Another one bites the dust....

[Nick Mann]

Is there anyone who doesn't know about my dodgy box yet?

It all started on friday, on the way down to Chippenham......

1st symptom:
We stopped for fuel on the M5, at Michael Wood services. (The fecking rip-off merchants!) On starting the car after fuelling, I thought the battery was giving up the ghost - it was turning the engine, but not fast enough to start it. I'm confused, as the engine is lovely and warm, and the battery has just had the best part of an hour at over 3000 rpm. I scratched my head, looked at the engine, scratched my head again, and then tried the ignition switch again. It started perfectly. Huh? Shrugging my shoulders, I dropped the bonnet and carried on down the motorway. Maybe this is unrelated, but my car has behaved very well recently and has been getting better and better since the MAP2 was installed.

2nd symptom:
15-20 minutes later, getting off the M4, I stopped at the top of the slip road. The car changed into first, but it took a while and then slammed in to gear. The next few gear changes were dodgy. I figured that sods law meant that the only fluid I hadn't checked before I set out was low, so I phoned Kieran to bring me a litre of ATF. The box felt exactly like there was not enough fluid in it.

3rd symptom:
Saturday morning. D-Day. On pulling out of the hotel, the gearbox was changing gear even worse. A few miles down the road and I got a flashing N and stuck in 3rd. A quick key off and back on again cleared that, but the gearchanges were still a bit wierd. One time in particular, the box changed down and it felt like I had got awesome engine braking. Like being in 2nd with the clutch engaged but the ignition turned off. I got to the back of the queue outside Combe, at which point the dash said the car had selected 1st, but had it buggery! No drive has been forthcoming since.

4th symptom:
On rolling the car backwards into my garage, it became apparent that every few inches the gearbox (or something else in the driveline?) is grabbing. It is like pushing a manual car that is in gear. The car was in N. Starting the engine again, there is no connection between it and the wheels, so how can the effect I'm feeling be turning the engine over?

I have a few ideas, and I will be updating this thread as I go along. If anyone feels they have some useful info, please speak up!

[Nick Mann]

My first plan of action is to try and measure the hydraulic pressures in the box before I start dismantling. The Auto Gearbox manual in the library has some interesting and hopefully useful info. Certainly, the pressure reading points on the VR4 box appear to be the same layout as the V6.

My initial problem here is that I need a pipe nipple or hose connector with a male M8 thread. Everyone here seems to use BSP still! Does anyone know of a good quick source of metric/bsp convertors or metric hose connectors?

[ANTHONY]

Does anyone know of a good quick source of metric/bsp convertors or metric hose connectors?

try a good plumbing shop

[psbarham]

any company that does hydraulic fittings will have them, someone like pirtek or designation, failing that a farm machinery dealers may have something

edited to add

http://www.pirtek.co.uk/service_cent...php?site_id=60

[Nick Mann]

Tony - trust me, I have tried several good pipe fitting shops! Even the pipe fitter at work is stumped!

psb - we use Pirtek at work - I'll find out!

[bradc]

I think one of these would fix it.

[richy rich]

How about a bango and brake pipe should be able to make your self something up that way.

[pitslayer]

how will playing a banjo with brake pipe help here

pirtek are pretty good for fittings, but the best banjo i have ever seen made was for a twin 40 DCNF webber which snapped off, was made out of a bolt, lathed down in a garage, head cut off it, bored out, was very cool to see

[Kieran]

....On rolling the car backwards into my garage, it became apparent that every few inches the gearbox (or something else in the driveline?) is grabbing....

Aaaaah... That explains the odd sensation I could feel in my GLS as I towed you in - There was an 'oscilating' feeling as I towed you - Almost like you were rapidly, but very lightly touching the brakes. At the time I just put it down to the rope being a little bit elastic because of the weight.

Hmmm.....

[Mark 4]

Nick, try here and let me know if they have what you need.

http://www.tom-parker.co.uk/index.php?v=1&recall=true&

[richy rich]

exact engineering might be able help.

[Kieran]

The other place I can think of is Think Automotive:

http://www.thinkauto.com/

[pezza]

I would echo exact engineering too... (These guys provided the brake hoses in a group buy ... I think)

Sorry to hear about your woes Nick...Like you say, when the car is running too well it's only a matter of time

That slamming into gear brings a sickening feeling to your stomach when you start to think what the worst case scenario could be... Draining the ATF fluid may confirm a shafted box. The discharge was grey/green from the clutch material, with metal flecks... I think that when the gearbox was pulled apart I think some sort of broken linkage may have broken. May car should shift very hard from 1st to 2nd then up to third normally, before the flashing N light. Slowing down it would shift back to 1st almost locking the wheels!

The 4th symptom you mention is what I encountered when my diff was shot, and it was almost impossible to push from rest for, what seemed like, once every complete wheel revolution. I could also hear a click/clunk when pushing past that sticky point. Am guessing that a defective box could cause a similar experience tho if the gearbox was still engaged in gear somehow.

I hope you manage to find out what the issue is very soon mate and then get the car back on the road..

[White Lightning]

Hmm ... reading Pezza's post makes me wonder whether the problem is not the gearbox at all (as the ECU seems happy) but in fact is something drive related like the transfer box? Does the drive for all four wheels come from the transfer box? I can't remember ...

[Nutter_John]

Yeah you output shaft goes from the Gbox into the xfer box then that goes to the front dff and rear diff , so a feck xfer box would give symptoms that have been described . when you select gear does the speedo go up as it is drive off you output shaft if it does then it will be your xfer box , if not then you could have a fecked box

[White Lightning]

I remember Andy asking the same question on Saturday. Nick said that the speedo does not move ... so I guess that points the finger at the gearbox again.

[Paul Beazer]

You and gearboxes Nick, i dont know!

Sorry to see this and hope you get it fixed easily and cheaply (well you never know!)

[Nutter_John]

yep unless the output shaft has been striped and the speedo sensor has no way of telling what it is doing , until the xfer box is removed

[Louis]

The stuck in third and flashing N is safe mode (which I guess you know,, but for the benefit of others reading this), I had this and switched of and then on again and it was ok and then harsh changes and then flashing N and staying in third again, it turned out to be one of the Gearbox sensors, there are 3 in there, and my top one had failed.
K mentioned about towing? how far and for how long?

[Nick Mann]

It was towed for 200 yards and 2 minutes! In N with the engine running. I am not worried about that. Yeah, I knw about the flashing N thing. The one thing I did wrong was to reset the ECU to try and clear the fault before I read the code. Now there is no code and no problem being found!

It is definitely the gearbox, as the speedo does nothing.

Pezz - good info! Draining the fluid is next on the list if I can't find a way of checking pressures.