Dilemma, Advice Welcome

[Saint Billy]

Firstly, new to this forum but what a great source of information!!

 

I have always wanted a Galaxy and purchased one eventually at a car auction. Yes I know, rather foolish and impetuous , but it was an early model and cheap and I am treating it as a project to get it back up together. Externally it is in great shape but inside and mechanically is another matter.

 

I bought it sold as seen so I am now stuck with the problems, and the main issue is the dreaded auto gearbox which I have noticed has been covered on here many times.

When driving the auto gearbox slips almost like a clutch not engaging, if you put your foot hard down on the accelerator it revs instead of pulling away. It is driveable but I have to keep going into 3rd gear until I have reached a decent speed and then plant it back into drive.

 

I have taken it to a local garage and they have inspected the gearbox. Firstly, there is little to no oil left in the gearbox and this is because there is a crack in the end gearbox cover, not the bell housing end, but the other end. To replace this part is

[chrispb123456]

Hi there Saint Billy

Welcome to the forum, how bad is the leak? may be worth just topping up and trying it before spending money on a new cover.

If by chance it's OK then get new cover.

[KFA]

Firstly, new to this forum but what a great source of information!!

 

I have always wanted a Galaxy and purchased one eventually at a car auction. Yes I know, rather foolish and impetuous , but it was an early model and cheap and I am treating it as a project to get it back up together. Externally it is in great shape but inside and mechanically is another matter.

 

I bought it sold as seen so I am now stuck with the problems, and the main issue is the dreaded auto gearbox which I have noticed has been covered on here many times.

When driving the auto gearbox slips almost like a clutch not engaging, if you put your foot hard down on the accelerator it revs instead of pulling away. It is driveable but I have to keep going into 3rd gear until I have reached a decent speed and then plant it back into drive.

 

I have taken it to a local garage and they have inspected the gearbox. Firstly, there is little to no oil left in the gearbox and this is because there is a crack in the end gearbox cover, not the bell housing end, but the other end. To replace this part is

[sparky Paul]

I 'm certainly no expert on auto gearboxes. All I know is that the VW unit fitted to the Galaxy is prone to failure, and there are people who will question your sanity in buying a car with a known dud 'box - a good secondhand or exchange unit for these is never cheap. However, £550 is not a lot of money to risk, and in any case, you would probably realise much of that back by selling a few items from it and scrapping the remains.

 

As Chris suggests, you're not going to know what state the gearbox is in without putting some oil in it, but with an obvious leak, there is a chance that the problems are down to fluid loss. As for whether any subsequent damage has been done to the gearbox, from what others have said, it seems like these units soon become undriveable when problems start to manifest themselves.

 

At the end of the day, it depends whether you want to risk throwing money at it, it can sometimes be easy to get carried away spending when the car really does not warrant it. Personally, I would have a go... but I would minimise the cash spent, at least until a fix was looking likely, and I wouldn't be paying a garage. I would remove the cracked plate, make a temporary repair, refit and refill with oil... not sure how about the refilling procedure, but if it could be done, this could prove whether the gearbox is viable or not.

 

I would forget buying the part from the dealer, look for a scrap auto unit from which you can rob the part - there must be plenty of scrap units about.

Edited November 25, 2010 by sparky Paul

[KFA]

Have you thought of including a container of the Wynn's product that is supposed to stop leaks from auto gearboxes and improve their function. It depends how severe your leak is. Older Galaxies seem very corrosion resistant and more problem free than later versions. You may end up happy with your buy other wise it is worth over

[sotal]

I'd try some of that epoxy metal putty stuff to repair the casing then fill up with oil, if it's OK then you can think about making a better repair or just keep an eye on it.

 

If it's still not right, then I've got to say I probably wouldn't go any further with it, the autos just aren't worth the hassle, if you've got the space/ability/time/tools then I'd pull the engine out and sell that, sell the interior, pull anything else off which looks like it may have some value and scrap what's left. If you're still after another I know of a couple of 2.8 V6's for sale at about the same price

[Saint Billy]

Thanks great advice from members above, it has certainly given me food for thought so far.

 

I am at present trying to hunt this part down from scapyards etc although I am not sure what the correct name for the part is, but hopefully when found it will be a lot cheaper than Ford are quoting.

