Scrubb Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 So, I went against my own ideas and used a workshop to get some work done on my Lancers' gearbox as it was thudding and grinding into second and third gear. I normally stay away from workshops cause I don't trust others to work on my car, but thought this was something I couldn't attempt myself and it would be much quicker to just get a shop to sort it out, so I told them the problem and the shop installed new synchros for 2nd and 3rd gear with new input, main shaft and lay shaft bearings. The problem came when I put the gearbox back in my car and went for a drive, and although it felt nice most of the time, second and third gear were still crunchy and I sometimes had difficulty sliding the lever into the correct position to engage the gear. I also noticed a whirring/ratting noise when accelerating or decelerating in 4th gear (This has since gone away though). I have to emphasize, the guy who did the work is a really good guy, has been good to me in the past when buying parts and has been working on these cars for years, so I'm not put off by going back to him which I did, actually and he drove the car. He mentioned that it catched a bit on 2nd and 3rd but said it wasn't anything to worry about and hopefully it would go away after a bit of driving (all the other symptoms didn't present them selves while he was driving - typical!). So my question is, since I've dropped about $1,000 on this, should I take it back and ask him to take another look at it? I'm reluctant to do this as I'll probably get charged a ton more labour to pull it apart again? What is normally done in this situation with car repairs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Check it has the right gearbox oil in it. Some gearboxes are really picky about having the right oil in them or they will stick and graunch and be complete cunts otherwise. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 I think the mechanic has given you sound advice. New syncros on old gears can take a while to bed in and engagement issues with a refurbished box isn't uncommon ether. The balls and springs and slight misalignment when the selector rods are refitted to the gear change forks will cause some resistance until everything settles down. Those new bearings will load the gears slightly different due to things moving around in relation to each other now there's less play in everything. Put some km's on it and if you're still not happy in a thousand or so then go back and see the mechanic, I would put money on him giving you the same advice. One thing I would suggest is to drop the oil and see if there are any metal particulates in there, if yes then get it out and back to the shop asap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpr Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 If none of the above works. the teeth on the sleeve/hub that meshes with the syncro ring maybe worn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drftnmaz Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 I'm unfamiliar with that exact box but is there a bush on the end of the gear lever where it goes into the box? these can be overlooked and when worn will make gear changes more difficult, and often only cost under $20 to replace 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajg193 Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 When I put a new (literally brand new) 3rd gear synchro in my box it was a little bit crunchy for the first few drives. Then it settled down and it is now perfect. But yeah as k-trips says, check that he put the right oil in it. It probably needs a GL4 oil (like castrol VMX). GL5 will bugger anything with brass synchros. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrubb Posted October 8, 2016 Author Share Posted October 8, 2016 I'm sorry, I missed out some information. The gearbox is a KM119 5-speed and the sticker in the engine bay says to use 80w gearbox oil and I have installed Castrol VMX Manual 80W oil (this stuff here) which was recommended. I'm unfamiliar with that exact box but is there a bush on the end of the gear lever where it goes into the box? these can be overlooked and when worn will make gear changes more difficult, and often only cost under $20 to replace I made sure I got a new one of these too, as I was advised this was a potential problem I think the mechanic has given you sound advice. New syncros on old gears can take a while to bed in and engagement issues with a refurbished box isn't uncommon ether. The balls and springs and slight misalignment when the selector rods are refitted to the gear change forks will cause some resistance until everything settles down. Those new bearings will load the gears slightly different due to things moving around in relation to each other now there's less play in everything. Put some km's on it and if you're still not happy in a thousand or so then go back and see the mechanic, I would put money on him giving you the same advice. One thing I would suggest is to drop the oil and see if there are any metal particulates in there, if yes then get it out and back to the shop asap. Cool, I might just drop the oil as soon as it stops raining (If it ever does!) and see what's up. I just thought I'd ask for some advice as it's a bit disappointing to spend $1,000 and have a gearbox that performs no better than it did before, but I hope time will tell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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