Gears grind in first and second

Dopey

I got the car serviced at the weekend and the mechanic pointed out that there is a noise coming from the gearbox. I had noticed it but didn't think it was anything sinister.

He reckons it's on the way out. He said it could last for weeks or months. He suggested a 2nd hand replacement. He's going to look for a replacement.

Anybody have any experience of this? The car is a 98. I was half thinking of trading it in.

Atomic Pineapple

what kind of car is it?

Dopey

It's a 98 Almera saloon. 85,000 miles on the clock. It's not worth much but the mechanic said that everything else seemed to be in good working order.

He said that a second hand gearbox replacement shouldn't cost more that 700 Euro fitted. He hadn't priced them though and thought that it might be hard to get one.

milltown

That'll be the 1st and 2nd gear synchro that's going. As your mechanic said, it could last a long time yet. When it does go it'll be a gearbox stripdown job so you'll be looking at a few hundred quid. No reason to presume that a second hand one will be much better than your own. Synchros most often go due to ham fisted learner driving so I'll hazard a guess that it's a small car. If so, and a '98 you'll have to ask yourself if it's worth enough to warrant spending €500+ on gearbox repairs.

My mother's Citroen AX 1.0, that I and others learned to drive in, had the 1st gear side of the synchro on it's way out as long as we had the car and it still worked well enough when we got rid of the car after >2 years.

Edit: €700? That's even more of a thinker so!

Dopey

Cheers Milltown. It might last for a while yet then.

The last time we got it serviced (12 months ago) the mechanic said that the gear box oil was very low in it. It was a different mechanic. I had forgotten about it until the gearbox problem was mentioned.

milltown

I presume the guy topped it up 12 months ago?

Dopey

He said that he did but I wonder if it was overlooked in the previous service.

So you think that a replacement gear box is not necessary, a repair may solve the problem?

milltown

I'm not too well up on current labour and part prices but both procedures involve a gearbox removal and refitting. The cost of a second hand gearbox might be very similar to the cost of repairing your own. Unless the replacement 'box is a reconditioned one you don't really know what you're getting. Talk to a gearbox specialist about both options if you want it sorted.

If it was me, I'd just wait and see. If you can live with it for now, and the prices do turn out to be much the same, it's not going to save you any money getting it done sooner rather than later.

I presume the clutch is properly adjusted.

crosstownk

milltown wrote: »

If it was me, I'd just wait and see.

Yeah, me too.

milltown wrote:

I presume the clutch is properly adjusted.

Well worth investigating the clutch - just in case is showing signs of wear. Have you any hassle when selecting reverse?