Club126UK

Fiat 126 Chat => Fiat 126 Mechanical Problem Solving => Topic started by: Manulovesbacon on November 05, 2015, 01:46:18 PM

Title: Difficult gear change
Post by: Manulovesbacon on November 05, 2015, 01:46:18 PM: Hello all,

i noticed that it's becoming more and more difficult to put mu fiat into 3rd gear & reverse. When driving, and moving from second to third, I have to put the gearbox in neutral before going to thired. i can't do it in 1 fluent movement. When stopped i need to wiggle the gearknob in neutral, or first select some other gears befor being able to put it in reverse.

The Gearshift linkage snubber seems allright and tight...
I did notice that the whole gearbox is quite oily, and find occasional oil spots under the fiat.

Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/RHBhDw6emDVxaTEKA

Any tips on what to check /do?

Thanks a lot!
Manu
Title: Re: Difficult gear change
Post by: Bambino126 on November 05, 2015, 09:37:33 PM: Top up the gearbox with ZC90, and try again, it's probably the selector rod needs some adjustment.
Title: Re:
Post by: Manulovesbacon on November 06, 2015, 06:25:19 AM: What kind of adjustment would it need and how do you do this?
Title: Re: Difficult gear change
Post by: 1973/126 on November 06, 2015, 01:53:08 PM: There are two adjustment bolts on the right side of the tunnel inside the car.
You should also check the gear linkage plastic bushes. There are two and these sometimes fall apart completely. Also make sure the gearbox rubber mounts are in good condition.
Let us know ho you get on.
Title: Re:
Post by: Manulovesbacon on November 06, 2015, 02:04:30 PM: Great, thanks for the info! So all this is done from inside te car? Should I just unmount the plastic in the center of the tunnel? Or do the seats and carpet beef to get out for this? And the procedure for the adjustment would be like this?

1 unscrew bolts
2 move the shifter around a little
3 tighten bolts
4 check if problem is resolved
5 repeat if problem still present
Title: Re:
Post by: Manulovesbacon on November 08, 2015, 11:46:08 AM: Ok, so i got the seats & carpet out to adjusted the selector a bit. This didn't really do much... Then i noticed one of the gearshift linkage snubber's bolts was a bit loose. Tightened it up and 3rd gear & reverse were back! Yeehaaa! Will check mount rubbers and gearbox oil level next week.

Also, It looks that the oil on the gearbox is coming from the driveshaft cover/seal. Is this something to worry about?

Thanks again! Cheers
Title: Re: Difficult gear change
Post by: Killermiller on December 27, 2015, 11:09:54 PM: It is, because the driveshaft boots keep the oil inside your gearbox. Once broken the boots, you'll loose all the oil and your gearbox will soon be doomed.

Replacing them is easy, since they can be replaced with the gearbox in situ; you just have to lift the back of the car, drain the gearbox oil, undo the eight bolts that keep the shafts and the hubs together and remove the clips and the hub-shaft coupling elements. Then you will be able to remove the old boots, which are kept together with the box by four bolts each. Clean the shafts thoroughtfully, oil the inner part of the new boots and slide them in place. Put everything back together and fill the box with 1.2l of new GL3 (non EP) 90 or 80w90 oil. Done.