Stiff Gear Selecter

[siby]

hi i have a citroen c5 manual and the gear stick has gone very stiff when moving from side to side, its fine forwards and backwards does anyone know what this could be

 

thanks in advance

 

simon

[Ronin]

hi i have a citroen c5 manual and the gear stick has gone very stiff when moving from side to side, its fine forwards and backwards does anyone know what this could be

 

thanks in advance

 

simon

Easy things to check first:

 

Remove the centre console gater and check for obstructions, pens, coins and rubbish that kids can quite nicely work in there from time to time, as they do!

 

Remove the air filter box and you will see the gear selecter lever and coresponding linkages. Check the linkages for excessive loosness in the ball joints, make sure that they can't pop off under medium pressure with your hands.

Check for corrosion and stiffness in any other linkage /ball joint while a helper select the gears. Grease them all up lightly, give it a good working in and that should do the trick.

 

There is also a couple of rods from the selector that can be checked on the under floor of the car. Ramps are required, suspension on high setting and some gardening gloves to handle sharp heatshields etc. repeat the procces above to make sure they are free

 

If the stifness returns fairly quickly:

Have you had any exhaust part fitted recently? Sometimes the centre sections can be mounted slightly too close to the body work that can cause excessive heat around the gear selector rods and linkages thus drying them out. If this is the case, dig out the exhaust warranty and take it back. Explain the situation and they will adjust the exhaust accordingly FOC.

 

Worst case scenario and long shot

It maybe the selector itself or the gear elector fork in the bell housing but I have never heard of them causing issues before.

Gearbox oil level can have an effect (ask Citroen Saxo VTR, VTS owners) although I seriously doubt this is your problem as all movement, forward, backward, left and right would be stiff after ten minutes or so of driving.

 

I would guess it was probably the linkages in the engine bay playing you up. :)

[siby]

thanks mate you sure do know ya stuff ill have a look in the morning and report back