Hi, hoping that somebody can help me here. I have an 03 plate Fiesta with 75k on the clock. Recently when I try to shift into 3rd the clutch becomes stiff and wont budge. I have to drop it back into 2nd then take it into neutral and shake the stick, after this is loosens again and will go into 3rd.
This doesn’t happen all the time though but there doesn’t seem to be any connection between when it does do it?
Any help would be great. Thanks.
What exactly is a plate Fiesta?
But your problem is a worn synchronizer. The synchronizer gets the gear you’re shifting into to start moving at the correct speed to make it so you don’t have to double clutch, or shift into neutral and then into the gear. Unfortunately to fix it, you’ll have to take apart the transmission to fix it, but on the plus side it’s probably not going to get any worse-- just keep doing what you’re doing.
I’ll also mention that this is almost always caused by owner abuse, such as doing hard, fast shifts or not engaging the clutch all the way. Although this problem happens most commonly with 2nd gear because that’s the one people usually shift into the most. If you’ve been the main person driving this car since new, you might need to bone up on your stick shift technique.
Why would the gear you are attempting to shift into affect the resistance to moving exibited by the clutch pedal?
I could see a change in resistance offered by the gear shift lever affected by the gear you are selecting, but the clutch?
This does not sound like a clutch problem. More like a shift linkage problem. Most FWD cars use a shift cable similar to a remote control rear view mirror. Some use a monkey motion system of shafts and rods to connect the shift lever to the transmission. Here is where you will find your problem…
Sorry, that was my mistake…it is the gear shift lever, not the pedal.