Hi,
Not sure why but today my gear stick is very loose than usual and dont spring back to center now.
Anything I can do under the car to pop or tighten something?
Thanks for any advice
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On my Focus, I had a similar problem. Gears left of neutral (i.e. 1st and second) wouldn't spring back but would on the other side.
It turned out to be something called a gear lever return spring which is a common fault on the IB5 gearboxes. The part cost a couple of quid from Ford and even I managed to change it!
I don't know if the Fiesta is similar....
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Adam
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I had a look under the car but this large heatshield was in my way.
I think my problem is same as yours, so where this return spring housed in?
below the gear stick side or near the engine?
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On mine you take the gear lever shroud off and you can fix it whilst sitting in the diver's seat.
Again, with mine, there are two rods attached. You unclip these and it should be obvious from there.
If it isn't, I'll take some photos of mine and how to replace the spring. (It is a bit fiddly). I broke the plastic on mine but I've managed to put the spring in in a way that this doesn't matter.
I should stress - I have no idea if the Fiesta is the same.
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Adam
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My mum has a Y reg one. When I get home later I'll have a look on that and see if it's remotely similar.
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Adam
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I had another look under and inside the car and also removed the heatshield and mounting bracket on the gear stick side.
can't get into this plastic box which connects the gear stick to the long rod and i dont hear anything inside this box which sounds like a spring unless it completely came off.
why they make it so hard to change a return spring?!?!?
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The gearchange mechanism on the Fiesta is very different to that on the Focus. The Focus is driven by cables, the Fiesta is a rod shift. I don't think you can find the spring unless you take apart the plastic box. The proceedure is listed on the Ford TIS CD, best get yourself a copy from ebay. They are all dodgy I think though!
Unfortunately I don't think Haynes manuals have anything useful to say about shift mechanisms since they decided that disassembly of the gearbox was beyond the scope of the average DIYer.
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Mike Farrow
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Sorry Mike - the Focus is driven by rods. I unclipped them to change the spring.
You won't hear a rattle either. If it is the same as the Focus, then you don't need to be messing around under the car.
I'm nipping out now so I'll try and take some photos later.
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Adam
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From the top after removing the leather and inner plastic shroud and gear knob, all I see is a ring of foam and a smaller white plastic ring holding the gear stick hold in by 2 side clips.
How i show picture on this forum or just use links?
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You are right to take off the heatshield, as everything is best done from underneath with the selector assembly removed. You might get away with taking the selector (black) box apart in situ by just removing the selector gaitor and unclipping the lid, but you'll probably find it's best to remove it altogether as described below.
From the top after removing the leather and inner plastic shroud and gear knob, all I see is a ring of foam and a smaller white plastic ring holding the gear stick hold in by 2 side clips.
You will have to remove the gearchange assembly from underneath by undoing the selector rod and stabilizer from the gearbox end, then undoing the mounting at the other end. Only then remove the gear stick by the clips. The two halves of the plastic box can be seperated after you've taken off the selector shaft gaitor.
Put the car in 4th before you start, and don't forget to lock the selector in 4th when you come to reconnect/readjust everything by putting a 9mm drill bit in the hole in the underside of the selector (black) box.
How i show picture on this forum or just use links?
Links are simple, just put an http:// before the address.
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Mike Farrow
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I bought that Ford TIS CD you mentioned on ebay and now gonna wait for it before i look under the car again.
thanks for the advices.
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Just got the CD and yup it's a copy.
Did you remember what section code it was or the title im looking for?
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You're looking in "workshop manuals" (the spanner at the top). From the list select Fiesta 1996 and then scroll down to section 308-06 MANUAL TRANSMISSION/TRANSAXLE EXTERNAL CONTROLS.
The important sections for you are "removal and installation" and "disassembly and assembly". Note it doesn't actually tell you what you'll find in the plastic box, just how to get into it :-)
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Mike Farrow
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ooo a mystery box ^^.
now i want to buy these return spring first before i start dismantling again (neck cramp), is there a part number or exact name i can tell the ford parts dealer?
Ford fiesta 02/2000 V reg
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I know mine's different but all I did was,
tinyurl.com/ajdsk
Surely you don't meed to mess around under the car to fix something so simple?
It only took 10 minutes too. A bit fiddly but not difficult.
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Adam
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Also, apologies to Mike. Those golden things that are clipped on I wrongly assumed to be the rods. Apparently they're linkages. I'm guessing they're not the same?
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Adam
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If you have the use of another car in the interim, it would be best to take it apart to see exactly what's broken, to make sure it's the spring. I understand there should be two, one pushing one way and another pushing the other, to centralise the stick. If you feel like taking the plunge, Ford dealers should be able to show you a diagram from their computer showing the components and their numbers, and they'll be able to order your springs from that.
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Mike Farrow
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On mine, (I seem to be saying that a lot) I'm almost certain it was one spring but the way it was positioned meant it worked both ways. My memory's a little hazy.
