Gearbox Fault

[johnny s]

Hi all, really hoping someone can help.

My wife has a 2002 Galaxy 2.3 zetec auto which has an intermettent fault. The revs shoot up with no drive as if in neutral. The car had a new gearbox fitted before we bought it, but the 2nd one has only done 11000 miles in 2 years when this fault occured (which is the same fault that caused the original gearbox to be changed). No-one at Fords, the dealer who carried out the change, or the dealer who sold us the car are willing to help. Can't believe that 11000 miles is regarded as reasonable? Anyone else had a similar problem? Love the car, but can't drive it at the moment, and cant afford the 3 grand quoted by Ford to replace the box.

Any advice much appreciated!

[insider]

It won't be the mechanicals of the gearbox itself - you've proved that by the same fault developing on a different gearbox.

There is a separate ECU controlling the gearbox and a series of solenoid-operated valves that select the gears under the control of this ECU. It is more likely to be a problem with this control system.

Can you get a diagnostic check of the gearbox ECU done to check for error codes (VAG-COM)?

I would suggest taking the car to a specialist auto gearbox centre and letting them have a look. Avoid the dealers - they will keep changing (expensive) parts until they find the faulty one (if they ever do!).