Mk1 Gearbox

[DubSteve]

Ok Guys

In an effort to get my car registered my father took the mk1 to get it weighed, anyway I get a phone call with the Gearshift stalk falling 3" WTF

It still drives but you have to lift the gearshift and change carefully.

Any ideas, my dad reckons it could need a new ball joint or something like that but he was taking a guesstimation lol.

Help would be appreciated.

Steve

[XXX-1.8T]

sounds like its the gear linkage.

Nothing big just needs adjusting.

[DubSteve]

Hope so mate I bought a new gear linkage kit from GAP and I have it at home, as I wanted to get the wonkieness out of the throw hopefully I can kill two birds with one stone

[gtimk5]

Very easy fix there, gear knob off and the boot. Slide the circlip back down into its groove. Common problem. Tighten the circlip carefully with pliers before refitting it into the groove. You will see the groove when you lift the lever up and push down on the spring part.

[DubSteve]

Very easy fix there, gear knob off and the boot. Slide the circlip back down into its groove. Common problem. Tighten the circlip carefully with pliers before refitting it into the groove. You will see the groove when you lift the lever up and push down on the spring part.

Cheers Andrew will try that out mate.

[XXX-1.8T]

yeah happened to my wife when she had the Mk1 thought she broke it and went nuts at her

[gotrice]

I had the same problem. I bought a cable shift box and that fixed it up all good. Ooooh yeah so much cable shifting goodness!

[gtimk5]

Well Steve, you asked the question the other day, thought you could tell us your fix.

[DubSteve]

Well Steve, you asked the question the other day, thought you could tell us your fix.

Hmm not to sure Andrew the mechanic I went to did solve the problem however to get into first I need to press the gearshifter half way down and then push it towards the gear 1 and as for 2.

However 3,4,5 are ok, I am not sure what he did

[Preen59]

Sounds like it needs adjusting. The gearstick has a collar on it that prevents it from being able to select reverse without pushing the stick down. When you push the stick down it can then fit in a kind of "slot" and you can push it futher to the left to select reverse. If it's been bent or something is out of adjustment in that direction you probably have to push it down so that it moves across that little bit further partially into the slot so you can select first and possibly second. All the other gears will be fine because they have nothing constraining their movement.

Pull the boot off and have a look from the top then get underneath and take a look. There's a pad that the bottom of the gear lever past the pivot point rubs on from first to second. If you bend that over a touch to the right it will allow you to move the lever a bit further to the left on top and select first and second properly..

Hope that helps.

Having said that, i'd wait to see what Andrew says aswell.

[gtimk5]

I am not too sure what your mechanic did mate. It certainly sounded like the circlip had detached itself from what you described. That would have been a 2 minute job to fix.
If it needs adjusting now as it seems, then your mechanic might have moved something there.The adjustment is on the rod leading from the base of the lever towards the front of the car.just near the steering rack. Loosen the bolt and make very minor adjustment in the splines until you get it right.
You can loosen the 10m/m bolts holding the gearleverassembly in place and maybe try moving that first?

[DubSteve]

Cheers Andrew and Chris will try it out tonight or tomorrow morning