Zetec S Black Edition 140 - Stuck in Gear / Neutral

[RattusRich]

Hi All

Sorry to be one of those members who's first post is to try get to the bottom of an issue but here goes.  Had my Zetec S Black Edition for 14 months and 6 weeks ago the car suddenly refused to go into any gear and locked into neutral in standing traffic on the M62. I've had the car looked at by my local Ford Dealer and they can't replicate the fault in their testing but have changed the clutch and slave cylinder to rule out that side of things. 

Got the car back Friday 6th May and the issue is more present than ever, the car has driven less than 7 miles since collection and has locked into neutral twice, locked into 1st and 2nd a couple of times and the clutch pedal has also stuck to the floor. Needless to say it's been returned straight back to the Ford Dealer who are again saying they can't replicate the fault!

I've now asked the garage to inspect the gear linkages and asked them to re-bleed the clutch system in case air is stuck somewhere and asked where it could be something simple like the pedal adjustment being off. The car has only covered 34k and isn't driven like I've stolen it. Is there anyone here who has had a similar issue and could advise how it got resolved? 

Absolutely love my Fez but it's starting to feel like I'm losing the plot with it!

Cheers

Rich

[alexp999]

When it is stuck in gear, does the gearstick feel stiff, does it make any crunching noises when trying to move it. Or does it feel like nothing is happening at all?

Just trying to figure out if it sounds like the clutch not disengaging or a gear not being selected/deselected.

[RattusRich]

Hey Alex, the gearstick feels very stiff and there is major resistance when trying to move the gearstick into gear, like something is blocking it. When it locks into neutral or 1st it feels like if I force it something is going to snap or brake.  No grinding noises though and I've not had any weird smells or anything. Since the first instance of it happening when the gears are behaving (less than half the time)it does feel very notchy. 

 

[alexp999]

When it gets stuck in neutral can you still move the stick freely sideways? Is it only resistant to being pushed/pulled in to a gear, or does it not even move sideways any more?

[RattusRich]

When it's stuck you can't move the stick in any direction, any movement it allows is millimetres at best.  Best way I can describe it is like it's standing straight up in concrete, just completely seized. 

[alexp999]

Sounds more like a gearbox, shifter or linkage problem then, rather than the clutch.

Have you had a look under the bonnet, make sure nothing obvious in the way of the shifter? You can see the counterweight under the airbox normally. I'd make sure there is nothing lose or hanging that could be occasionally getting in the way.

[RattusRich]

Thanks Alex, nothing looked out of place but I'll have another look. I've suggested to the Ford dealer where the car currently is to inspect the linkage. From reading elsewhere my thoughts were that it could be the gear synchro on 1st, master cylinder or the linkage.  Just wish Ford Halifax could replicate the fault as I am no mechanic. 

[Eric Bloodaxe]

2 hours ago, alexp999 said:

Sounds more like a gearbox, shifter or linkage problem then, rather than the clutch.

Yes, wonder if the clutch might be a red herring if the dealer has changed the clutch and the slave cylinder and possibly not bled it properly?

If that can be ruled out I'd also be inclined to suspect the box, given the number of threads on here regarding IB5 gearbox problems on 140 Ecoboosts.

I'm sure Rich treats it with care, but we don't know about the 5/6 years or so prior to his ownership.

[RattusRich]

Yeah I've noticed a worryingly large amount of issues people have had with that IB5 box. I'm the 3rd owner of it and it only had 25k on the clock when I bought it but as you say I've no idea how much it was thrashed by the other 2 owners. 

I'm awaiting an update from the dealer so I'll pass on the concerns it's more gearbox than clutch. It's my own fault for nicknaming my car Satan 😂

[unofix]

When the gearstick becomes stuck and you're unable to move it, how or what is it you do to make it free again ?

[RattusRich]

Hi Unofix, when it sticks in neutral I'm obviously going nowhere, when it sticks in first I still have drive. Best way to free the gearstick is pump the clutch, turn off the ignition or most times the car will stall itself forcing me to restart it.  

[unofix]

47 minutes ago, RattusRich said:

Best way to free the gearstick is pump the clutch, turn off the ignition or most times the car will stall itself forcing me to restart it.  

Thanks for the info. That would suggest to me that its not a problem with the gearstick mounting or any kind of problem with the linkage. So that would only leave the actual gearbox itself since the clutch and slave cylinder have already been changed.

[RattusRich]

Ouch that sounds expensive, I do have extended warranty so fingers crossed they’d cover that if that’s the ultimate issue. I’ll keep everyone updated and thank so much for all the advice. 

[unofix]

2 minutes ago, RattusRich said:

I do have extended warranty so fingers crossed they’d cover that if that’s the ultimate issue.

There is a lot more chance of the warranty covering the gearbox than there is of it covering the clutch, which they always like to claim is wear and tear just like brake pads !!

[RattusRich]

They actually covered the clutch and slave cylinder with a bit of persuasion from the dealer. Car has another road test by the Ford technicians in the morning as they found a small hydraulic leak late this evening. I’m not holding my breath as it’s been “fixed” and returned only to go straight back before. Needless to say I’ll be giving it a spin before agreeing to sign off on it being back to normal. 
 

Ford have said the linkage looks fine too, and with every bit checked or replaced the list of culprits gets smaller I suppose.  Like I said if it’s not back to normal I’ll suggest everything you guys have suggested.  Hope it’s not the gearbox as I’ll be waiting an age on the dealer liaising with the warranty company and a new box being shipped out. But as long as I’m not forking out the £££’s 🤣

I’ll let you guys know and once again thanks for all the advice. 

[RattusRich]

Hi everyone, just to update it looks like my issues were being caused by a leak in the hydraulic system after all, Ford replaced a top hat seal, topped up the fluids and bled the system again. Drive home from the garage was much more like normal, no resistance getting the car to go into gear, no strange clutch action and more importantly no locking into neutral or 1st! It all felt like normal. 

Going to give the car a good run over the weekend but hopefully the problem is solved. Thanks again to everyone who helped out.