Hard to change gear on 75

[hraban]

Hello,

I've got a problem with my 2004 diesel Rover 75 Connoisseur. I've had this car since February and I totally love it, however, some problems start emerging.

I have troubles changing gear; It's hard for the first and the second gear so I have to apply force. It _always_ works from the 2nd-3rd time but applying force does not seems that good idea to me. Reverse gear is also a problem and is also solved the same brutal way. 3rd, 4th and 5th gears work like a charm, smooth effortless changing.

The weirdest thing is, the problem can last an hour or two, but then it's all solved by itself and I can enjoy driving for another week before the I feel it's hard to change again.

There was some resistance once in a while when changing gears before, but it was usually a matter of getting back to neutral and changing once again. This time the problem lasted for a long time and seemed more severe than ever before.

I thought before it happens only if the car is cold but last weekend it happened after 5 hours drive all of a sudden with no obvious reason.

I am anxious here it can cost me a grand as it seems like a gearbox/clutch issue. Please tell me it's not that bad and I won't have to buy another car :-|

Frankly, I am not prepared to spend any money on repair now. As always, such things come unexpected. Do you think I can manage to drive this car till the end of the year without doing any irreversible/much more expensive to repair damage? I use it only on weekends, and plan to get a maximum of 10k miles till the end of the year

[Spike]

Hi Hraban and welcome.

Well, I've had all of these problems you describe and there are potentially many solutions. This may be a problem with the gear linkage, the gearbox mount or the clutch.

I suspect it's a combination of all three.

As you're in London, might I suggest contacting PhilT4 on here, as he'll be able to diagnose and you can trust what he says implicitly.

James

[hraban]

Spike, thanks for the contact, I'll definitely PM him.

Just in case someone has the same problem as me, I will post in here once I get any futher updates

[Spike]

The easiest one will be the gearbox linkage, which may just need refitting. If it needs replacing, they can be found and I know of a breaker who has a couple of sets that he'll send to you.

If it's the gearbox mount, it's a bit more expensive, as you'll need to replace the mount. Again, there are good second-hand ones around.

I've gone through both the above solutions but I'm now at the stage where the clutch is definitely on its last legs and gives me the symptoms you describe too.

Where does the clutch 'bite' when you engage it? Is it close to the floor or about half way?

[bubs]

I would say the clutch hydraulics probably need bleeding. Air in the system or contaminated fluid could cause gear change problems.
Is the bit point low on the clutch?

[hraban]

The bit point is _really_ low, I have to push the clutch hard to the very floor to make sure it does not engage
When I first got the car it felt strange and unusual, but you know every car is different, so I thought it's something specific to Rover 75s

[bubs]

That's why you're having trouble changing gear then, the system isn't allowing the clutch to disengage properly.
Firstly do some warm up back stretches then get down under the dash and open up the master cylinder and check there's fluid in there, it's above the clutch pedal. Once you have the cap off there's a rubber cap/condom cover, take that out and check the fluid. (with a mirror or dipping your finger in there)

[hraban]

Thanks bubs, will give it a try.

I'll try to top up and/or bleed the clutch when I have some time to spare and will post the results here.

You restored my hope it's not a serious problem. Fingers crossed it's going to be this simple

[hraban]

Just to give an update: my car has been behaving nicely since I posted this (did my Rover just got scared?) although I did not manage to do anything.

I tried to bleed the clutch but unsuccessfully - the reservoir cap is just stuck, I probably need someone with a proper set of tools to help me out.

I am going to Lincolnshire in a weeks time, could possibly have a chance to visit a garage I bought the car in. I will post here if any diagnostics will happen or things suddenly get worse

[Rp61973]

Hi Hraban.

If you can't get a purchase on the mast cylinder reservoir cap, get hold of a large. flat bladed screwdriver and bear the tip of this against one of the fins on the RHS of the cap. Give the bottom of the screwdriver a smart tap towards the cap with the palm of your hand. It should dislodge the cap enough for you to get your hand in there and unscrew it.

It is confined under there, but persevere. The bleed screw is in the engine bay, you will need to wedge a container under the nipple and then use two spanners to crack the bleed screw (make sure you secure the main nut to stop the whole tube from turning and causing a fluid leak in the bellhousing). Ensure the reservoir remains topped up with brake fluid - I used an old style oil can, and bleed the cylinder by pushing the clutch pedal in and out. I managed the operation solo by using an Easibleed.

Unless you can see evidence of leakage from your master cylinder reservoir, you may find it is progressive slave cylinder failure. This little fella is buried in the guts of the bellhousing and will need changing (best along with the clutch). Andy Willi is your man to do this.

Mine failed about 4 weeks after buying the car. I managed to restore order by bleeding once a week, but this period become progressively shorter between not being able to get gears, where I couldn't even do a journey to work and back after bleeding. Got through some brake fluid during that time.