Important! : Clutch/gearbox problem

23rd December 2010, 14:09

Hi,

I have a T reg Citreon Saxo 1.5 diesel and I'm having problems with the gearbox and/or clutch. 1st and 2nd gears have seemed stiff to engage over the last few weeks but I just thought it was just due to the cold weather. Also, recently the gearbox crunches when putting it into reverse. It's as if I can't push the clutch down far enough. Yesterday, though I couldn't engage 1st gear at all and had to use 2nd to pull away instead. 3rd and 4th gears are fine and I can select all the gears when the engine is off. When looking at the pedals inside the car the clutch pedal is closer to the floor of the car than the brake but I can't remember if it was like that before the gears became stiff or not but the biting point has always been quite low.

I've owned the car since May 10 but I'm not sure if it's ever had a new clutch. It's done 55K at the moment. I've know virtually nothing about cars and am going to take it to a garage today but was just wondering if anyone might have an inking of what the problem is and approx. how much it's going to cost me to get it fixed.

Thanks
Jean

23rd December 2010, 14:34

Gearbox could be on the way out, or gear linkages could be worn

23rd December 2010, 14:37

If its a long running problem, you might get away with tightening the clutch cable - costs nothing and takes 10 minutes.

If you do need a replacement clutch then it would be around £80 to do yourself, or £200-300 at a garage.

Clutches usually last about 80k miles depending on the brand and the way the car has been driven - although deisels are genrally harder on the clutch so probably don't last as long.

23rd December 2010, 20:57

If I remember correctly the diesel has a manually adjusted cluth .If so try adjusting the nut at the end of the cable as the cables do stretch