Is My Gearbox On Its Way Out?

[jasongtr]

its a 2001 galaxy 2.3 auto petrol

 

i have just spent nearly £400 sorting the transmission switch and the battery junction box and less than 2 weeks after getting it back i have another problem.

 

after driving for around 45mins the car will struggle to get into 4th gear, it over revs like a manual car with a slipping clutch, occassionally going from 2nd the 3rd they is a small chirp sound, yesterday it got a lttle worse and wouldnt go into 4th at all so drove home in 3rd, (i could still use all other gears) i couldnt even change up or down using the manual shift.

 

i got home parked up and went in, about an hour ater i had to move it as i was blcking a neighbours drive, all i did was reverse 10 feert, and the engine management light cam on the dash....

 

this morning after it being sat for 12 hours i took it out and whilst the light was still on it behaved itself, still a slight problem every now and then going into 4th but the manual sshift thing was working again. After about 45 mins driving again along with that occassional chirp from my canary under the bonnet there was a scretch for a second or so (like a fan belt sslipping but i dont think it was that), half hour parked up eating a mcdonalds and a 30 min drive home it was perfect all the way home (the engine mgment light is still on)

 

Any ideas, i think ill get another car, but how long do you think this one has left if it does indeed sound like a gearbox on its last legs

Edited March 5, 2011 by jasongtr

[chromedome]

It could just be the Automatic Transmission Fluid(ATF). It "burns" with age/usage. I would try getting the ATF changed first before condemning the gearbox. This would need to be done by a reputable garage as the ATF level has to be checked at a certain temperature.

[jasongtr]

any idea on the cost of that, as unless its def going to cure the problem i am not really happy to pay out any money on this thing. if id of known i would of had this problem or it went just before the tranmission switch went it would of already been broken and sold as parts.

[chrispb123456]

any idea on the cost of that, as unless its def going to cure the problem i am not really happy to pay out any money on this thing. if id of known i would of had this problem or it went just before the tranmission switch went it would of already been broken and sold as parts.

Problem is when you drain the fluid you will only get out about half the fluid as you cant drain the torque converter, so in order to get clean looking fluid in the box you need to drain and refill it three times (with a drive in between) you cannot change the filter on the five speed without stripping box.

I used Mercon V fluid at a cost of

[jasongtr]

mine is a 4 speed auto, so how many litres does it need?

 

also is the 1st reply true that it needs to be donw by a garage due to this temperature thing?

[jasongtr]

slight update. the car is still driving fine, but ive noticed its not the length of the journey that dictates the problem going into 4th or the little chirpy noise (whicj sometimes goes to a squeal) but just when it gets up to temp and lots of stop start round town driving - using lots of gear changes

 

 

does this sound like a quick/easy/cheap fix - or just live with it until it goes pop

[chrispb123456]

Hi

Are you sure this chirpy noise is associated with the gearbox? and not something like the auxiliary drive belt tension or alternator clutch pulley problem as that can make a shreiking type noise.

 

Have you run Vagcom diagnostics on the gearbox to see if it's showing any faults? you can also/have to use this to check gearbox fluid temperature when checking level, car needs to be level when you do this.

The procedure for checking/changing with pics is all on here do a search.