Car out of action!

chb

chb

Well-Known Member
Oh dear, car very poorly.
Drove to Birmingham yesterday. On way back noticed it was a little noisy in gear.
Set off today for work and the car sounds like a landrover with all the diffs locked in and driven at 100mph.
VERY noisy gearbox.
Car in for repair.
What are folks experience of gearbox troubles?
Car drives fine, gear change smooth, clutch OK, just lots of drive train noise.
Gearbox noisy even stationary and in neutral.

Any thoughts on cause?
 
Hi i would say clutch release bearing or pilot bearing/bush. As the noise is apparent in neutral i guess input shaft bearings are a possibility. I can't say i recall any fsi box issues. Hope you get it sorted and its a cheep fix. cheers mikee
 
chb said:
Oh dear, car very poorly.
Drove to Birmingham yesterday. On way back noticed it was a little noisy in gear.
Set off today for work and the car sounds like a landrover with all the diffs locked in and driven at 100mph.
VERY noisy gearbox.
Car in for repair.
What are folks experience of gearbox troubles?
Car drives fine, gear change smooth, clutch OK, just lots of drive train noise.
Gearbox noisy even stationary and in neutral.

Any thoughts on cause?
Click to expand...

When it is stationary with the engine running and in neutral the primary shaft in the gearbox is still spinning.

The noise should be much quieter with it in gear and the clutch depressed because the gearbox would be stationary.

If it is STILL noisy while in gear and the clutch depressed then it is not the gearbox.
If the noise varies when the clutch is depressed or not then it could be a clutch problem (release bearing or similar).

Steve B
 
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Steves description makes it sound like the primary shaft, or other gearbox foible.
Noise goes with clutch depressed. No massive difference in gear change or clutch action.

Any ideas on how big a job it is to repair?
(Car already in garage, but just wondered as gearboxes are not something I have ever messed with).
 
chb said:
Steves description makes it sound like the primary shaft, or other gearbox foible.
Noise goes with clutch depressed. No massive difference in gear change or clutch action.

Any ideas on how big a job it is to repair?
(Car already in garage, but just wondered as gearboxes are not something I have ever messed with).
Click to expand...

Not cheap unfortunately. If it is REALLY noisy then it could have damaged other parts and gearbox parts are not cheap.

I would consider looking at a good secondhand box perhaps, unless you have a friend in the garage that is going to work for low hourly rates.

If I was to say that you would be lucky to get away with less than £500+ for the whole job someone may disagree with that, but it is my best guess not knowing the extent of the damage.

Sorry

Steve B
 
Hi Conrad

Sorry to hear of your gearbox problem.

Last year my gearbox was replaced which appeared to be an uncommon repair from reactions to my post at the time.

I was driving at 60mph when there was a loss of power and a very loud clatter from the gearbox. Was unable to drive it and was recovered from the motorway.

Reason for the gearbox failure was 'starvation of oil within the gearbox unit'

Mine seemed a very short life span for the gearbox at the time (around 65000 miles) so I was very disappointed. At least yours would be older (both FSIs) !

Good Luck. Hope it's not too bad

Hilary
 
Thanks Hilary. Car in garage now, will probably get a new clutch at same time, and have asked them to check engine mountings and CV joints etc as the labour is minimal while its all in bits.

Being cheeky, but how much was a recon box? Where did you take it and do you know where the gearbox was from?
Taken mine to the same garage as did my injectors in 2012. Done 18000 miles since then and the engine is sweet (touch wood!).
 
Well I've just checked the bill from the gearbox repair which was July 2012

Took it to Aldersons Autos in Beeston, Leeds

Gearbox refurb was £520 plus 4.5 hours labour
Also had new clutch for the same reasons you are thinking

Total bill was a whopping £993!

I don't know where the gearbox was from but I'll find out tomorrow

Best of luck

Hilary
 
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Is there an easy to access point for topping up the gearbox oil and is it in the same place on all boxes?
It sounds like a worthwhile check.
 
Gearbox out and sent to specialists. From symptoms they are confident that its a fairly common VAG gearbox fault on one of the main bearings and that there hopefully wont be any wider damage. Gearbox still had oil in it when garage took it off.
With a new clutch too (old one is out and is worn nearly down to the grooves) I am looking at nearly £900. Still, clutch alone would have been probably £500 and at least I get a fully serviced and inspected gearbox out of it....heres to the next 108,000 miles!
Should have car back friday.
 
Just to update on this.
Car back and running better than ever. The clutch was previously harsh, and there was also some jerkiness in the transmission (ie when going on and off the gas). I had begun to think that the pendulum support or other engine mount was on its way out.
Basically, the engine mounts were fine, the gearbox had oil in it, the clutch was pretty worn (after 108000 miles) and had some play in the centre spline drive. The gearbox was a simple repair.
The main input shaft bearing had failed and was causing the noise, apparently its common on VAG group cars of this era.

The cars transmission is now utterly silent and clutch pick up is smooth and progressive.
My wallet is also easier to carry now as its £950 lighter (would have been a bit less but one of the water pipes also needed replacing as it shattered (age) while disassembling.

Really happy with the result. The cars gearbox started making a little noise over 12 months (15000 miles!) ago. Started off as a slight whirring audible in neutral.
When it failed last sunday, the noise was definitely not good and was a really loud whine.
So if your transmission is making noises in neutral then you might need to prepare for a bill!

Heres to the next 108000 miles!
 
The clutch that came off was branded Valeo, so they were the oem supplier in 2003. That might help someone choose what to fit if replacing.

The clutch fitted now is made by Luk.
 
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John L said:
Is there an easy to access point for topping up the gearbox oil and is it in the same place on all boxes?
It sounds like a worthwhile check.
Click to expand...

It is a worthwhile check John. There is lots of evidence on this forum of cars not having sufficient oil in the gearbox which can and does lead to issues.
To check and replace the oil is not difficult - be sure to loosen the filler nut first in case its seized and cannot be removed/replaced after you drain the oil.

blue skies
tony
 
There's probably less need to change the gearbox oil on a 1.2 as you get perfect gear changes every time. I've checked all three of our cars in the last year and all had oil as clean as new!

RAB
 
RAB said:
There's probably less need to change the gearbox oil on a 1.2 as you get perfect gear changes every time. I've checked all three of our cars in the last year and all had oil as clean as new!

RAB
Click to expand...

Possibly, but many gearbox problems are not caused by bad shifts, so I would still recommend a change of oil in a 1.2 occasionally too.

But your point is valid, the risk of wear caused by bad changes is reduced, but even an autochange doesn't always get it right, it could be part way through a change and you could accelerate or decelerate and confuse it slightly. It is not going to crunch gears ever (or at least it shouldn't) and so wear should be less as you say.

Steve B
 
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