help think my gearbox has gone

2nd January 2013, 13:03

hiya I have just boat a saxo vtr and yesterday when I was driving home there was a a bang and a crunch and then when you put it in gear and bring the clutch out it doesn'tdrive it just makes a griding noise can anyone help me or no what to check thanks

2nd January 2013, 13:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaxoVtr20

hiya I have just boat a saxo vtr and yesterday when I was driving home there was a a bang and a crunch and then when you put it in gear and bring the clutch out it doesn'tdrive it just makes a griding noise can anyone help me or no what to check thanks

Like so?

On a serious note, welcome

Sounds like a clutch issue of some kind. Does it go in gear when the engine is off?

2nd January 2013, 13:35

Yeah it goes in to gear fine it is just went you let the clutch out it makes the grinding noise not to sure when it is don't want to buy the wrong thing and being stuck with it

2nd January 2013, 14:01

I'm a little confused.
Engine off, goes in to all gears fine, clutch feels fine.
Engine running, in neutral, does it go in gear?

2nd January 2013, 14:18

Engine on and off it goes in to all gears fine but when in gear and you let the clutch out it starts grinding and won't drive

2nd January 2013, 14:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaxoVtr20

Engine on and off it goes in to all gears fine but when in gear and you let the clutch out it starts grinding and won't drive

So with engine running and in nutural, you can engage clutch, select first gear (or any gear) and you get it in gear ok, but when releasing the clutch it grinds. That right? If so, sounds like a knackered box/layshaft imo. There's better experts out there than me (my gearbox knowledge is limited to say the least) - wait a little longer fella and hopefully someone will chime in to assist

2nd January 2013, 15:11

sounds more like a clutch issue to me, although you might need to make it abit clearer as to what its actually doing.lol

2nd January 2013, 15:21

Erm, dumb question, it hasn't blown a drive shaft/cv has it? Easy way to tell, get under the car and try and move the shafts up and down, and side to side (not in/out). If it moves more than a mm or 2 the cv's are bolloxed.

Other than that, I would suspect blown diff or blown shaft in the box.

2nd January 2013, 15:29

blown diff is a good shout indeed. Would select/deselect gears fine but would grind when coming of the clutch. As I understand the OP's symptoms, this is what he's getting

2nd January 2013, 15:45

Ross, that's how i read it as well. The reason I said check the shafts is that I was wondering whether it could have shredded the splines at the diff end, or sheared the CV bearing ears off. Plus, a bang followed by crunch crunch noise doesn't sound quite right for a blown diff.

OP: what was the car doing when it went bang? Accelerating/braking (hard/soft)? Cornering with power on? Something else?

Was the loss of drive instant, or did it keep trying and then stop? Have you had a look under the car to see if there's anything obviously wrong (like chunks of gearbox missing)?

2nd January 2013, 16:04

My first thoughts were that it sounds driveshaft related. As above have you checked under the car to see if there is any noticable damage?

2nd January 2013, 19:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by mechsman

Ross, that's how i read it as well. The reason I said check the shafts is that I was wondering whether it could have shredded the splines at the diff end, or sheared the CV bearing ears off. Plus, a bang followed by crunch crunch noise doesn't sound quite right for a blown diff.

OP: what was the car doing when it went bang? Accelerating/braking (hard/soft)? Cornering with power on? Something else?

Was the loss of drive instant, or did it keep trying and then stop? Have you had a look under the car to see if there's anything obviously wrong (like chunks of gearbox missing)?

The car was driving normally (as my gf was driving it ) and I will check all the cv joints and thing in the morning but just bought a full working car for 100 so it will are be sortestomozz I hope will keep you all updated thanks for all the help

2nd January 2013, 20:49

Op, might just be worth asking your gf what the car was doing. If it went bang under acceleration then that would point to the diff or the shafts. If it went under braking then it might be something else.

Either way, have a peek underneath and see if there's anything obviously wrong, and go from there. From the symptoms you've described I would suspect a blown diff. The good news is that you can use any of the MA code boxes (106, saxo, ax, etc etc) to replace it.

2nd January 2013, 21:00

Is it the same diff on the 1.1 coz that is what I have bought for the box and things

2nd January 2013, 21:05

that photo actually made me laugh so much

2nd January 2013, 22:21

The diff itself is not the same between the vtr and the 1.1 box I don't think. You can however use the 1.1 gearbox as a complete unit, in place of your vtr box. However, be aware that the 1.1 box has much shorter ratios overall than the vtr box, so it will feel different to drive to start with.

To fit the new box I would advise renewing the drive shaft seals (search for citreon ax ones on ebay, they are better) and inspecting the clutch. If the clutch is even half worn you might as well change that as well as they're cheap enough.

2nd January 2013, 23:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oli-VTR

that photo actually made me laugh so much

Thank fuck for that someone laughed. Lost like ... 5 minutes of my life making that photo. I can rest knowing at least someone else other than me found it funny

3rd January 2013, 22:59

I had same problem it was the gearbox tht was goosed

3rd January 2013, 23:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ross

Thank fuck for that someone laughed. Lost like ... 5 minutes of my life making that photo. I can rest knowing at least someone else other than me found it funny

funny but shamefull it has a saxp sticker in it

4th January 2013, 00:33

Well tonight I stripped the gearbox out the other car I bought and when I got mine on the ramp it looks like it is the driveshaft that has gone because there is a lot of play (up and down) and it is not spinning just makin the grinding noise and the driveshaft was the one thing I didn't have so yet again back to the scrappy in the morning will keep you all up dated thanks for all the help and tips guys

4th January 2013, 09:03

Sounds like it may have demolished a cv joint then. Does the cup on the gearbox end spin but the motion not transfer to the shaft?

Which shaft is it, the long drivers side one or the short passenger one? If it's the drivers side, is the play in the bit between the box and the engine mounting bracket, or in the engine bracket to hub bit of the shaft?

Tip, use pug oem gearbox oil when you refill it. The boxes can be very picky about oil and non oem stuff seems to make them whine like mad and be stiff as hell when cold. Also, renew the driveshaft seals. If you search for citreon ax ones on ebay you'll find that they have little plastic guard teeth on the seal that spin with the shaft. Much better, but a little more expensive sometimes.

4th January 2013, 09:06

Also, be aware that there are two different types of driveshaft fitted to saxos. The difference is in part of the shaft that goes into the hub, they can be tapered or non-tapered. Fitting the wrong one will destroy your wheel bearing in short order. Best to have a look at your existing one to determine fitment as some saxos seem to be parts bin specials.

5th January 2013, 20:35

Well the vtr is all fixed now and back on the road it was the drives side driveshaft that had collapsed in the middle don't no how my mate missed it haha

5th January 2013, 22:46

your lucky i had the exact same problem in my old hgt punto this was the result when the gearbox came off

that car took same hammer off of me bless it !!

6th January 2013, 00:30

That looks really nice haha cost abit to fix or not ?

6th January 2013, 15:21

just brought a new box for £150 fitted it and then sold it for £800 punto's are the biggest bag of shit ever invented it was quick for a punto belive me but the engine and box were terrible