I'm currently mulling over whether to change the connecting rivet on the gear Linkage. It's been stiff since I bought the Copen and while I can sort of live with it, the missus certainly won't and it's not ideal for downshifts (luckily the torque of the 1.3 minimises these). So do I bite the bullet and grind off the existing rivet/pin and replace it with a bolt asusggestedby my excellent local mechanic (and it's a kosher fix according to the service manual) I'm having the car fully Dinitroled soon so I guess it makes sense to do it before all that happens as grinding may compromise the under seal.
I have heard of some people replacing the rivet with a bolt and nut - it seems to work fine. My fix was to lube the linkage up with some white PTFE grease spray and it's good enough for me
Unfortunately lubricating it wasn't too successful as it's the back end pivot and the heat from the exhaust tightens it up. When it's cold it's quite acceptable but shifts from 3 to 2 in particular get a bit tricky when it's all warmed up. I reckon I may as well do it because at least there will be some future adjustment available if it's not quite right.
