Hi All Newbie member here !


i Bought a 2002 1.8D mk6 Escort Van [ ex royal mail ] i always loved these wee vans just liked the look of them and they way they drove even the none turbos i actually preferred ! [ less the hassle ]
Anyways i bought it on Thursday i actually had it delivered from a fair distance about 200 miles and the friend who collected it for me said there seemed to be a problem with getting 1st and 2nd gear [ no crunching ] just refusing point blank to go into them almost as if they wernt there to begin with !
Now the van had been parked up for alomst a year out in the elements ! so ive done the usual i.e new coolant, oil, filters etc new battery and so on , but im now getting worried about this gearbox problem
I know nothing about this set up on the escort i.e the selector, pushrods, and gearbox ive never worked on the 1.8 D endura
i have tried to do a bit of research but just keep getting focus or fiesta comming up on google and nothing really listed here about gearbox problems so im at a complete loss !!!

so this is the problem in details

1. It wont go into 2nd gear at all
2. It will go into 1st but you have a hard time getting it in there
3. 3rd & 4th are ok but fairly stiff [ even when warm ]
4. 5th gear is grand as is reverse but again stiff

ive done the clutch adjustment [ 6mm allen bolt on pedal ] as biteing point was close to the floor .[ now its mid range and good n strong]
the gromets on the cluch cable by the box were the cable meets the pull rod are worn but not so much they would be causing this, ive added a few new washers to compinsate until i get a new cable.

i stripped back the gear stick housing in the cab to the extent the black box selector is exposed as is the ground ! just incase there was something stopping it from going all the way over .

so im now suspecting either the selector box itself? the gear linkage [ pushrods? ] gearbox oil ? or is it a fecked gearbox ?

could anyone shed any light on this or have they had the same problem and managed to get it sorted ?

also would anyone have any point to point how to on adjusting the linkage ? were it meets the gearbox ?

can the selector box be rebuilt or fixed if its the cause ?

ive tried to be as details as i can as i know from the past it can be quite annoying when someone gives vauge details in a question

but if ya need anymore infor please let me know

any help at all will be cherished ! and invaluable to me !

thanks for taking the time to read my rant n hope to hear from you all soon !