c3 gearbox weight???

[Patt]

Hi, my recently aquired C3 1.4 lx seems to have a large iron weight on top of the gearbox .This would give inertia to the linkage when engaging or disengaging gears.
Is it really necessary, can I remove it or what? Perhaps some enlightened owner could explain. It is a mystery to me.
Thanks all.

[HDI]

Not quite sure if what you are describing is on the gear linkage or on a mounting ? It's very typical on a mounting to damp vibration at a certain frequency that would have been discovered during the NVH testing process.

[Patt]

Hi , actually it is pivoted on the top of the gearbox at the back and linked to the gear mechanism by a short ball jointed rod. This may explain why the 4-5 change is sometimes awkward as the lever wants to find 3rd gear.

[HDI]

In that case it may be there to damp vibration in the gear linkage or to add some feel to the gear lever. Try some spray grease to ease any friction that may be there.

[Lighty]

If you take it off, the gear change will be noticeably poor, had a few in that broke and it makes a fair bit of difference.

[Patt]

Thanks for the replies. I was just curious about it as I'd never seen this before. Just can't work out what it does!

[Patt]

Just an update to my last post, the removal of this weight has transformed the car! The heavy, dead feeling has gone, you can feel the gears properly, the lever is much responsive and the difficulty when changing from 4 to 5 (it wanted to go to 3rd) has vanished.
Considering the effort Citroen has made to design and fit this device, I'm just bewildered! Maybe I should have "left well alone", but it's better like this.
Perhaps a Citroen engineer could explain.