Why is it hard to get into 1st gear?

Hello all, I am new to this forum.

I have recently bought a very nice 245DL. Upon purchase the gears were not giving me any trouble. However, a few days ago, it became noticeably more difficult to get into 1st and 2nd gears. What may be causing this??

Thanks for any help.

see if its hard to get into first when rolling forwards at ~ 5-10mph. if it isnt, your syncromesh is warn.

[night owl]

If your clutch cable is not self adjusting then srew in the adjuster a couple of turns and try, as your cable may have stretched and not allowing the clutch plates to seperate far enough from the flywheel. If it is self adjusting then check the cable run and the adjuster to make sure everything is as it should be i.e. nothing loose and nothing sticking.

[chris h]

This could be caused by wear in the nylon bushes between the gear lever and the operating arm that goes into the gearbox. There are two nylon bushes and an O ring that may need replacing. Access is from underneath the car. An allen screw need to be removed before the pin can be slid out and the gear lever disconneced from the lever. the bushes can then be replaced and should result in tighter operation of the gears.

[cbyard]

Could be difficult to adjust the clutch cable...... however the actuating rod on the slave cylinder could well be worth a look <g>!

Have you checked you haven't leaked away the clutch fluid?

Chris

[Clifford Pope]

Clutch is the first suspect when gear engagement gets difficult, especially suddenly. It is not clear from the posts whether you have hydraulic or cable.
The gearlever bush could be worn, as described, or it could just be the reverse stop plate needs moving a fraction. This is the bit of metal at the base of the gearlever, which stops the lever moving over into the reverse position unless released by raising the collar. If the linkage gets worn a bit then the lever can sometimes reach the stop, but first is still not quite aligned for easy engagement.
As a test, try lifting the reverse release collar and moving the lever a fraction more to the left and then engage first. If that works, move the stop plate a little bit.
Doing this adjustment will help to accommodate quite a lot of slack in the linkage. Obviously sorting it out properly will give a slicker feel, but it is not much fun trying to get at the bush on the top of the gearbox output shaft.