gear seleccting problems wont go in reverse

[tweenage]

hi there just got a box fitted to my vectra 97 sri 2.0 16v cos the other 1 knackered, and have a problem the guy that fitted it had a problem becaue the gearstick surrounding was snapped in the car , he tried to cut and drill it to make it hold but it didnt hold, it was very hard to get it in reverse, but after about 30 attempts we got it, now today i got the gearknob with the long bar on it from a scrappys(only cost £10) and i swapped them over undid the bolt under the bonnet on the linking thing pulled old one out put new 1 in and now it wont go into reverse, if i lift up the button on the gearstick it goes into 1st even though i should be in reverse :eh , any1 know what i have done wrong? and if this problem can be fixed without taking it back to the garage again, or is the gearbox or gearstick knackered and ive been done:shame:
many thanks all

anthony

[jamesdark]

You just need the gear selector lined up again mate it is slightly off thats all,if you take it to the garage it's a two minute job literally.
If you have a haynes manual it tells you how to do it in there aswell.

[zander21]

get someone to hold it in neutral while u ajust it thats what i do in work anyway.

[tweenage]

o.i.c so nothing major then, pheew only problem is the garage is now busy till wednesday, is it possible i can do it myself? adn if so how? im affraid that i dont have the manual, would it be possible if someone can scan it and post the details here, i'll give it a bash if its as easy as u say , and better than driving 5 miles to the garage,

many thanks

anthony

[jamesdark]

Slaken the selector rod pinch bolt, lift up the gear lever gaitor and move it to the left so that you can fit a 5mm rod through the two holes to secure it. Then secure the gearbox end by pushing the spring loaded clip in the gearbox, you wil need to move the selector to the left and then the plastic clip will clip in. Once both ends are secured tighten the pinch bolt, remove the 5mm rod and make sure the plastic clip on the box is popped out. Should all be ok then.... Hope this is understandable.

[tweenage]

u mean the little palstic bit on the on the top of the gearbox that is on top of the box in like a u shaped lump of metal that connects to the bar thing that goes into the gear box? lots of technical terms there lol

:bananasmi cos mine is very loose and wiggly and lots of slack in

[jamesdark]

:lmao: i think you have the right bit,it should be fairly obvious when you do it cause it locks the linkage in place to stop it moving while you do the pinch bolt back up.
As for it being wiggly i don't know if they are supposed to be or not i have never had any dealings i'll have a look on my vectra tomorrow and get some pics if i can if you have not worked it out by then.

[tweenage]

. Then secure the gearbox end by pushing the spring loaded clip in the gearbox, you wil need to move the selector to the left and then the plastic clip will clip in. Once both ends are secured tighten the pinch bolt, remove the 5mm rod and make sure the plastic clip on the box is popped out. Should all be ok then.... Hope this is understandable.


ok locked off the gearstick end but stguglging to find what bit on teh actual box i should be ? wheere is the spring loaded clip?

[jamesdark]

If you can't find it you might not have one pics added for you from an f18 gearbox which is the same as yours should be.
First pic using a thin allen key/screwdriver or the like and move the selector mech to the left towards the allen key in the pic then put the allen key in untill it hits against the selector mech inside,slowly move the selector back to the right and you will feel the allen key drop in so to speak and jobs a good'un it's locked in place.
You may find that the hole you want has a little plastic bung in it(pic 2) remove it first.
When you have locked off the gear selector and the gear stick inside do up the pinch bolt tight and remove both locking implements and you should have all your gears back in the right place.
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1905/14050612529ra.jpg
http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/4608/14050612548jb.jpg
P.s sorry about the pics i used my phone.

[tweenage]

ok got most of that , thanks, i have the little bung thing in mine, and it wont come out , do i just grab it withj pliers and giev it a yank? tried twisting it out , but its not coming , just turns turn s turns...

[jamesdark]

Yes it is very tight i had to use some force to get it out to get the pics for you just pry it out with a screwdriver/pliers whatever.

[tweenage]

right ok followed them instructions, the allen key just dropped in aboput 2mm ( dioes that sound about right) screwed it all back together removed the allen key and screwdriver from gear surround. started it up stuck it in reverse and yep u guessed it, the car went forward? lol

this is doing my head in now,,, :shame: :shame:

[jamesdark]

right ok followed them instructions, the allen key just dropped in aboput 2mm ( dioes that sound about right) screwed it all back together removed the allen key and screwdriver from gear surround. started it up stuck it in reverse and yep u guessed it, the car went forward? lol

this is doing my head in now,,, :shame: :shame:
No 2mm is not right in the first pic above the allen key is half way in alot more than 2mm.
1.are you using something thin enough to fit down the hole.
2.did you line the selector up properly i.e the selector you can see in pic 1 moves in and out/left and right,it needs to be in the same position as it is in the pic,push the selector all the way in so you can not see any of the shiny rod that you can see in the pic,then pull it out slowly(it's fairly tight) untill it drops into the next position out(as in the 1'st pic) if you pull it out a bit more it will drop into the third position where you can not pull it any more(this is too far) it needs to be in the centre position when it is you should be able to twist it left quiet far,twist it as far as it goes and hold it while you put the allen key in.
When you have it in there properly keep pushing the allen key in to the hole while very slowly twisting the selector to the right,you will feel through the allen key when it drops in a bit further,and you will not be able to twist the selector to the right now if it is locked in properly.
P.S the allen key has to be very thin.

