Play in gear lever !?!
Discussion
Thought it was just the top (ball) part coming unskrewed but as i started to tighten it by hand i realised the whole shaft was turning, this then came to a stop as if it was as tight as it would go (is the shaft threaded ?) but since then it has left this play in the shaft. Can still get all gears and drives fine but you can now twist the gear lever about 1/2" either way !?! It also comes to quite a solid stop with a knock when it wont twist anymore. 
Just wondered if any body had any ideas as to what it could be ?
Just wondered if any body had any ideas as to what it could be ?
This is a fairly common problem. There is a grub screw at the bottom of the rear of the gear stick which comes loose.
Unscrew the gear knob and remove. Undo the grub screws holding on the handbrake grip (you will have to fold back the leather a little to access it) and remove it.
Remove the centre console by undoing the screws either side at the front and the screw underneath the rear air vent which just pulls out to give access. You will need to unplug the wires from the window switches and you can remove the whole console.
Undo the screws holding the rubber gaiter around the gear stick and remove it.
You should now be able to access the grub screw at the base of the gear stick with an allen key. It is quite tricky to get to and I recommend you tie string to the allen key in case you drop it.
Position the gear stick correctly and tighten the grub screw. A pair of pliers can be useful to get a better grip of the allen key.
Check the reverse light works correctly before re-assembling it all as the switch for it is on top of the gearbox and the gear stick needs to be lined up perfectly for it to work properly, i.e. not come on when you’re in 4th/5th or just not work at all.
If you find you can’t get the gear knob to unscrew you can actually do the whole thing just by lifting everything as far out of the way as possible with the gear gaiter still in place.
This will take about 1 hour the first time you do it, but I got it down to 20 minutes by my third go!
Unscrew the gear knob and remove. Undo the grub screws holding on the handbrake grip (you will have to fold back the leather a little to access it) and remove it.
Remove the centre console by undoing the screws either side at the front and the screw underneath the rear air vent which just pulls out to give access. You will need to unplug the wires from the window switches and you can remove the whole console.
Undo the screws holding the rubber gaiter around the gear stick and remove it.
You should now be able to access the grub screw at the base of the gear stick with an allen key. It is quite tricky to get to and I recommend you tie string to the allen key in case you drop it.
Position the gear stick correctly and tighten the grub screw. A pair of pliers can be useful to get a better grip of the allen key.
Check the reverse light works correctly before re-assembling it all as the switch for it is on top of the gearbox and the gear stick needs to be lined up perfectly for it to work properly, i.e. not come on when you’re in 4th/5th or just not work at all.
If you find you can’t get the gear knob to unscrew you can actually do the whole thing just by lifting everything as far out of the way as possible with the gear gaiter still in place.
This will take about 1 hour the first time you do it, but I got it down to 20 minutes by my third go!
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