 

Will keep you informed as to how it goes but will still appreciate any other comments or similar problems experienced.

 

Cheers.

[cyborg]

Feel for you spending that much on mk1 and having problems Do you have 7 day's to take back.. ? to Auctioneer ?But saying that i bet lt must look good if it does then the odds are the Autobox is reason it was at auction as they can be expensive to sort , at least there's a tangable fault your lucky that way.

You could have done very well and it may be a case of happy days:) looking from a pint half full perspective.Good luck.

[Saint Billy]

Feel for you spending that much on mk1 and having problems Do you have 7 day's to take back.. ? to Auctioneer ?But saying that i bet lt must look good if it does then the odds are the Autobox is reason it was at auction as they can be expensive to sort , at least there's a tangable fault your lucky that way.

You could have done very well and it may be a case of happy days:) looking from a pint half full perspective.Good luck.

 

Thanks for that. It looks like I may be lucky (fingers strongly crossed and touching any wood I can find). I had an update from the garage and they are 99% sure that the cracked plate is the culprit. Unfortunately the crack is too big to do a temporary fix so it does need replacing.

 

As for the auction, that was a huge error on my part. I went to bid on a Galaxy 1900 TD but got stuck in a bidding war and pulled out as the price was getting too steep. Unbeknown to me, the Galaxy I have now followed, which I never noticed on the list or even noticed when inspecting the vehicles beforehand, and on the spur of the moment I bid for it and won. It was only after that I realised that this Galaxy was being sold as 'Sold as Seen', this was displayed on the windscreen but I never noticed it doh!, which means you have no recourse. If a vehicle is labelled with 'No major Faults' you have a period of time to return it if indeed there is an obvious mechanical fault.

 

Anyway, its done now and I will learn from that.

[sparky Paul]

It was only after that I realised that this Galaxy was being sold as 'Sold as Seen', this was displayed on the windscreen but I never noticed it doh!, which means you have no recourse. If a vehicle is labelled with 'No major Faults' you have a period of time to return it if indeed there is an obvious mechanical fault.

 

Anyway, its done now and I will learn from that.

 

You're certainly not on your own with auction failures. OH is currently driving around in a Clio from auction, I wish I had never seen the damn thing... it's been the bane of my life for the last 20-odd months.

 

I still don't think

[chrispb123456]

Was wondering about the cracked casing, was it down to something breaking up inside the box and trying to force its way out, or simply had impact from outside?

[Saint Billy]

Was wondering about the cracked casing, was it down to something breaking up inside the box and trying to force its way out, or simply had impact from outside?

 

I'll let you know next week but you've got me worrying now.

[Saint Billy]

Was wondering about the cracked casing, was it down to something breaking up inside the box and trying to force its way out, or simply had impact from outside?

 

Update, bad news I'm afraid. The plate had a rust hole in it so probably the leaking of oil has been going on for some time. A temporary fix was done to see if an oil refill would correct the problem but it has not made any difference, so the Gal is next to useless.

 

I will probably take other posters advice on here and break for spares although it has crossed my mind to get another same model Galaxy that is road worthy and use other for spares and sell the spares that are left, but I may stear clear of autos.

 

Thanks again for the advice everyone.

[cyborg]

Was wondering about the cracked casing, was it down to something breaking up inside the box and trying to force its way out, or simply had impact from outside?

 

Update, bad news I'm afraid. The plate had a rust hole in it so probably the leaking of oil has been going on for some time. A temporary fix was done to see if an oil refill would correct the problem but it has not made any difference, so the Gal is next to useless.

 

I will probably take other posters advice on here and break for spares although it has crossed my mind to get another same model Galaxy that is road worthy and use other for spares and sell the spares that are left, but I may stear clear of autos.

 

Thanks again for the advice everyone.

Feel for you, dammed shame that .

clutching straws ..wonder if they had engine running and checked oil then basic i know but sometimes overlooked.

[sparky Paul]

Yes, what a shame. As cyborg says, gearbox oil level is not straightforward to check, but you would think adding oil would have made some difference.

 

The Galaxys do have their weak points which are evident in the common faults described on the forum, but overall they are pretty robust - particularly the engines and manual gearboxes. Sadly, the VW auto units seem particularly weak and prone to failure.