Skoda Octavia impossible to select 1st gear

Car: Skoda Octavia
Variant: vRS Octavia Mk1 Hatchback
Model Year: 2004
Categories: Gearbox & Clutch
Hello. Last night I dropped from third to second gear in anticipation of a hill climb and heard a metallic "clang" from that moment on I had great difficulty selecting gears especially second and couldn't select first gear at all. Oh and when I reversed to park up it fair grouched into gear! Any ideas for this? I suspect its a mechanical issue perhaps a linkage part of some description!
Posted: Aug 23, 2022 (2 years ago)
Check if going into gear o.k with engine off , if so USUALLY rules out gear linkage / selector linkage but not always . If ok , may be clutch / diaphragm fault
Posted Aug 23, 2022 (2 years ago)
Replying to post by whittingehame:
Check if going into gear o.k with engine off , if so USUALLY rules out gear linkage / selector linkage but not always . If ok , may be clutch / diaphragm fault
Tried resetting the two gearbox cables. Bear with. I set gear lever in home position using 5mm drill bit. I had previuosly released the two cables tri-fingers inside the engine bay. I tried to set home position for the crank shaped selector lever situated next to the gearbox but it wouldn't depress with the gear lever in the home postion! If I released the gear lever the selector lever would depress but the wee lever you must turn throught 90 degrees or turn to 12noon to lock said select lever in home position, would not turn no matter where on the up down travel of the selector lever I tried. I can confirm the follow checks have been carried out:
A) With the engine OFF all gears select smoothly including reverse - I thick this means the gearbox is OK.
B) With the engine OFF and second gear selected I can start the engine and pull away smoothly - thus eliminating a clutch problem
C) I have had the car from new and it's covered 148K and for a great many years (maybe 10) it has not had a gearbox oil change - probably NOT good!
D) Some time before this now "You must pay attention to me moment" I noticed a reluctance not to go into first and a tendancy to crunch for reverse, I overcame this trait by selecting second gear before reverse which worked.
That's a fair reflection at this point in time.
Thanks Whittingehame. Any other thoughts are all welcome.
Posted Aug 25, 2022 (2 years ago)
Could check fluid level in clutch master cylinder and for any leaks , but every chance it may be general wear and tear on clutch assembly and time for replacing
Posted Aug 25, 2022 (2 years ago)

This problem is archived

If you're having a similar problem please click below to re-post this problem, you can then customise it to suit your situation.

Join the community
Got a question? Can you answer other questions here? If so please...
More problems with the 2004 model year Skoda Octavia

We have 24 problems and solutions in our database for this model year of the car.

View all Skoda Octavia Problems