Chances of needing new gearbox after loss of oil?

[brandwooddixon]

Well a week after fitting a new exhaust my gearbox plays up.
Drove all the way from Aylesbury to the West Midlands, nice and fast up the M40, M42 and M5. A distance of 85 miles.

As I pull off the motorway and finally enter stop start traffic, my car suffers intermittent transmission loss. It was like someone thumping the chassis with a sledge hammer.

Pull up. Lots of nasty mechanical noises from underneath. So I turn off the engine and call out the breakdown people to relay my car to the garage.

Now I'm thinking that it could be oil loss from the transmission.

For most of the journey the gearbox would have been locked up in top. So what's the likelyhood of a filter, oil and seal replacement fixing the box or do you think that it will be a full gearbox replacement?

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

I reckon it's 50/50 and there is only one way to find out, but thats just the cheapskate chancer in me. Others may know differently?

 

[television]

What was the fluid level like Chris

 

[brandwooddixon]

I don't know as yet.

I didn't have a chance to check before it was dropped off at the garage. You know what these breakdown services are like and how little work they want to do.

All I know is that it was a little sluggish at engaging gear when pulling away from a standing start when cold that morning, but was fine when warm.

After I had broken down, and the car was hot, with the engine running it sounded as if there was a bag of spanners being flung around under the car.

By the time the breakdown pickup arrived I could start the car and with it still in park there was no noise at all. Still I didn't let them drive it onto the truck, nor off it.

As it was the weekend today will be the first chance that the garage will get to look at it. I'll give them a call about mid morning to see if they've had a chance to inspect it.

I'm hoping (naively perhaps) that it was low on fluid. If it comes to it, I'd accept an oil and filter change - if only to get the car running well enough to trade in! Naughty I know, but any dealer will only auction it off.

Whilst on the subject and just in case, can anyone recommend an autogearbox specialist in the West Midlands?

Eitherway I have to way up the cost of repair against the trade in value of the car.

 

[television]

I have recomended these people loads of time and never a complaint with very good prices

http://www.fedauto.co.uk/index.htm

Use their locator

 

[brandwooddixon]

MB report back - what a laugh

Well finally managed to get in touch with the garage.

The mechanic, sorry, technician has reliably started my car up, worked the gears and without opening up the gearbox pronounced that the "idle gearing" is buggered.

Options: strip and repair - not favoured by the dealer.
replace - favoured by the dealer - exchange gearbox £2000, labour £2500, total £4500 inc VAT!!!

So I say, has the technician removed the sump and had a look inside? No is the reply, no point! Really?

"How can a automatic fail in this way?", I say.
"I've never had an auto-gearbox fail in this way in over 400,000 personal miles of motoring, and it was serviced only 2 months ago." said I.

"Erm I can't comment, " was the reply.

The service desk guy obviously hadn't a clue, technically, so I've asked them to remove the sump and have a look.

So now it's:
a) look for somewhere else to repair it - thanks for the list Malcom, but Crewe is the nearest and thats about 50 miles away.
b) harass MB for faulty servicing.
c) scrap the car and buy another.

 

[Parrot of Doom]

Use the people in Malcolm's link. Gearbox specialists will always be cheaper and better than a vehicle mechanic, its the nature of their job.

By the way I had a leak on mine for a few weeks, it was about 2-3 litres low, still working fine now.

 

[brandwooddixon]

I'll get in touch with those in Crewe.
But I guess that I'll still need to look at relaying my car up there.

 

[television]

I'll get in touch with those in Crewe.
But I guess that I'll still need to look at relaying my car up there.

Some of those people have their own truck and its part of the service Most complete rebuilds with them are £1350

 

[David Nock]

Check out trailering services in the Classic Car mags. Scrapping it sounds a bit drastic for want of a bit (OK then,a lot) of specialists attention. Good luck.

 

[BlackC55]

If you want to sell it. I will be interested

 

[Mr Teddy Bear]

Possibly £2k for a new box sounds reasonable, but £2.5 to fit ? thats taking the P*ss big time!! at 100 quid per hour thats 25 hours work ??????? for a inline gearbox...................I'd say 4 hours max.

I know of some one buying reconditioned for a W124 Est' for £1450

I bet the factory did'nt take 25 hours to build it!!!
TB

 

[brandwooddixon]

Well it's off to be sorted.

I found an autobox specialist near Cannock - VMTP or something. When I spoke to them they'd obviously dealt with MBs before.

Worst case - gearbox and fitting £2000 inc VAT 12 months unlimited mileage warranty.

They were going to pick it up from the dealers last night, so I'll call today and see whats going on. Just got to get the readies sorted in the meantime.

 

[brandwooddixon]

Well I've got my car back.

I'd forgotten how smooth the changes should be. Just goes to show how you get used to things as they wear.

Upshot was £2090 inclusive instead of dealers £4500. 12 months unlimited mileage warranty with a free gearbox service after 1 month or 1000 miles.

Incidently after speaking to the chap, they are currently replacing/repairing 2 or 3 Vauxhall Vectras a week which have suffered water contamination of the gearbox oil from the radiator, much the same as the MB Valeo problem.

Instead of replacing the radiator they are fitting an auxilliary oil cooler and blanking off the radiator cooler pipes.