Jon_Doe
16th March 2007, 13:26
Ok, so i have been watching a few threads go by on here re@gearbox noises.
Mine whined really badly and got progressivly worse- at the first opportunity it was put to rest and the reading began! Thanks to all the posts that helped me out and apologies if this repeats an identical thread.
This is quite a long post, in short, if you have gear noises but havnt sorted it yet this should be the first thing to do, it will cost £8 if you already have a ratchet set and is EASY (i can do it). I read loads of posts and got worried but it turned out to be gearbox oil level- it will need the leak sorted but no need for a new gearbox yet!
A few threads said different things, but some advise did crop up- check your gearbox oil level.
----
I am guessing at this point that some people dont actually get round to doing this. the haynes manual (as my Cosworth friend says the book of big lies) tells you where the filler plug is. I couldnt see it, so i dismantled the battery tray to see if it was easier from above- no.
ITS ACTUALLY QUITE EASY! This is a step by step guide which would have helped me as i am a novice and despite being told where this filler thing was I could not see it...
Jack up car (put a jack stand in there as well), take off wheel, use a flat headed screwdriver to unpop the two plastic things which are just forward of the wheel and fold back the plastic- that big lump facing you is the gearbox.
Look around- there are 2 square holes, one is right at the bottom the other is half way round towards the front of the engine only about half way up this lump (you would expect it to be on top being a filler point).
Now, if you havnt got gearbox oil or the 8mm square thing to undo the filler thing get in your time machine (as your car is jacked up missing one wheel with a noisy gearbox) and go to the halfords super store where they sell a 3/8" 8mm square drain plug thing for your ratchet set (you may need an adaptor- i only have a 1/2" drive ratchet set and a 1/4" set).
Once back out of your time machine (a mates car will do as long as they havnt been drinking) get that square ratchet out and take the plug out.
***My gearbox had made a kind of crunchy noise when accelerating and also was fairly noisy when idling with the clutch up- a friend told me this was a clutch bearing. A few journeys later the gearbox sounded like the sound you would get from reverse but also in first***
You may find that the bottom of the gearbox is oily- if so then this confirms you are losing gearbox oil and it should be no suprise to find that you can get plenty of oil into the filler hole.
The gearbox oil comes in a container with an extendable nozzle to make this job easy.
You are meant to fill the car when it is level to get the correct amount in.. which is when the level meets the bottom of the filler hole i.e. you cant get any more in (this is a horizontal hole)- personally i left the car jacked as the angle wasnt too much and i could only overfill rather than underfill. turns out i got the whole 1 litre in there!!!
plug back in, wheel back on and took it for a drive up and down the hill. The noises have all gone for the moment- i suspect i should take the car in for some seals to stop the oil coming back out again but for the moment it has solved the problem...
How long will it last before needing a refil or seals?
When i got the car it was already slightly noisy in gear with the clutch up with that (wrongly) suspected clutch bearing. I then did around 800 miles and it had only started making the proper "YOU CAN HEAR THE F***ING GEARS" noises on the last short journey i made. It would have been better if i had done this earlier, however was making noise when i got it- so in my particular case (you may be losing oil faster than me) it would be good to repeat this process in 500 miles but ok before 800 miles (however better just to get the seals done as you could risk very high wear- which mine probably suffered).
Mine whined really badly and got progressivly worse- at the first opportunity it was put to rest and the reading began! Thanks to all the posts that helped me out and apologies if this repeats an identical thread.
This is quite a long post, in short, if you have gear noises but havnt sorted it yet this should be the first thing to do, it will cost £8 if you already have a ratchet set and is EASY (i can do it). I read loads of posts and got worried but it turned out to be gearbox oil level- it will need the leak sorted but no need for a new gearbox yet!
A few threads said different things, but some advise did crop up- check your gearbox oil level.
----
I am guessing at this point that some people dont actually get round to doing this. the haynes manual (as my Cosworth friend says the book of big lies) tells you where the filler plug is. I couldnt see it, so i dismantled the battery tray to see if it was easier from above- no.
ITS ACTUALLY QUITE EASY! This is a step by step guide which would have helped me as i am a novice and despite being told where this filler thing was I could not see it...
Jack up car (put a jack stand in there as well), take off wheel, use a flat headed screwdriver to unpop the two plastic things which are just forward of the wheel and fold back the plastic- that big lump facing you is the gearbox.
Look around- there are 2 square holes, one is right at the bottom the other is half way round towards the front of the engine only about half way up this lump (you would expect it to be on top being a filler point).
Now, if you havnt got gearbox oil or the 8mm square thing to undo the filler thing get in your time machine (as your car is jacked up missing one wheel with a noisy gearbox) and go to the halfords super store where they sell a 3/8" 8mm square drain plug thing for your ratchet set (you may need an adaptor- i only have a 1/2" drive ratchet set and a 1/4" set).
Once back out of your time machine (a mates car will do as long as they havnt been drinking) get that square ratchet out and take the plug out.
***My gearbox had made a kind of crunchy noise when accelerating and also was fairly noisy when idling with the clutch up- a friend told me this was a clutch bearing. A few journeys later the gearbox sounded like the sound you would get from reverse but also in first***
You may find that the bottom of the gearbox is oily- if so then this confirms you are losing gearbox oil and it should be no suprise to find that you can get plenty of oil into the filler hole.
The gearbox oil comes in a container with an extendable nozzle to make this job easy.
You are meant to fill the car when it is level to get the correct amount in.. which is when the level meets the bottom of the filler hole i.e. you cant get any more in (this is a horizontal hole)- personally i left the car jacked as the angle wasnt too much and i could only overfill rather than underfill. turns out i got the whole 1 litre in there!!!
plug back in, wheel back on and took it for a drive up and down the hill. The noises have all gone for the moment- i suspect i should take the car in for some seals to stop the oil coming back out again but for the moment it has solved the problem...
How long will it last before needing a refil or seals?
When i got the car it was already slightly noisy in gear with the clutch up with that (wrongly) suspected clutch bearing. I then did around 800 miles and it had only started making the proper "YOU CAN HEAR THE F***ING GEARS" noises on the last short journey i made. It would have been better if i had done this earlier, however was making noise when i got it- so in my particular case (you may be losing oil faster than me) it would be good to repeat this process in 500 miles but ok before 800 miles (however better just to get the seals done as you could risk very high wear- which mine probably suffered).