Hello all from a newbie. I have had my extremely reliable 1.0 micra for 6 years now. It is 1999 1.0 inspiration. However over the past year or so the gears are becoming harder and harder to engage. It is at the point now where Mrs Marky does not want to drive it!! There is no slipping of the clutch in any gear and the car runs fine apart from this. A mechanic mate of mine used to look after this car but I don't see him now. He had told me that a spring had snapped as the gear lever does not spring back to neutral position when moved from side to side. Any ideas if this is a common problem? Is it just the spring or could it be something like the clutch cable needs adjusting? I am a total novice mind with no mechanical knowledge so please go easy :blush::blush: Any ideas of costs etc?? Any thoughts would be great
Difficult to engage all gears...clutch not slipping..what could it be?
- Thread starter marky2027
- Start date
Nice one thanks!! Good photo and quick reply!! Will have to wait til tonight as the wife has the car at work. So do I undo the locknut first then tighten the thumbwheel a few turns? Once i undo the locknut the cable isn't going to slacken off or ping away anywhere?? Should I be able to feel the tension in the cable and if so how much should there be?
frank
Club Member
yes mate, wind the nut down 3mm ish then wind the thumbwheel down to it, the cable end is only hooked on really, and i find that the bitepoint is just where i like it if i can just about unhook the end by hand
My gears are tough to get in place aswell, ill also give franks idea a shot
Your probably the first i've heard with this issue since i've been here, sometimes the gears are hard to get into possibly if the oil is low in the gbox.
I have just had the car serviced so I would have hoped they would have picked up on this. Where would I check this. Just looked through the handbook and can't find it
frank
Club Member
the return spring under the gearstick is just for centering the stick like you say marky, and to stop it buzzing, but wont be causing your clutch drag tho.
and if the oil was low enough to affect the gearchanging the g/box would probably be whining by now.
the clutch springs or friction surface breaking loose is pretty common tho (hopefully it just needs adjustment eh
)
and if the oil was low enough to affect the gearchanging the g/box would probably be whining by now.
the clutch springs or friction surface breaking loose is pretty common tho (hopefully it just needs adjustment eh
)ElectroDan
Ex. Club Member
I replaced the return spring on mine, and it made ZERO difference!
It's not too bad to do, I had the car up on ramps as was servicing it. Removed the heatshield from the (2nd?) cat, and found the old spring snapped off at one end and hanging. I'd bought a new off ebay (although it's been suggested on here that you can bend one end round of the broken one to make a new hook).
Got back in the car, and was a little disappointed that the gearstick still doesn't auto-centre!
Also, in the Haynes manual, for my K11 the clutch pedal should be 176mm from the floor (with the carpet removed), and the free play in the pedal should be 11-15mm. The free play is adjusted as described above, although the manual says you should undo the locknut, pull the lever back until it's stiff, do the starnut up until tight then undo it 3 turns, then do the locknut back up. I've memorised this as I need to do it this weekend! :laugh:
You'll probably want to remove the battery to do this, to get easier access.
It's not too bad to do, I had the car up on ramps as was servicing it. Removed the heatshield from the (2nd?) cat, and found the old spring snapped off at one end and hanging. I'd bought a new off ebay (although it's been suggested on here that you can bend one end round of the broken one to make a new hook).
Got back in the car, and was a little disappointed that the gearstick still doesn't auto-centre!
Also, in the Haynes manual, for my K11 the clutch pedal should be 176mm from the floor (with the carpet removed), and the free play in the pedal should be 11-15mm. The free play is adjusted as described above, although the manual says you should undo the locknut, pull the lever back until it's stiff, do the starnut up until tight then undo it 3 turns, then do the locknut back up. I've memorised this as I need to do it this weekend! :laugh:
You'll probably want to remove the battery to do this, to get easier access.
Cheers mate!! Will have to print this off and stick it to underside of bonnet coz i'll never remember all that. It's like cracking a safe
frank
Club Member
Thanks for that Frank. I can see that now. Should it be adjusted so you can unhook it like that or should you not be able to unhook it. I'll have to wait till next week now coz i'm at work all weekend. Boohh
it depends where you want the bitepoint mate, i prefer it about 1/3 up the pedal
Right just to update you all. I took the car to a mechanic I know and trust. Vedict = seized gear linkages which have been stripped and greased. Gear change loads better now and the lever even spring returns to the centre whilst in neutral. Happy days :grinning: Thing is though I took the plastic cover off the console inside the car and had a peek at the bottom of the gear lever. The ball joint type mechanism was bone dry. Surely this will benefit from a squirt of WD40 or smearing of grease?? I am still going to adjust clutch cable when I get a chance too as the bite point seems a little high too
ElectroDan
Ex. Club Member
I reckon my linkages are seizing up, which is why my stick doesn't auto-centre despite me fixing the spring.
Did it take him long to strip and grease it? I was told on here you have to grind off part of the fixing to remove the linkage.
Did it take him long to strip and grease it? I was told on here you have to grind off part of the fixing to remove the linkage.
Just been doing some searching on the net and it seems the return spring breaking is quite common. Think I will have to borrow mate's axle stands and get under to look as this might be adding to my gear changing woes
I thought that was my problem too, i removed the heat shield and felt that the spring was still intact. Then i moved down to the linkage i think its called (the bit by the engine) a turn of the spanner to losen the nut and the gear lever sprang back into place! All these issues are known faults. Check oil 1st, check the spring, then loosen the linkage nut half a turn or so.
my micras clutch cable has snapped near the lever end before the lock nut and thumbwheel need to repair it urgently as i need the vehicle to get to work and can only get a new cable delivered monday so need a quick idea to get the car moving until this arrives thanks
the cable itself has broke its holding by thin threads of cable is the a way i can re thread cable into the sqaure bit before the locknut so the car can run a few days
great idea for you all if your cable ever snaps use a really long bolt 10 mm will do use 2 big washers and 3 nuts 2 nuts to clamp down on the washers put the cable either side and tighten it up so it won't move anymore then use the third nut as you normally would to adjust the tension hope this help for anyone hat has a broken cable
