Vibration

[skippy 2]

Hi guys, 1998 galaxy auto 2.8 I have suffered from the jumping or bunny hop that other people have described and I think I have cured this with topping up the gear box with oil. So far so good although I had to do it 2 or 3 times as I had no tech equipment to check. I just topped the gear box up until it overflowed. There was no overflow screw as the manual suggested. Anyway I have developed a vibration as the gears change and stays there in 3rd and 4th but disappears past 40 mph you can feel the vibration only through the accelerator pedal and not the steering wheel. Has anyone had this before and if so could you advise on what to do. Any help would be appreciated.

[seatkid]

You've grossly overfilled your autobox!

 

Do a search and you will find that the drainplug is a 2 piece affair, undo 1st bit (inner IIRC) and it acts as the level measuring device for the box (fill until oil just starts coming out)

[skippy 2]

The bolt or allen key screw only has an inner part to undo and not an outer part. When this is released it drains the oil.. If the gearbox is overfilled would it cause the vibration I am getting through the accelerator pedal. How do I know how much oil I need to put in if It hasn,t got an overflow valve.

[seatkid]

see here

[skippy 2]

Hi Seatkid thanks for the reply and added help. The the drain/level plug at the rear of the box is only an allen key bolt. With this undone oil will come out there doesn't seem to be a second part of the bolt to undo. I know the filler pipe and this is what overflowed when I topped it up. If someone can clarify that the drain bolt is one unit and that the bolt is only slackened off to see if oil comes out as I have made the mistake of undoing this bolt fully when the oil was hot and could,t get it back untill all the oil drained as the oil was so hot.

[seatkid]

To drain you 1st take the bolt out, then you use same size allen key placed up the hole and undo the 2nd part of the assembly and the level tube will come out.

 

If you only remove the bolt, then any oil that drains out is above the correct level. Leave it until no further oil drains, then the oil level is correct. This procedure should be carried out when the oil is lukewarm (between 35 and 45 deg C). It should not be cold or hot as the level will then be incorrect.

 

Edited August 11, 2008 by seatkid

[skippy 2]

Hi seatkid the reason why Ime asking these questions is because Ive had the problems with gears changing and a low oil llevel in the gear box is normally the problemfrom from what I have seen on the foram. So when I checked to see if oil level was correct these are the problems i encountered. About 1 ltr of oil drained from the gearbox after taking out the first bolt. I didn't realise that there is a second bolt inside to undo ,the oil level pipe you say. If this is correct then the oil was overfilled before I put new oil back in. But I hadn't had any problems with the gears changing when I bought the car several months before. Have you gone through this procedure yourself as sometimes those pictures can be confusing.

[seatkid]

Changing/checking autobox oil has been discussed many times on the forum. You seem to have bought a car with overfilled box. I suspect that the previous owner was having problems. Gearchange problems can result from low oil, but far more likely is due to internal wear - brake bands in particular.

 

Being the cynic I am, Iwould say the previous owner overfilled it to get it working acceptably, or he was ignorant and just overfilled it. Now you grossly overfilled it and run it, its possible more damage has been done.

 

Only thing to do is to drain the excess and see what happens. If the colour/smell of the drained oil is bad, consider a full drain/refill.

[skippy 2]

Thanks for the reply seatkid the filler tube seal had been broken before so it has been looked at before. What are the brake bands and what do they do? I will have to have another play to get the correct level of oil in the gear box. As for wear this car has only done 30000 miles so maybe wear is not the problem and could be another issue. Ime just trying to think of anything else that maybe causing the vibration and issue with gear changing which has improved since I topped up the oil. What do you think could happen if the oil level is left as it is? By the way when I originally drained the gear box the oil was a dirty muddy brown colour and smelled rough. So I filled it up, run it and drained again and topped up again using about 3 ltrs in the process.

[seatkid]

Thanks for the reply seatkid the filler tube seal had been broken before so it has been looked at before. What are the brake bands and what do they do? I will have to have another play to get the correct level of oil in the gear box. As for wear this car has only done 30000 miles so maybe wear is not the problem and could be another issue. Ime just trying to think of anything else that maybe causing the vibration and issue with gear changing which has improved since I topped up the oil. What do you think could happen if the oil level is left as it is? By the way when I originally drained the gear box the oil was a dirty muddy brown colour and smelled rough. So I filled it up, run it and drained again and topped up again using about 3 ltrs in the process.

From your description, there have been major problems in a previous life. The cooked oil means the box has either been abused (e.g. towing) and a brake band has worn out and been slipping. The brake bands control which gear is selected. If they're worn, you are looking at a recon gearbox - its not worth thinking about trying to overhaul yours.....

 

The fact that the level tube has been damaged (its plastic and easy to break if overtightened), means the oil has been changed at least once before, so it does not look good......I recall several posts here where people with shagged autoboxes were looking for simple fixes so they could get rid quick.

 

If the box is overfilled, it will overheat, wear will be rapid and you may have catastrophic failure. Gearboxes (and engines and power steering etc) only work reliably with the correct amount of oil.

 

Sorry, but I think you've been sold a duffer. I would take 30,000 miles on a 1998 with a pinch of salt unless FSH and receipts are available.

Edited August 11, 2008 by seatkid

[skippy 2]

Oh its doesn't sound good does it, the fsh is intact although it is in japanese as this car was imorted. The milage looks genuine as the car was serviced regulary according to the number system they use. The only thing is that anything that was looked at on the work sheet is in picture form and has a X over it to say that it was looked at. Any remedy is in jap so not sure if work sorted. How much do you think a recon would cost as the car is in exceptional condition for age.

[seatkid]

A japanese import??! FSH in japanese? :angry2:

 

Have you bought this car on ebay?

[gregers]

or a restaurant.

[skippy 2]

Thanks for all the advice guys yes I did buy it on ebay sulk sulk.

[Archie42]

This topic has probably expired but i thought i should add my experience. I noticed oil under my car and the auto box was initially taking longer to move the car from standstill. When i took the cover off from under the car i noticed that the sound deadening pad attached to the inside of this underside cover had split. This allowed water to collect here which effectively was then pressing against the outside of the autobox sump causing pin holes. Frauds wanted