Gearbox selecting 2nd and 4th only

[malcolm]

Anyone had a problem with only being able to select 2nd and 4th gears? I went to see a car with this problem this morning but jumped to a conclusion about the solution before spending enough time on it. I think my conclusion was wrong.

I'll have a better look tomorrow afternoon, but in the meantime has anyone come across anything like this on a Renault 4?

 

[Steve Hennessey]

Malcolm - I have on a Mini!!! My remote diagnosis is that a grub screw has become loose in one of the selectors. Just take the top off the box and have a peek! Let us know what you find.

Steve

 

[malcolm]

Thanks Steve, must be somewhere in the selector mechanism. The car might be here tomorrow. Looks like the selectors come out with the cover - I'll pull the top off and let you know what it was.

I once had a Truimph that would select 2 gears at the same time. There were 2 ways the selectors could be installed and I chose the wrong one.

 

[Steve Hennessey]

They don't come off with the cover Malcolm - the selector rods are fitted in the box casing and the selectors are held onto them by roll pins - I've just checked! I reckon you've got a broken roll pin on one selector and I'm sorry to say that you will have to take the box out if that's what it is. Let's hope the problem is something simple!

Steve

 

[malcolm]

True enough - I've found a better picture in the book of Haynes. That's annoying - I'm not really in the mood for a gearbox swap this week. Still, no harm in having a look to see if it is something else. Tried google images for a better picture of gearbox internals but all I could find was that damned frog!
.

 

[malcolm]

Pacic over - it turned out to be the clutch cable that had come loose, so there wasn't enough clutch to engage the gears. Should have looked a bit harder the first time - I'm not very good in the mornings.

 

[Steve Hennessey]

Glad it was that simple. Our gearboxes are pretty good and long lasting. When I first bought my R4 GTL there was a noise in first gear and it stayed there for 60,000 miles. When I stripped the box out of curiosity there was a tooth missing on the first gear cog! At least the R5TL boxes fit so there's no great need to overhaul!

Steve