Gearbox fault???

[scratabout1988]

two weeks into my williams ownership and now having 4 working wheels its time to get round to the fault i bought the car with.

i knew at the time i bought the car that it had a heavy clutch pedal so expected to replace the whole lot soon. it bites near to the floor but ok & drives ok for now just alot of effort to change gear!

after running around for a while i noticed after 10mins of driving it would crunch going into 3rd gear only?
not sure whether this is something to do with the clutch issue or if it's a gearbox fault?

a friend said to try changing the gearbox oil and see if that helps so will do that this weekend but has anyone had any experience with a similar issue?

:?

[2 live]

usually synchros tbh.

[Red_Dash]

My gearbox does exactly the same. An occasional crunch into 3rd gear only. I'm going to get my gearbox looked at by a specialist before it goes back into the car. I'm afraid I can't give you any advice into what's wrong at the moment though :cry:

[scratabout1988]

My gearbox does exactly the same. An occasional crunch into 3rd gear only. I'm going to get my gearbox looked at by a specialist before it goes back into the car. I'm afraid I can't give you any advice into what's wrong at the moment though :cry:


That's interesting, mine only seems to do it as well around the middle of the rev band, around 2500-3000rpm.
Can you let me what the specialist says when you get yours looked at as I'll be taking mine out soon so will either get repaired if it's something simple/cheap, if not it will be replaced!

[cliokiz]

I'm near Leicester and can come and have a look if you like.

I might be able to fix it for you using a fog light bulb (no, really!)

Would need petrol covering though as i'm skint as hell at the minute.

Give me a PM.

[fab]

If your using the car as a daily your probably better off waiting till it really breaks. Crunching into gear is very common even on recon or new box's especially if the car has been lying idle.
Oil changes in the past have solved my gearbox problems and always using the reno stuff. Mad money for a litre but it works.

One other major contributor to crunchy gearbox's is the climate you live in. When I was running the willy abroad the gearbox LOVED the hot weather cause the oil temp in the box would get nice and hot and gear change was super slick.

There is a contact name on the last post here should the oil change not help.
http://www.williamsclio.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12225&highlight=gearbox

[scratabout1988]

got the oil changed in the box today amongst all the other running around the french peasant i had to do!

I got the Elf stuff from a place on fleabay for just under £6 per Litre so wasn't as bad as i thought.

but............... no change :( still got some crunching going on, is this a new box jobby then?

other problems on the test run include leaking radiator and sticky throttle cable. I think for my williams i need to take it all to bits and start again!
at least the sun was shinning :)

[Tommo]

Mate, as mentioned, just drive it and don't worry until it breaks, no point in forking out on a new gearbox if it still works. A heavy clutch and low biting point is common on these cars, mine has been like this since I bought it 6 years ago and still going strong. It is also a bit sticky when cold going into second, just don't do hard & fast gear changes, they kill these boxes imo, hopefully you will get a lot more miles out of it.

The other bits mentioned are minor compared to some of the horror stories you read on here lol! Happy motoring... 8)

[fab]

If your keeping the car first thing I would do is get a new clutch cable and rachet mechanism for the pedal. The cable on the right hand drive cars is extra long and they stretch. Your gonna need this done if there is no recent history of it being done.
Secondly, is the gear lever/stick when in neutral right in the center or does it sit to the right or left a bit? if it does NOT sit in the middle then take a look at the gear selector underneath the car. You could try and adjust this very very slightly and see if you get any improvement. There is also a fix for this explained better here:
http://williamsclio.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40748&sid=e0b22c765ea1ba7af9e3e2b09a22a102
Try it as there will be less play in the gear stick.
As for the low clutch, I think you will find with a new pressure plate and cable and rachet the biting point will be found a little higher up thereafter but it will remain heavy.
You dont have to take the gearbox completely out to do a clutch plate but it has to be undone along with drive shafts and other hoses to be moved to the right.
Good Luck!

[scratabout1988]

Thanks for all of the advice guys much appreciated! :)

I bought the car for what i thought was a bargain at a grand (looks like a bit more than i bargained for now!). Luckily i have a company car to run around in so i can use it as a project car for the summer. I was therefore thinking of just stripping back and starting again. I know if i needed it for a daily drive then i would wait till it goes bang properly but self admitting, i'm a bit of perfectionist so just want to try and get it right if poss! :)

Would be good if cliokiz can have a look at it as he's only round the corner from me.

I've got a new clutch cable at the ready but where's the best place for the clutch ratchets? i haven't seen any on the bay as of yet, so aftermarket parts or main dealer? :?

Cheers!

[Wobba]

Main dealer tbh

[cliokiz]

I'm a perfectionist myself - i'll let you drive my hybrid and then you'll see what a smooth clutch and gearbox feels like!

I'll have a look and get you sorted mate.