Basic Symptoms of a Failed Gear Selector Bushing in Your Land Rover

Your Land Rover is designed to easily shift between one gear to another. This can provide a smooth ride when you are on the road. When you want to change gears to go faster or slower, the gear selector bushing will make this happen.

Over time though, the gear selector will stop working and it becomes more difficult for you to change gears in your Land Rover. Let’s dive deeper into this problem and look at some causes, signs, and solutions.

Why is the Gear Selector Bushing Important?

After you place the keys into the ignition of the Land Rover and get the vehicle started, you will need to use the shift selector cable. This cable is responsible for placing the Land Rover in the proper gear. These gears tell the car what you want it to do. No matter what gear you want to be in, the little gear selector bushing will control all of that.

To make sure that the shifter can respond to the commands you give, the bushing component needs to work too. This little part is found right at the foundation of the shifter and will give the shifter the smooth responsiveness that you want.

When it works well, the car will shift gears any time you want with no problems. When the gear selector bushing fails, shifting can be rough and jerky.

Symptoms of a Faulty Gear Selector Bushing

You should take a look for a few common symptoms of the gear selecting bushing that has failed. Some of the most common symptoms include those below.

Grinding Noise

If you start to notice a slight grinding sound in the transmission, it could be caused by clashing gears. Linkage problems sometimes cause this clashing too. When the clashing gears happen when you downshift, the issue is more likely to be due to a synchronizer that is worn down or too much pressure on the shaft end.

Odd Thumping, Squealing, and Bumping

When the car starts to make some noise due to a shift in the linkage, this could be a sign of insufficient oil. The internal assembly gears may hum or whir when there is not enough oil. Damaged gears, including the gear selector bushing, can make lots of loud sounds inside the transmission. You should always check for a loose transmission mount, bad gears, or a damaged engine if you hear thumping sounds in the car.

The Car Does Not Get Into Gear

There are times when the main problem is the transmission not getting into the right gear. You should check into the gear selector bushing to see whether it has become loose or has some damage.

All you may need is a few adjustments to make the problem better. The clutch is sometimes the cause of the failure with getting into gear so have a mechanic check both of these issues to see which one can fix it.

The Car Gets Stuck in One Gear

You may notice a problem with the gear selector bushing when the transmission gets stuck in one gear. This is indicative of several problems including worn-out drive gear teeth, shaft rail problem, or a linkage assembly issue.

Difficulties in Shifting Gears

Another symptom you may notice of a bad gear selector bushing is that it is really hard to shift any of the gears. You may find that while driving it is really hard to move the shift lever to make it to another gear at all. This can be dangerous while you are on the road because you will not be able to speed up or slow down at all. You can check the shift linkage to see whether there are any components misaligned or if there is a shortage of oil that are causing the issue.

Cerrone’s European for your Land Rover

At Cerrone’s European in Redwood City, CA, we are happy to provide you with all of the car repair needs on your Land Rover. Our trusted mechanics are here to take a look at your Land Rover and make all the necessary repairs to get your vehicle running smoothly again. Contact us today to set up your appointment. We look forward to seeing you soon and earning your repeat business.