Can't get into first gear

[pleasestartnow]

New day new problem. Drove into the village this morning and along the way had to stop at a round about. When I went to go I couldn't engage first gear. Momentary panic so went into second and off we went. Parked now in thr car park and I can select all gears including reverse without any issues but first is not happening. It feels like something is blocking it from going into first.

Boots are all fairly worn on the gearbox side and I cleared out a lot of crud. UJ seems ok. It went into first no bother this morning and I have had no issues with changing gears before, all the other gears select no hassle. Changed gearbox oil 3 weeks ago and there was no big bits of metal or anything out of the ordinary on the magnetic drain plug.

Any ideas where to look?

[Aidan]

Take a good look at the cup and ball set up, is the boot ridden up and limiting throw ?
Take a good look at the bottome of the gearstick and the box the guides live in, is anything loose or foreign in there (like a stone)
If that all checks out I'd remove the rear bush from the gearbox and lower the cup and check the ball is ok and hasn't split and ridden up the metal part leaving a steel part sticking out the bottom and then see if you can manually engage gear okay engine off of course; assuming 5 speed as per your signature then 1st is ball pushed fully into gearbox against spring pressure then forward, reverse is same but backwards; are they different in feel/engagement/throw

If you can't get gear with linkage disconnected then it's a box issue, if you can then then it's a linkage issue

[pleasestartnow]

Cheers Aidan, since all the other gears worked no hassle I have driven it to the nearest mechanic (a Peugeot dealer) and he is having a look now while we sit outside. One of the few times in my life I wish I could speak French . When we get back to the campsite later I will try that. By removing any if the parts mentioned what is the likelyhood of messing up one of the other gears? Just right now we are thinking of just trying book an early ferry home because of all this hassle but if I can get by without 1st for another week or two and just drive back towards roscoff( 100km) and Park in a campsite there and not drive then we might do that and salvage some bit of the holiday like.

[pleasestartnow]

Peugeot mechanic is a no go so drove back to campsite there.

By cup and ball setup do you mean the gearshift shaft in the image where it goes into the gearbox?

[Robsey]

Yes the cup and ball are the parts at the bottom centre of your picture.

The ball disintegrates and either brakes off altogether, or get pushed up it's metal arm.

Mine was totally fubar'd.



And here it is in the cup...
The seal / shroud thingy was also fubar'd.


Odd though if you can get reverse, but not 1st.

If you are using roaming data, then you could use google translate.

[pleasestartnow]

Ya my boots/shrouds are totally bare. Like they literally shred as I touch them.

A cold sweat now is gone up my spine when I see that Robsey. Ya literally not a bother with reverse or any other gear and 1st worked perfect this morning and at the previous roundabouts. Then just came to the last one and it was a no go.

I haven't disconnected anything. I can push in the gearshift shaft and feel like a spring resistance, then as I try to pull the shaft into first gear position it just says no. It feels like if I could get it to move 2 or 3mm it would just slide into place.

Is it possible to just get along on 2nd-5th for a short while?

[multisi]

Yes just start in 2nd gear, not sure what power your engine is but the vw glovebox owners manual says higher powered engines can start off in 2nd with a 5 speed box.

[pleasestartnow]

Cheers multi. Its a 1.9d, 1y engine. Seemed fine earlier going in 2nd just slow going. Wouldn't fancy a hill start like

[Robsey]

My head keeps saying....
Is there something mis-aligned jammed-in at the base of the gear-stick...
In the box under the cab floor.?

It just seems odd that, although the boot is missing, the gearbox end seems to be allowing the correct side-to-side and fore-aft movement.

You would need to look forwards into the box from underneath the van, whilst someone else goes through all the gears via the gearstick.
(Obviously you do not need the engine running for that).

Absolute worst case is a fault with the first gear synchro or shift fork... assuming all forward gears have a synchroniser unit

[pleasestartnow]

Hi Robsey

Ya I had that feeling to, I've checked all around the gear stick to see was anything stuck I the ball joint there. (Not sure if I can see the bottom of the balljoint under the van) but there is free movement of it and it doesn't seem to catch when moving into 3rd of 5th which would be the same direction as 1st.

I also can't see any blockages within the housing, and thr shift guides aren't obstructing the movement of the gear stick.

Gears moving in housing (battery is dying and wouldn't let me turn on the light)
[youtube]https://youtube.com/shorts/S10d7zEaWRg?feature=share[/youtube]

Image of gear in reverse

Gears moving at gearbox side ( girlfriend always struggles to get it in reverse by forgetting to push down, its not that its stuck)
[youtube]https://youtube.com/shorts/ZRZ1ICqWqKA?feature=share[/youtube]

Gears moving at the gear stick
[youtube]https://youtube.com/shorts/qqFLDE_olso?feature=share[/youtube]

Trying to shift into first at gearbox
[youtube]https://youtube.com/shorts/-OSxiUUnwrg?feature=share[/youtube]

General View at gearbox side

[pleasestartnow]

Should be 5 videos in the above post but only a thumbnail is appearing for one but the other links work

[Aidan]

looks like a gearbox issue, odd that the synchroniser for 1st and reverse works in reverse, but there are various things that can break and jam throw of fork in one direction. Use 2nd for time being, as long as you have recovery you'll get home, enjoy the holiday and sort it once home. Chances are this time when you drop the oil there wil be tell tell debris on magnet

[pleasestartnow]

Cheers Aidan, ya I think I will just have to get by on the other gears and sort it when I get home like you say. Just gonna stick to short as possible spins for now and hope for the best.

[sarran1955]

Hello,
Where are you in France..?

If you come by here I can have a look.. Spares come in 48 hours..

Cordialement,

[pleasestartnow]

Hey Sarran,

Really appreciate that offer if we are close to you. We are in Crozon at the moment until the 19th and then just for mental comfort we are going to head back towards roscoff until the 8th as we can't get an earlier ferry.