Rebuilt gearbox stiff in 1st & 2nd gears. Any ideas why?

[David]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick question for someone in the know.

I rebuilt my BX gearbox back in June, with all new bearings & seals. The car has done around 1000 miles since.

It’s nice & quiet, & in 5th, 4th & 3rd, it slides in & out of gear smoothly & easily, but 1st & 2nd are a different story. It’s stiff to get it in both gears. If I rev match the engine to the gearbox, then it’s a little easier, but it still feels ‘notchy’ when it engages. It’s most noticeable when I’m slowing down &, unless I’m stopped, I can’t get it in 1st gear. When the car is stopped, it’ll usually go straight in both gears, (or if the engine isn’t running & stopped), but sometimes still feels a bit tight. So, has anyone got any idea what could be causing it?

I checked the gear teeth on the gears themselves & on the synchromesh & there was a bit of wear on 1st gear, but not so much that I’d think would cause any issues. 2nd didn’t look worn. All the selector rods in the gearbox seemed to work fine & all the rods on the car are free & in good condition.

The only thing that I suspect it could be is either the selector fork, and/or synchro for 1st & 2nd gears, seems as it’s the same part that does both gears, but they didn’t seem to be in bad condition (although I could’ve missed something on the synchro as I’m not an expert on them).

So, is there something that I’m overlooking or does anyone know what it might be?

Thanks in advance.

[xantia_v6]

Are you sure that you put correct GL4 oil in the gearbox?

[Jugostran]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick question for someone in the know.

I rebuilt my BX gearbox back in June, with all new bearings & seals. The car has done around 1000 miles since.

It’s nice & quiet, & in 5th, 4th & 3rd, it slides in & out of gear smoothly & easily, but 1st & 2nd are a different story. It’s stiff to get it in both gears. If I rev match the engine to the gearbox, then it’s a little easier, but it still feels ‘notchy’ when it engages. It’s most noticeable when I’m slowing down &, unless I’m stopped, I can’t get it in 1st gear. When the car is stopped, it’ll usually go straight in both gears, (or if the engine isn’t running & stopped), but sometimes still feels a bit tight. So, has anyone got any idea what could be causing it?

I checked the gear teeth on the gears themselves & on the synchromesh & there was a bit of wear on 1st gear, but not so much that I’d think would cause any issues. 2nd didn’t look worn. All the selector rods in the gearbox seemed to work fine & all the rods on the car are free & in good condition.

The only thing that I suspect it could be is either the selector fork, and/or synchro for 1st & 2nd gears, seems as it’s the same part that does both gears, but they didn’t seem to be in bad condition (although I could’ve missed something on the synchro as I’m not an expert on them).

So, is there something that I’m overlooking or does anyone know what it might be?

Thanks in advance.

One thing I have to ask - since I have a similar problem - have you replaced the right side (driver's side in the UK) top engine mount? Because changing it without installing spacers from a 205 will result in the engine and gearbox not sitting correctly/moving about too much, which will cause the aforementioned problems. Essentially in this situation you're pushing the gearbox and engine when shifting into gears.