Apparently Ford charge £70 to fix it but when I went in, the bloke showed me a diagram of what to do and the part only cost a couple of quid.
Hope that's of some use.
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Adam
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The problem is that i dont have another car and i hate using the buses. dont really want to take it apart, check and reinstall, drive to dealer and then come back home and take it apart again.
so i guess i take trip and buy these 2 spring which should be cheap like less than 4 pounds??
btw another question which aint that important is that i think i added too much new engine oil and wondering if this can effect acceleration??
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so i guess i take trip and buy these 2 spring which should be cheap like less than 4 pounds??
I should hope so! They're basic compression springs used on rod change mechanisms for donkeys years and hence cost peanuts to make. Ford may have another idea though! I should image the Focus' spring is a bit more bespoke and expensive owing to its self-centraling function.
btw another question which aint that important is that i think i added too much new engine oil and wondering if this can effect acceleration??
This can cause damage and should be drained to be on the safe side. For a heated debate on the subject, look here www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=20868&...f
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Mike Farrow
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OK I came back empty handed, the parts guy says the return spring dont exist on the gear stick side.
I went to service and the garage people saying it's near the engine side and it's gonna cost me over 600 Pounds because of labour!!!
Im not going to pay to replace 2 spring, so I just leave it.
thanks for everybodies advices.
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That's a shame. My experience of older Fords has come the better of me!
Having read through the TIS again, the return spring is actually located on the selector plate inside the gearbox. A big job as Ford have rightly told you, requiring removal and disassembly of gearbox. Never worth it.
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Mike Farrow
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Why so different between same make cars though?
(I took the shroud off Mum's and it looks completely different to mine btw !!!)
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Adam
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Im surprised it lasted 5 years if you watched how aggresive my gear changing is.
There probably a reason why the spring is in a gear box but i wished there was a easier access to it.
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Why so different between same make cars though?
Because the Fiesta is a rod shift and the Focus is cable shift, which is a newer* technology.
(I took the shroud off Mum's and it looks completely different to mine btw !!!)
Cables versus rod.
*Moreover, reliable new and (see Austin Maxi!).
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Mike Farrow
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So cables are better than rods? Where are the cables on mine? Underneath the car in the inner workings of the gearbox or somewhere where I can see?
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Adam
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So cables are better than rods? Where are the cables on mine? Underneath the car in the inner workings of the gearbox or somewhere where I can see?
Yes, as in you don't feel the vibrations of the engine/gearbox through the gearstick. My post may have hinted that rods are less reliable, this is not the case, just that cables are used nowadays because they are now as reliable as rods. In the past this was not the case.
The cables feel from the gearstick, down under the car and into the gearbox. There are two, one for left/right and one for up/down movement of the gearstick. They are probably reinforced where they enter under the centre console, which is why you thought they were rods.
If you look under your mums car Adam, you will see two rods about 1/2" diameter, running from the gearstick/box to the gearbox. One is fixed rigidly to the gearbox and gearstick box, and stabilises the selector rod. The selector rod shifts back and forth for up/down movement of the gearstick, and rotates for left/right movement of the gearstick. It enters the gearbox through an oil-tight rubber gaitor.
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Mike Farrow
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Ahhhh.
Another question then seeing as you know what you're on about ;-)
In this picture, you can see the gear linkages on a Focus,
tinyurl.com/exqnr
I can't see anything like that on Mums (just another circular shroud) from inside the car so are linkages used only on cable gearboxes? If so, how do rod boxes get around not having these?
(I hope n_o_c doesn't mind - it is interesting after all!)
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Adam
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I can't see anything like that on Mums (just another circular shroud) from inside the car so are linkages used only on cable gearboxes? If so, how do rod boxes get around not having these?
The fancy linkage you see in the photo is there because you need to convert both the left/right and up/down movements into two up/down movements to go back through the cables and into the gearbox. On your mums car it's very simple. Under the stroud you speak of is a ball joint which the gearstick is fixed into which lets it move in any direction. The selector rod, mentioned in my previous post, is attached to an extention of the gearstick under the car, in a little box. The selector rod itself has a little bend in it so that the bit going into the gearbox is coaxial to the balljoint to get the rotation right as you shift the stick left/right. Inside the gearbox there is an HH-shaped gate which defines the position of the gears when you move the stick.
Inside the gearbox, both systems will look sligtly different. One is converting two lateral movments into shifting of the gears, the other is converting a lateral and rotational movement.
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Mike Farrow
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Right. Gotcha.
I vaguely remember on my old Fiesta seeing a balljoint although that was converted from an auto so may have been completely different.
Thanks for explaining it.
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Adam
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Apparently Ford charge £70 to fix it but when I went
Had my return spring done lasy xmas. £2.49 for the part, £49 for the labour.
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I'm only going off the FFOC Alastair but I imagine prices vary significantly.
I would have paid whatever it cost if I hadn't stumbled on that post on there.
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Adam
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