# will not go into gear



## mhairic (Nov 22, 2009)

our camper van will not go into gear
its a c reg fiat dicato 1.9 diesel.
it has be parked up for about 4 weeks on a slight hill faced down wards
toped up clutch fluid, etc
now here is the wierd bit !!
manged to get it in and out of gear while engine switched off, but will not go into gear with engine switched on.(tried starting in the gear, but enginge then cuts out) i cant make sense of this as they should not be linked.
has anybody heard of this or any ideas what we can do.
managed to roll the camper down the hill a bit so sitting level now
any feedback would be a great help to us  
Mhairi


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## Jim Whitaker (Nov 22, 2009)

Sounds like clutch problems


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## Randonneur (Nov 22, 2009)

We had a similar problem with our Talbot Express 2.5D, turned out to be the clutch not fully disengaging when the engine is running, particularly in 1st and reverse gears.

You may just need to adjust the clutch cable but in our case we needed a whole new clutch.

Hope this is of use to you.


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## biggirafe (Nov 22, 2009)

Randonneur said:


> We had a similar problem with our Talbot Express 2.5D, turned out to be the clutch not fully disengaging when the engine is running, particularly in 1st and reverse gears.
> 
> You may just need to adjust the clutch cable but in our case we needed a whole new clutch.
> 
> Hope this is of use to you.



I agree sounds like the clutch is not disengaging. You might be able to take out some of the slack on the linkage.


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## peppers (Nov 22, 2009)

mhairic said:


> our camper van will not go into gear
> its a c reg fiat dicato 1.9 diesel.
> it has be parked up for about 4 weeks on a slight hill faced down wards
> toped up clutch fluid, etc
> ...



if the clutch pedal feels normal ,then the clutch plate has stuck to the fly wheel.if you have aclear road to do it warm the engine switch off engage first gear release handbrake and start engine build up some speed and release then stab the throttle a few times,remember to keep the clutch fully depressed.if not jack up any driven wheel make sure it is well supported and the other wheels chocked start engine in second gear light throttle and stab the brake pedal hard a few times at all times keep the clutch depressed


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## Randonneur (Nov 22, 2009)

Randonneur said:


> We had a similar problem with our Talbot Express 2.5D, turned out to be the clutch not fully disengaging when the engine is running, particularly in 1st and reverse gears.
> 
> You may just need to adjust the clutch cable but in our case we needed a whole new clutch.
> 
> Hope this is of use to you.



Just a thought, if your clutch operation is hydraulic not cable, it may be the piston sticking in the slave cylinder. You might just get away with stripping it and replacing the piston seals.


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## maingate (Nov 22, 2009)

Why not just put it in first gear then start the engine and it should move forward (as long as you have a decent battery) and drive it for a bit. That usually frees off a frozen clutch plate.


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## Deleted member 3270 (Nov 22, 2009)

peppers said:


> if the clutch pedal feels normal ,then the clutch plate has stuck to the fly wheel.if you have aclear road to do it warm the engine switch off engage first gear release handbrake and start engine build up some speed and release then stab the throttle a few times,remember to keep the clutch fully depressed.if not jack up any driven wheel make sure it is well supported and the other wheels chocked start engine in second gear light throttle and stab the brake pedal hard a few times at all times keep the clutch depressed



Just as peppers as said follow his instuctions and it will cure your problem,


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## Higgy (Nov 22, 2009)

Our 1995 Talbot did that just the other day after being parked and not
used for 2 weeks.

I had to get it moving as the dog was off to the vets.

With the ignition off I put it in second gear then fired her up, a couple of
lurches later and all was back in working order.

Not a mechanics cure but needs must, been out today and all is fine.

Just as maingate mentioned.


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## Nosha (Nov 27, 2009)

When doing as advised keep the clutch pedal depressed so it has a chance of 'breaking'. As first diagnosed by Maingate I also thing the clutch has stuck to the flywheel as your description of stalling. 

Vauxhall use to do this years ago; our 'cure' was 1st gear, foot on clutch, brakes off, engage starter - this normally broke it, if not you drive it down the road with foot on clutch and keep bliping the throttle jerking the vehicle, after a couple of blips it always 'broke'. We NEVER had to remove a gearbox, this always worked, as others have said DO make sure the clutch arm is operating... does the clutch pedal feel as heavy as it normally does??


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## Belgian (Nov 27, 2009)

Definately the clutch.
Maybe the clutch cable has brooken or got stuck. Check if the pedal is not idle, or the cable isn't loose at the pedal


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## Deleted member 207 (Nov 28, 2009)

We used to see this a bit on vehicles operating in very dusty conditions - I know not an issue in the UK - but often the diagnosis was "the clucth plate has stuck to the flywheel" when it was the centre splines that were causing the problems. Dried out (as in no lube) or had a lot of dust in the remnants of the lube and the clutch plate would not slide. I've never seen rust cause that problem but I'd suspect that it could if the vehicle was parked up for long enough.

If something was working four weeks ago and now its stopped, look for stuck, corroded, jammed things before pulling anything apart.


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## bevo (Nov 29, 2009)

*clutch*

hi
  if you are still having trouble with your clutch.
try putting it in 4th gear letting the handbreak off turn on the ignition, and as you say your on a hill get someone to push (hard work) but the momentum going down hill may start your van and may also free your clutch.

good luck


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