Gear Cables woes

Rickshaw · 6th October 2021, 11:36

At local breakers yesterday was a diesel 75 with totally loose gear stick - wobbled any way you like. I was told it was a low mileage car. SO , are gear cables something known to fail often or on rare occasions ? Appreciate views on this.
My second point is one of real anger - here is why. This car was immaculate , like new outside , inside , under the bonnet etc. Staff mentioned this and that it was low mileage with an engine that ran very smoothly. Why was it there I asked. Because the garage told the owner that the gear cables had broken and they could no longer be obtained - so owner scrapped it. A quick look on Google shows this as nonsense :-
• DMGRS sell new ones
• On EBay these - and associated parts - are available
I was rather angry yesterday. Perhaps the garage had more interest in selling a new car than bothering to look after their customers interests properly. The garage is somewhere in Sussex I think.
Wanted to vent my anger. Grrrrr !

DMGRS · 6th October 2021, 13:32

Early gear cables are indeed hard to find - but the little-known secret seems to be that you can fit the later type if you swap the selector mechanism (the bit under the knob itself) too.

Not a hard job, and we now recommend owners of early cars find a selector mechanism from a breaker, then complement with a set of our cables.

macafee2 · 6th October 2021, 15:58

At the gearbox end of the cables is a spring clip, these can snap so if there, take them as I have a feeling they are no longer available as a separate item.

macafee2

Rickshaw · 6th October 2021, 20:21

Advice re contacting a breaker to acquire updated version of the selector unit BUT can anyone (DMGRS?) suggest a date or car serial number onwards frm when the updated version will be found. My cars are from 2002 and I would guess this makes them 'old' selector unit?
Observations most welcome

Rickshaw · 7th October 2021, 11:06

Excellent thread in Nov 2020 by Blink , who had broken Gear cable and sought to replace . He purchased cables from EBay after taking advice from Daveluck who had fitted them in 2016 with success. Blink's thread does not seem to end with him reporting that he did manage to install and his car now working fine.
Does anyone know??
I tried to PM Blink but system says his PM inbox is full and cannot accept any more input!
His thread is , however , very informative.

planenut · 7th October 2021, 12:58

To replace the cables is not straightforward but I'm no mechanic but succeeded. The information on this site proved invaluable, and I got a good set from eBay.

Garages will be pursuing profit which is more than cables cost.

In fact, the one I did the work on was sold because of the cable fault.

6th October 2021, 11:36	#1
Rickshaw Loves to post Rover 75 Tourer, 2 X75 Saloon , MGTF Sunstorm Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Guildford Posts: 380 Thanks: 497 Thanked 172 Times in 93 Posts	Gear Cables woes At local breakers yesterday was a diesel 75 with totally loose gear stick - wobbled any way you like. I was told it was a low mileage car. SO , are gear cables something known to fail often or on rare occasions ? Appreciate views on this. My second point is one of real anger - here is why. This car was immaculate , like new outside , inside , under the bonnet etc. Staff mentioned this and that it was low mileage with an engine that ran very smoothly. Why was it there I asked. Because the garage told the owner that the gear cables had broken and they could no longer be obtained - so owner scrapped it. A quick look on Google shows this as nonsense :- • DMGRS sell new ones • On EBay these - and associated parts - are available I was rather angry yesterday. Perhaps the garage had more interest in selling a new car than bothering to look after their customers interests properly. The garage is somewhere in Sussex I think. Wanted to vent my anger. Grrrrr !

6th October 2021, 13:32	#2
DMGRS Discount MG Rover Spares Rover 75 CDTi, 2x MG ZS180 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Hythe, Southampton Posts: 11,320 Thanks: 456 Thanked 3,377 Times in 2,027 Posts	Early gear cables are indeed hard to find - but the little-known secret seems to be that you can fit the later type if you swap the selector mechanism (the bit under the knob itself) too. Not a hard job, and we now recommend owners of early cars find a selector mechanism from a breaker, then complement with a set of our cables. __________________ Your trusted MG Rover specialist! Tel: 02380 001133 / Email: [email protected] We now have a 'chat' function on our site for even quicker replies. Give it a try! Remember - discount code FORUM5 for 5% off

6th October 2021, 20:21	#4
Rickshaw Loves to post Rover 75 Tourer, 2 X75 Saloon , MGTF Sunstorm Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Guildford Posts: 380 Thanks: 497 Thanked 172 Times in 93 Posts	Re DMGRS observations Advice re contacting a breaker to acquire updated version of the selector unit BUT can anyone (DMGRS?) suggest a date or car serial number onwards frm when the updated version will be found. My cars are from 2002 and I would guess this makes them 'old' selector unit? Observations most welcome

7th October 2021, 11:06	#5
Rickshaw Loves to post Rover 75 Tourer, 2 X75 Saloon , MGTF Sunstorm Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Guildford Posts: 380 Thanks: 497 Thanked 172 Times in 93 Posts	Is BLINK still around ? Excellent thread in Nov 2020 by Blink , who had broken Gear cable and sought to replace . He purchased cables from EBay after taking advice from Daveluck who had fitted them in 2016 with success. Blink's thread does not seem to end with him reporting that he did manage to install and his car now working fine. Does anyone know?? I tried to PM Blink but system says his PM inbox is full and cannot accept any more input! His thread is , however , very informative.

7th October 2021, 12:58	#6
planenut Regional Secretary Rover 1.8T Tourer Join Date: May 2007 Location: Heathrow Posts: 6,955 Thanks: 1,551 Thanked 2,036 Times in 1,264 Posts	To replace the cables is not straightforward but I'm no mechanic but succeeded. The information on this site proved invaluable, and I got a good set from eBay. Garages will be pursuing profit which is more than cables cost. In fact, the one I did the work on was sold because of the cable fault. Last edited by planenut; 7th October 2021 at 13:00..

6th October 2021, 15:58	#3
macafee2 This is my second home Rover 75 Saloon & Tourer Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Lincoln Posts: 14,929 Thanks: 1,630 Thanked 3,032 Times in 2,181 Posts	At the gearbox end of the cables is a spring clip, these can snap so if there, take them as I have a feeling they are no longer available as a separate item. macafee2