Car Not Getting In Gear

[eastlondonpug 6]

Hi

 

Background-

Just to give you a quick background, I am an amateur mechanic who is able to do basic work on cars such as servicing, fix minor electrical and mechanical faults etc. I am not a mechanic by profession.

 

I have a 1988 1.9 (I have owned it for 3 years now) with the lift up reverse BE1 gearbox. The clutch was replaced 5000 miles ago and I believe that it is still in very good condition as the car was driven carefully.

 

Issue-

The issue I have is that when the car is hot ( in this 30 degree london weather the engine heats up really quickly), like after driving it for 10 minutes or so, the gear changes are very hard and it is particularly very difficult to put it in first gear.

 

I understand that there is a clutch cable adjustment. I adjust the cable once a week to try and make the gear change a bit easier when the car is hot. This is really annoying.

 

When the car is cold (i.e. just after starting it), there is no issue, the gearchanges are good and soft.

 

It seems that the car moves on its own really slowly when the car is hot and in neutral, implying that the clutch has not been fully disengaged.

 

Additional information-

I have noticed that on the clutch cable adjustment, one of the two nuts has been seized and is stuck at the top of the adjustment. So, just one of the nuts does the job and the other is seized, so it cannot budge to hold the other in its place.

 

The oil pressure drops a lot when the car is hot.

 

Question-

 

I have checked some other forum posts for similar issues, but I cannot really link it to my situation .

 

The question is, how can I fix this? Is there something wrong with the clutch cable or something else? Is some metal expanding when the car is hot? Or will just one nut on the clutch cable adjustment not do the job and make the nut eventually move out of adjustment?

 

Hope someone can help. Thanks

[Anthony 1,000]

Check that the gearbox is properly attached to the block, in particular the rear lower bolt that goes from the block into the gearbox - this one in particular has a habit of coming loose or falling out, and allows the gearbox to pivot away from the engine block, playing havoc with the clutch disengaging fully.

 

In addition, the BE1 gear quadrant lever can split or bend, particularly if it seizes up, which again can stop the clutch disengaging properly.

 

I'm assuming that it's not something as simple as the nut slowly unwinding itself if you can't lock it in place with the second nut?

[Tom Fenton 1,526]

Or will just one nut on the clutch cable adjustment not do the job and make the nut eventually move out of adjustment?

 

This, and the fact that you have to adjust once per week says BINGO! to me!

 

Because you are constantly loading/unloading the fixing as you press and release the clutch this nut is working itself loose.

 

Once you have adjusted does it then work all OK for a few days before gradually getting worse again?

 

Try to free off the tight nut, otherwise it is not a difficult job to replace the cable completely, a new one will come with new nuts, if you are OK doing servicing I am sure you will be able to change the cable.

 

I would also check the things Anthony mentions. In particular the bolts between the engine and gearbox.

[eastlondonpug 6]

Thank you both for your replies.

 

The issue was indeed with the single nut loosening up it seems.

 

I tackled it on friday by cutting the adjustment shaft in half (where the nut screws into) below the seized up nut using a dremel tool. A new 10mm nut was then put on.

 

A 12mm spanner was used to hold the first nut whilst the second nut was tightened against it by a 10mm spanner after readjusting the biting point.

 

I drove 75 miles since, the gear shift as soft and precise as a new car.. Amazingly the oil pressure issue also fixed did not drop as it used to (implying that before, the clutch may be been rubbing against the flywheel stressing the engine at idle). The engine temperature also did not rise to the 3/4 level it used to and remained at the 1/2 level so ran cooler too !

 

Overall an excellent result.

 

Thanks