[jamesdark]

I just thought where you might be going astray in the pic i took it is facing the rear of the gearbox,and you will be doing it facing the front of the gearbox so for you twisting it towards the allen key would be to your right as you are stood at the front of the car not left as i was doing it.:lmao:
Sorry dude i messed up follow all the instructions i gave you but twist it to your right(clockwise) as you stand at the front of the car looking at the engine,to get the allen key in far enough.

[tweenage]

right ok have tried that but still not working but what i hav efound is teh long black piece of plastic that moves the selector round from the gear-rod is very loose and moves about 1nch up and down , just checked on my other vectra , which is doesnt do, could this be causing all the problems? on the one with the new box there seems to be far too much play on the plastic bar with all it locked in place, where as with the other veccie it doesnmt move at all and looks a very sligh difefrewnt design? so before i re try how can i tighten that up so theres not so much play in it,, cant glue it looks like a ball joint type thing, that has to free roll around not to be locked

hope u understand all this,

[jamesdark]

right ok have tried that but still not working but what i hav efound is teh long black piece of plastic that moves the selector round from the gear-rod is very loose and moves about 1nch up and down , just checked on my other vectra , which is doesnt do, could this be causing all the problems? on the one with the new box there seems to be far too much play on the plastic bar with all it locked in place, where as with the other veccie it doesnmt move at all and looks a very sligh difefrewnt design? so before i re try how can i tighten that up so theres not so much play in it,, cant glue it looks like a ball joint type thing, that has to free roll around not to be locked

hope u understand all this,
You can't tighten it up it, is just a plastic cup that sits over a ball with a circlip on it and yes it does sound like there is too much play in it you will need to replace it with one that is not so worn to cure the freeplay in it.

[tweenage]

would that cause it not to go into reverse gear though? and how can i get 1 do vauxhall sell them? or will i need to replace the entire plastic things that are located there?

or another idea could i put something in there to force it apart like a piece of wood so it does a job liek a wedge?

[jamesdark]

would that cause it not to go into reverse gear though? and how can i get 1 do vauxhall sell them? or will i need to replace the entire plastic things that are located there?

or another idea could i put something in there to force it apart like a piece of wood so it does a job liek a wedge?
I don't think that is causing you to not get reverse it just sounds like the selector is two far over,if you are getting first when you select reverse.
Have you locked the gear lever inside the car in the right place? it should be in neutral in between first and second gear(central) resting against the reverse stop(not in reverse position).

[tweenage]

yep have stuck a screwdriver in the hole in the gearstick and in the casing thus locking it together, and before i rpelced the gearstick thing teh guy from teh garage managed to get it into reverse , even though it took him quite a while, so i knwo that it does drive BACKWARDS, so i am about to go out and give it another bASh and see if i can get reverse now,, thanks will rpeosrt back

[jamesdark]

yep have stuck a screwdriver in the hole in the gearstick and in the casing thus locking it together, and before i rpelced the gearstick thing teh guy from teh garage managed to get it into reverse , even though it took him quite a while, so i knwo that it does drive BACKWARDS, so i am about to go out and give it another bASh and see if i can get reverse now,, thanks will rpeosrt back
:lmao: being able to drive backwards does help if there if freeplay it may be stopping it lining up properly but having a bit of play should not be knocking it that far out just keep at it you will get it right just take your time and look at it,it's not complicated how it works really,when you get the hang of it.

[tweenage]

hallejuellah im now driving backwards again. dont know what happened the 1st few times but now all seems fine, i hope, very strange , did excatly the same thing 4-5 times and miraculousoly it went in reverse on my last attempt:bananasmi :bananasmi :bananasmi :bananasmi so now im happy for a while ,
many thanks for all ur help and if u lived local id take u out for a few pints

lets still hope it goes backwards in the morning

cheers

anthony

[tweenage]

all i need to do now is put taht little plug back in ....lol probably take hrs knowing my luck so far :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[jamesdark]

hallejuellah im now driving backwards again. dont know what happened the 1st few times but now all seems fine, i hope, very strange , did excatly the same thing 4-5 times and miraculousoly it went in reverse on my last attempt:bananasmi :bananasmi :bananasmi :bananasmi so now im happy for a while ,
many thanks for all ur help and if u lived local id take u out for a few pints

lets still hope it goes backwards in the morning

cheers

anthony
No probs we got there in the end mate, glad your all sorted reverse always helps:lmao:
As for the little plug it should just push in you will have loosened it up a bit by removing it(hopefully)