Common faults to look out for?

[Jinxd]

Hi
I have been searching for a Galant estate for my daily runner. I have been advised by people on here to go for a manual V6.
However, I have recently discovered that they tend to get gearbox problems.
Is this common?
My partner and I are quite gutted, as he was also considering getting a saloon to add to our family.
Please advise?!
Thanx in advance

[elnevio]

The manual gearboxes themselves are pretty solid, and it's only items at the periphery that may cause issues - gearstick linkage breakage and input shaft bearing (or whatever it is, I can't remember exactly!!) - but even this is relatively rare. The autos are reliable if looked after, although the torque converter seal can go (though once replaced, should never need it again!) which is a lengthy job to replace.

[Jinxd]

I rang up about a 2.5L V6 yesterday which looked really lovely in the photos. But when I rang him up he said that it has a noisy gearbox.
A friend of mine had a saloon but has had to scrap it cos the gearbox went, with a quote of £2K to replace it!!

A few people on here seem to agree that manuals get alot of problems? I realise all cars can have problems, but I don't want to buy a car and face pricey problems with it.

Thanx for your help and advice, it is much appreciated!

[Rambaud]

I use my Tiptronic gearbox like a manual most of the time.

Mine has done just under 146,000 miles and the changes are still excellent.

[Jinxd]

Rambaud, what do you get out of yours on average, mpg wise?

[Rambaud]

Rambaud, what do you get out of yours on average, mpg wise?

It depends.

My overall average is ~ 33 m.p.g.

This increases to over 40 m.p.g. on a long run, and ~ 30 m.p.g. around town.

However, it got new plugs, air filter and fuel filter a few days ago (the old ones had not been changed for over 2 years). So it should show an improvement.

[Jinxd]

That's alot better than I thought.
I really love to drive, and have always thought that autos/semi autos would take the fun away?

[elnevio]

The tip boxes on the INVECS-II equipped cars are rather more than your average auto. Recommended - especially if you have the occasional bit of queuing to do!

[mesobitchy]

i got a manual v6 with a knackered box, jsut replaced the bearings an it was good as new!
driven them down on the price

[Subaru ETA]

I rang up about a 2.5L V6 yesterday which looked really lovely in the photos. But when I rang him up he said that it has a noisy gearbox.
A friend of mine had a saloon but has had to scrap it cos the gearbox went, with a quote of £2K to replace it!!

A few people on here seem to agree that manuals get alot of problems? I realise all cars can have problems, but I don't want to buy a car and face pricey problems with it.

Thanx for your help and advice, it is much appreciated!

who told you that load of rubishh? yes the input shaft bearing can bcome noisey and fall apart but we have only seen that on the vr4 on a couple of occasions (which can happen to any car might i add) and the backet that holds the selector cable on top of the gear box can fail - which can be fixed with a nut and bolt!

[pitslayer]

I had one Galant that did kill its gearbox a few times, that was due to a bad repair
Bearings went got them replaced
Gearbox through something out the case
Gearbox fixed again then blew up again
Most of it was done to a bad garage who then wouldnt take any responibilty for messing it up, got the gearbox replaced, was fine, admitdly it was the wrong box the ratios were out on it.

Other manual I had was superb, sold it with 122k on the clock not a hint of trouble with the gearbox

Galants are getting on a bit now, so first things I would check is play in the steering rack, not a costly fix, just the rack ends have worn out, rack ends and new track rod ends are about £90 all in, then just fitting and tracking

Brakes, watch out for judder on them, if they do its going to need one of 2 things doing, new discs and pads, or a new vacuum hose on the servo, now regardless of what people say, they disc dont warp, they feel like the surface has warped, but they arent, they have just go to hot, usual problem is people sitting in traffic with there foot on the brake.

Rust- Unfortunatly they do suffer from rust, usual place is the rear arches, check the rear arches are in really good condition, give them a good pull etc and check they are good.... Other rust that I have come across on Galants, is strut tops can go, but very rare, only seen 1 or 2 cases of this, the other place is the front cross member under the bonnet.

the V624v is the best one to go for, even if its just for the noise they make, coming from 2 V624v's to a VR4 the one thing I miss the is the noise that V6 makes without turbos. Other things to remember, these cars are getting on a bit, and whilst they were a relativly expensive car new (£30k or so iirc) they depreciated very quickly, so some have been used as cheap hacks, so service history can be lost or missing, could be unserviced.... If the car looks rough, walk away from it

[Jinxd]

Pitslayer - thank you for your help. It is tricky to know what to do. I will keep my eyes open though. Thanx again for your advice

[pitslayer]

Easiest thing to do with these cars is buy with the head, not the heart... By that I dont mean they are problematic, its just that like all cars ever made there are some dogs out there, but unlike most cars the Galants hide there dog status quite well, because they just look so good and drive so well, that you can miss out on things.

[sonicsoundzdj]

iv got a manual with fairly high milage and havent had any problems yet. in my reserch before buying a galant i did read that the auto gearbox can f*ck up soemtimes, so the manual would be a better choice.

[MarkSanne]

The manual V6 (N/A) gearbox in my VR2 has got over 240.000km on it. Needed some new parts some time ago. From my point of view the gearbox is very very good, considering it was not designed to handle the power that the VR4 engine that is now coupled to it produces. Yet it holds very good! Make sure to use correct gearbox oil and it'll last.

[pitslayer]

Bear in mind my gearbox failed twice due it being poorly rebuilt by a crap company, not a Mitsi fault.
Poorly serviced by p/o
Used to drag a caravan
Clutch went we bought
Gearbox bearings started to get noisy aswell
New clutch
Gearbox sent off for rebuild
Gearbox fine for 2 months blows hole in side of case
Gearbox fixed again
Gearbox drops all a bearing and makes horrid noises