is working fine. I can see the reason for only getting Neutral, 4th, 6th and reverse is those selections can be chosen within the present limited operation of that lever. I was able to reach just enough to determine that the lever is coming up against a hard stop inside the casing and there is nothing outside that's blocking the movement.

With this gearbox the selector can't be removed externally, otherwise it could have been a reasonably straightforward fix. It looks like access is by removing the box and splitting it.

[Mickeyluv]

Here's a final update which may be useful if anyone else faces the same problem;

I had the car recovered to a transmission centre and after removing everything to get to the external shift mechanism (air filter housing, electrics, ECU, battery, battery box) they discovered the sheared head of a security screw lodged deep inside the plastic mechanism. There should be a sliding action, but the head was blocking movement in one direction. The technician said it was only visible because after the car had been transported it would then go into second and only then was it visible - he could just see a metallic glint as the arm was moved. £120 lighter, but much less than I was bracing myself for.

[alanfp]

Thanks for taking the time to update. £120 to strip down, identify and fix it?   Sounds like a great result.