Club126UK
Fiat 126 Chat => Fiat 126 Mechanical Problem Solving => Topic started by: Amateb8 on February 18, 2017, 05:28:03 PM
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I went for a drive twice today. Everything was fine, but on the way home, I suddenly couldn't shift to third. It felt like I was trying to push the gear lever to third gear, but forgetting to press the clutch. So it made a weird grinding sound. First, second and fourth - no problems. It will shift to third gear with no issues when the car is not moving. It feels normal, but on the move, it will not shift to third. I knew something was about to happen when I shifted to third earlier. There was a reluctance (getting quite rubbery) to get into third gear, but it eventually popped in.
Any thoughts on what went wrong. It could be the gear linkage needs replacing.
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I think your third gear synchro ring (sometimes referred to as a bulk ring) as broke. Synchro rings act as mini clutches that speed up and slow down the next/previous gear so it can change smoothly. Without the synchro ring the two gears can't mesh together very well. Gears can be engaged when not in use as the gears aren't in motion. If it is this then a gearbox rebuild is the only answer.
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:-Any idea how much it would cost to repair?
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It's probably not too serious, the gearboxes are actually very simple. My advice would be to take it to a place that specialises in gearbox repairs and they will do it in a whistle. Take it to a garage and they will grimace and triple your bill...
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It shouldn't be expensive. 126/500 gearboxes are very straight forward and to a classic car specialist or gearbox specialist it'll be very straightforward to strip down. I've even done one myself with no drama that's one of the best things about a 126 - there so simple :D
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It's worth checking the rubber linkage on the gear control linkage it may have come loose or perished?
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You need to establish if it is a gear linkage problem or if it is internal gearbox. Could be the bush in the gear lever box breaking down. Is the gearbox mount secure? If you have to have the gearbox pulled and rebuilt I suspect that the garages in your area are going to take you to the cleaners :o
If you think that it is driveable to Chesham I could ask my mechanic mate if he would take it on. I am just rebuilding a 126 gearbox at the moment and I have got pretty much any spare part that might be needed.
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Hi Rusty,
Many, many thanks for the offer. I'm not comfortable driving it that distance. The linkage (if it is the cause) might split along the way.
The only place I can take it to close to me is Proeitti. The garage is accessible by tube (just 5 stops) Hopefully, it is just the gear linkage. I'll take it to Proeitti when the weather improves.
Angelo
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No problem Angelo , it was an idea that might have prevented a major haemorrhage in your wallet :o
You must let us know how it turns out and by the way Chesham is right at the end of the Metropolitan line :)
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I wish that there was a tube station that would get you to Halifax Rusty - my cars need all sorts of tinkering! ;D
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Yes, definitely. Proeitti is just a 15 minute drive. The 20/30 mph speed limit suits my 126.
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I am going to get it repaired at Proeitti. Quote £500+VAT. :- It will include replacing other seals (clutch seal?) and other bits and pieces.
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You might have got a better quote from Kwik Fit :o
Interesting that Proeitti can give you a quote without looking inside your gearbox but hey those clutch seals are like hen's teeth :)
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A clutch seal??
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sorry to hijack but does anyone have a picture or diagram showing the gear selector bush that can perish?
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sorry to hijack but does anyone have a picture or diagram showing the gear selector bush that can perish?
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thanks, had that bush thing turn up today in preparation for the weekends tinkering
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Taken from the Fiat 500 club website:
https://tinyurl.com/zcqf7ej
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thanks, had that bush thing turn up today in preparation for the weekends tinkering
You can see the bush in the transmission section on the Axel Gerstl site, cheap as chips :)
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The first, second, fourth and reverse work, so they said it is likely to be a rebuild (third gear ring broken?), and not the gear linkage.
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on mine 3rd and 4th engage fine but only if i push down past the lockout, they are too far to the right..... Is this just an alignment issue? really hoping to get the whole thing up and running well on sat so i cam start putting some miles on her
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Good news! They called me to say, it is the gear linkage that is defective - now replaced. What a relief!
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The issue with my third gear has resurfaced. I can't now shift to third. It will not go into third at all. I dare not force it. Even on stand still, it is reluctant to shift to third.
Proeitti replaced the gear linkage and adjusted the transmission mounts. Since the replacement and adjustment to the transmission, gear change action became tight on all gears (no play). The third was tighter, but it would shift into third no problem. In the last week or two, the third gear became tighter, now it will not go into third at all. Something is stopping it from slotting it into third.
What could be wrong? Perhaps the gear linkage and transmission mounts needs to be adjusted. Stef stated that the position of the transmission was ever so slightly tilted. I am not sure what he did to this. Not sure also whether this was the default position, and he changed it. Which explains the tight gear change feel on all gears.
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Perhaps a fault with the selector rods inside the box itself? If you are mechanically minded you can remove that linkage in the above picture that sits between the box and the gearbox easy enough. With this out the way you can then try moving the stick to see if the gear lever is ok. If it moves freely without any resistance at all then the problem may well be inside the box. The gear-lever can be adjusted too by undoing the two 13mm bolts found on the side of the transmission tunnel but it doesn't sound like that to me?
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Proeitti fixed it. It is like what it used to be now. The shift action is now smooth. It used to be quite tight/rigid on all gears after he changed the linkage and adjusted the transmission mounts.
Many thanks for everyone's help. I felt confident discussing the gear shift issue with all the advice you all have provided.