Gear lever

[JimH]

(I'm a mechanical ignoramus) Reversed car out this morning no problem. When I tried to engage first gear to pull away the gear lever is just flopping about like stranded fish. Any ideas what this could be and would it be a reasonable cost to fix or would I need a second mortgage?

53 plate 406 hdi 90 s 109,000 miles

Thanks in advance for any help
jimh

[dirtydirtydiesel]

Sounds to me like the cable has snapped or the fitting at the lever end or gearbox end has sheered off so the cable no longer conected ,
Re: cost probably best to go to the breakers if yoy want it to be cheep @ a local inde I'm guessing 1-2 hours labour up wards of £50 & probably £50ish for parts .
These are best guesses.

ps, I was going to welcome you to the forum but it would seem you joined 6 years ago , not a very frequent poster are you 4 times in 6 years

[JimH]

Thanks dirtydirty.

I got in touch with a savvy mate and he is going to look round a local breakers yard with me and then show me what to do. I think he will be more doing than showing. You wouldn't believe how ignorant I am.

I haven't been very active in the forum because, I'm ashamed to say, I had a few years away from 406s but I'm back now.

Thanks again for your help.

jimh

[dirtydirtydiesel]

Welcome back then

[gumby6371]

Jim,

Clutch cable change on my old car was straight forward enough, assuming the HDI 90 is similar to the XUD 90. I did it in about an hour taking my time as I'd never done one before and including smoke breaks, I am far from an experienced mechanic.

The basic procedure is push fit onto the gearbox end, a couple of clips holding it in place on the bulkhead, feed it through the bulkhead and seal the hole with the grommet on the new cable and clip it to the back of the pedal. Easiest way if you're like me is to start at the gearbox, disconnect the old one and fit the new then work your way up to the pedal.
Get the car in the air, ideally on ramps or axle stands to do the clips and feed it through the bulkhead to the back of the pedal.
Just thought, as you can't actually engage a gear ramps aren't much use to you, mine was just sticky so still driveable.

The only PITA for me was getting the thing attached to the pedal as you have a choice of being able to see or actually getting a hand in there, all that while attempting to snap your spine bending backwards on the sill. I'm 6' 2" and 16 stone but you may be a more suitable build for moving in confined spaces.

The XUD cable is self adjusting so once its fitted you pump the pedal and it ratchets itself up to the correct alignment.

Having said all that someone will come along and point out your car is a completely different setup but hopefully you get the idea.

Euro car parts lists XUD cables from about £25 up to £55 for OEM quality, I seem to recall paying about £36 at CES.

Good luck mate and if possible give it a go yourself, minimum tools required for podging and persuading and its a very satisfying feeling when its all done! oh....and its cheaper than paying a garage

[JimH]

Hi dirtydirty and gumby

Problem was the rod/lever, which looks a bit like a dog's bone, had snapped at the ball and socket end. Got one from a scrapper and I managed to do the job myself with my mate directing me every step - only lost a bit of skin off my knuckles. Car fixed for a tenner plus a couple of cases of beer for my mate (he wouldn't accept money).

Thanks for replying. You led me down the right path.

jimh

[gumby6371]

Cool, glad you sorted it

[dirtydirtydiesel]

A nice cheep fix, we like those