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406 HDI wont engage gears

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 9:46 pm
by acefactor
Hey guys, just wondered if I could pick your brains?

I could be potetially offered a very cheap 406 HDI from my brother. He recently had the clutch replaced by a garage and is now having issues engaging gears after he has been driving. For example if he has been driving on a dual carriageway and then comes off on to a slip road and stop at a roundabout or traffic lights the car will struggle to go back into a gear from neutral, almost like the gears are blocked off? He's taken it back to the garage that replaced the clutch and they said he now needs a new gearbox, but could not tell him what the problem was... :frown:

I've spoken to a mechanic friend of mine and he seems to agree that it does not sound like a gearbox fault and I can select all the gears from cold myself when in the car. Sadly I cannot enlist the help of my mechanic friend so if I get the car it will be a diy job.

Are there anythings to try or any likely faults to check out first? I'm very interested in taking the car on as my brother is talking about scrapping the car and it's only done 130k which it not really anything on these engines or gearboxes as far as I know.

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Adam :)

Re: 406 HDI wont engage gears

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 10:40 pm
by lozz
iwouid check to see if the gear box as got oil in it,
and check the diff seals for leaks, :roll:

Re: 406 HDI wont engage gears

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 10:44 pm
by acefactor
lozz wrote:iwouid check to see if the gear box as got oil in it,
and check the diff seals for leaks, :roll:
Is that a Haynes manual look up, or are there any links on the site?

Many thanks,

Adam

Re: 406 HDI wont engage gears

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 11:38 am
by lozz
Lost me there fella, :?

Haynes,

nah mate, just hit the forum search button and all the info you need will be available,

no need for a Haynes on here :mrgreen:

Re: 406 HDI wont engage gears

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 12:39 pm
by jasper5
Sounds like a clutch problem, but if it's a "pull" type clutch then engaging gears can be difficult for a little while until the clutch beds in a bit.

Re: 406 HDI wont engage gears

Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2011 4:28 pm
by acefactor
jasper5 wrote:Sounds like a clutch problem, but if it's a "pull" type clutch then engaging gears can be difficult for a little while until the clutch beds in a bit.
Do you mean under the same circumstances I've mentioned, or just in general use? Because the car will engage gears fine when first started and driven, but then after some distance the problem occurs.

Thanks,

Adam

Re: 406 HDI wont engage gears

Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2011 7:54 pm
by jasper5
acefactor wrote:
jasper5 wrote:Sounds like a clutch problem, but if it's a "pull" type clutch then engaging gears can be difficult for a little while until the clutch beds in a bit.
Do you mean under the same circumstances I've mentioned, or just in general use? Because the car will engage gears fine when first started and driven, but then after some distance the problem occurs.

Thanks,

Adam

Is the biting point of the clutch near the floor? If it is then the clutch needs to bed in a while. If it's high up then there may be a different clutch problem.

Re: 406 HDI wont engage gears

Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2011 11:23 pm
by mjb
I'd try bleeding the clutch hydraulics first

Re: 406 HDI wont engage gears

Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2011 2:49 pm
by acefactor
Thank you so much for all of your replies so far, they have given me a great place to start. I've also been browsing through the Knowledge Articles on the site and noticed the fix for the drivers side switch which will be useful as the car has that issue as well! I should be picking up the car from my brother some time in the next week, so I will report back with my progress.

Thanks,

Adam :)