Audrey's Automotive Blog

How to Proceed If Your Vehicle Doesn't Want to Go into Gear

10 November 2017

Penny Roberts

If you own a car with a standard transmission, you may enjoy the process of changing gear manually and think that it is all part of the driving experience. Of course, under normal circumstances your vehicle will cooperate with you as you're driving along, but sometimes you may find that it is difficult to get it into gear. If you've encountered this type of situation now, do you need to be worried that the problem could be major and what do you need to do?

Tube Lubrication

Firstly, the problem could relate to something fairly minor, so it's important to not panic at the outset. If you live in a colder part of the country, an issue could have arisen with the mechanism that connects your gear lever to the gearbox itself. Sometimes, the lubrication that's installed by the factory inside this mechanism can become contaminated or less effective and this problem is particularly exacerbated in cold weather. This is because cooler temperatures affect the viscosity of the lubricant and when this happens their protective capacity diminishes.

The gear lever in the cockpit is connected to the transmission through a series of cables that are contained within different tubes. Within these tubes is the lubrication that is supposed to ensure that the cables do not snag on the interior.

It's possible to fix this issue yourself if you have a degree of dexterity. Essentially, it all needs to be disconnected while the cables are removed from the tubes and the lubrication replaced.

Transmission Oil

If this isn't the issue, then you may have to look at the transmission instead. When was the last time that you changed the fluid in the main unit? This could be breaking down and may require replacement and this situation could cause selection issues by itself.

Could It Be Internal?

It's also possible that the synchronisers within the gearbox are worn and may need to be replaced. These components are meant to match each gear with the appropriate driving shaft very efficiently as you make each shift in the cockpit. They're meant to make the selection a lot easier and to avoid any friction, but when they start to wear out, you're going to find it much more tricky to engage the next gear and may also start to hear some of those horrible, grinding noises.

Like New Again

To make sure that everything is replaced and serviced properly, make sure that you take the vehicle into a qualified transmission expert.

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