Stiff Gearbox

[Arron17]

Hi, I've just recently been having a problem with my 2002 Seat Leon 1.4 S gearbox.

It will change through the gears fine and smooth when the engine is off and when I just start up. But once I've been driving for a few minutes and the engine warms up the gearbox gets progressively stiffer until it feels like I need two hands to change gears.

1st to 2nd Gear is one of the hardest to change
3rd to 4th is still stiff but isn't too bad.
4th to 5th is pretty stiff changing too.
It's the same going back down the box too.

Anyone have any idea what could be causing this?

 

[jebus]

quite an odd situation, has the car been suffering from any oil leaks? if the gearbox is quite low on oil as everything warms up and expands could be making it stiffer, am not sure were the level plug is on the gearbox and that is just a guess.

 

[Arron17]

quite an odd situation, has the car been suffering from any oil leaks? if the gearbox is quite low on oil as everything warms up and expands could be making it stiffer, am not sure were the level plug is on the gearbox and that is just a guess.

I've not noticed any Oil Leaks coming out of the car. And checking the engine oil thats fine. I have no idea how to check the gearbox oil though.

 

[Muttley]

Check your hydraulic fluid. As it gets low, the clutch loses out first, as its fluid is taken from a tap on the side of the reservoir, not at the bottom.

 

[crazybrumi]

i had this issue and it turned out to be the slave cylinder leaking. only found out when it the pedal went rock solid, had that fixed and the gear changes felt much better but at times would still be hard to get in. a month or so later pedal stuck to the floor changed the master and still wouldn't build pressure ended up changing the clutch now the problem has gone. In the morning for first 10-15 can be slightly hard getting into gear but once warmed up its perfectly fine. Current weather doesn't help either.

Has your clutch been changed since leaving factory? Whats your Millage, Mine went on 103k

 

[Arron17]

i had this issue and it turned out to be the slave cylinder leaking. only found out when it the pedal went rock solid, had that fixed and the gear changes felt much better but at times would still be hard to get in. a month or so later pedal stuck to the floor changed the master and still wouldn't build pressure ended up changing the clutch now the problem has gone. In the morning for first 10-15 can be slightly hard getting into gear but once warmed up its perfectly fine. Current weather doesn't help either.

Has your clutch been changed since leaving factory? Whats your Millage, Mine went on 103k

87,000 miles and I don't think the clutch has been changed. I've had it since september and it's been a constant source of annoyance.

How much did yours cost to get sorted? Because if it's a lot I might just consider getting another car.

 

[crazybrumi]

87,000 miles and I don't think the clutch has been changed. I've had it since September and it's been a constant source of annoyance.

How much did yours cost to get sorted? Because if it's a lot I might just consider getting another car.

well the clutch itself was a valeo one and i got that for about £70, the master cylinder was £40 and the labor for both those fitted was £110. I got the slave for 40 quid again and fitted for 30. So in total it cost me £290. This could obviously very dependent on garage you may get it slightly cheaper.

Try Replacing the gearbox fluid and brake fluid see if that helps first as the fluid itself may not be good and isn't compressing correctly.

 

[Arron17]

I think it might be just that the brake fluid is old. I've checked the fluid and it's on the max line as it has been since September and I haven't noticed any leaks under the car. But the fluid is dark brown so I think I'll get it replaced and see if that fixes it.