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MG MGF Technical - Exessive gear stick play

Hi Hope i can get help with this. I have a MGF p reg with 83000 on the clock. My gear stick has exessive play and find it dificult to select gears at times. Is this due to cable stretch or the V shaped connector that comes off the gearbox. Many thanks to anyone who can help me with this problem.
C W Hewins

Can be due to cable stretch, to worn and failing bushes at the cable ends (they tend to fall apart eventually at the gearbox end), and also due to excessive wear at the gearlever yokes.

What you do about it depends on your budget. MGF specialists are well versed at making significant improvements - with Techspeed near Leamington Spa and Mike Satur in Yorkshire having particular expertise in this area. Indeed, Mike's solution involves replacing the gear lever mechanism completely as part of his Quick Shift kit (which is also available as a DIY fitment). Techspeed's solution involves rebuilding what's already there, and results in a very positive gear change - which is what I have on my car (now for going on for 10 years). It's brilliant.
Rob Bell

And the more dyed-in-the-wool type DIYer has been known to simply take a hacksaw to the gearlever shaft to mask the looseness...

Has it deteriorated over a long period or a recent appearance? Worth having a look under the car to inspect the outer sheath mounting points of each cable, if not firmly clamped in place the input from the lever will pick up some 'vagueness' by the time it gets to the crank assembly. The rose joints on the end of each cable are prone to wear, being in the ideal place to pick up bits of grit etc which shortens the life of the plastic innards.
bandit

Very likely the joints at the rear end of the cables. I had one go which made the bottom of the gearstick hit the side of the tunnel with a loud clang whenever I was a bit rough selecting reverse. Much better when replaced.
Mike Cunningham

This thread was discussed on 13/05/2010

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