Gearbox And Clutch

678 Views 10 Replies 8 Participants Last post by Russeh, May 6, 2010

dboulter

Discussion Starter · Dec 9, 2009

Hello All,

Ever since I picked up my car the gearbox has always been noisey, when i spoke to ford about it straight away they said "yeah, ford made it like that". Ok fair enough I thought.

Two years later~~

Gearbox still noisey but now i have recently been having trouble getting the car to go in to 1st gear and Reverse. Some days it will be perfectly fine and other days it will give me a bit of grief now and then.

I decided to go back to ford and get them to check it, (this was yesterday).

They had the car an hour, they told me: "The engineer notice that there was a bit of Clutch Lag, but nothing to worry about, and didnt have any problems with 1st and reverse"

i knew that the car would behave when the engineer took it out, or did it?????

Anyway, i asked what can i do about the problem I'm having then.

They said: "We would have to completely take out the gear box to have a look at the clutch and the other things that might be causing this problem. Taking out a gear box and clutch will take approx 6 hours. and will be at cost to you if the fault found isnt a manufacturing fault"

Now this sounds like scarmongering to get me to sod off and stop hassling them. They then went on to say that it would cost approx £550 labour to do this, which if found to be a manufacturing prob and covered by warrenty then you wouldnt be liable for it.

I would like to know, that if i am noticing that there is a problem with the gear selection and gearbox noise should i be paying for their labour to find out what it is??? and if it turns out to be the clutch and its my fault then im liable for their labour costs???

Also what is clutch lag?

Dont worry, i have read these forums about other peoples problems so i know all about the vibratechnics thingy, but im pretty sure that wont get rid of my occasional issue with 1st and reverse. I understand it will remove all that mechanical noise when going between 1st 2nd and 3rd.

I also read something about tightening up the torque restrictor which seems to be a single bolt, will this help with 1st and reverse issues or just the mechanical noise when changing 1st 2nd and 3rd??

Also say im excellerating in 3rd and then left off the accelerator then is a small clunk noise as the car jolts back slightly due to engine braking is this because of this torque restrictor/mounting bracket of somekind??

I think I have everyones problems in one here. I would be greatly appreciative for a bit of guidance here as i feel that ford are trying to put a very large torque wrench up my ars*

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dboulter

Discussion Starter · #2 · Dec 9, 2009

and also when i go to pull away it doesnt go as fast as it shud, like it taking a breath then going. all happens in seconds but its certainly noticable when your pulling out of a junction with cars coming both ways. quite scary really.

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Lancastrian

· #3 · Dec 9, 2009

I've recently been having isues with gearchanges and possible clutch slippage.

As for the gear change issues, it is occassionally popping out of 4th or not going into 5th. I had one incident when sat at traffic lights where I couldn't get the car into 1st. On depressing the clutch pedal I returned the gearlever to neutral, took my foot off the clutch and heard a loud, noticeable clunk. After this the car went into 1st, and hasn't been a problem since.

I've yet to get it to my local Ford dealership for them to investigate.

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dboulter

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 14, 2010 (Edited by Moderator)

Little update.. you never know if a ford rep is reading..

Contact Ford customer services who confirmed the following:

As they dont know the cause of the problem the process will go like this

1. They can check out the gear box
2. They can check out the Clutch n bits

If no problem is found, I WILL BE BILLED FOR THE LABOUR (6HOURS)
if a problem is found to be a manufacturing issue - THEN WILL BE REPAIRED FOR FREE (IF THEY DONT F*CKING LIE TO ME, AND SAY ITS MY FAULT ANYWAY)
If a problem is found to be my fault - WHICH IS IMPOSSIBLE AS I'VE HAD THIS PROBLEM FROM VERY EARLY ON, THEN I WILL BE BILLED FOR PARTS AND LABOUR. THEN YOU MIGHT AS WELL JUST CRASH THE CAR AND BUY A NEW ONE cus this will get expensive.

But ofcouse it will be my problem, ofcourse I would have caused it..... its been there since DAY ONE. Is it worth the risk and getting them to find the problem??? no..what if they do lie?? then I'm f*cked. and i wanted to buy this from ford as well in october this year. instead they can stick the car up their

. I'm going to Subaru or something..

anyone got an opinion on this one?

p.s (regarding this issue - The other day I went to overtake a lorry in second, half way past the lorry i went to change to third, wouldnt go in, then wouldnt go in 4th etc.. times passing, on coming traffic... nearly died.. thanks ford. )

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Alb

· #5 · Mar 14, 2010

Have you tried approaching other dealers where you may get a more sympathetic view?
You could of course authorise them to proceed on the basis that once stripped down and in the event that they don't find a problem covered by warranty, they should allow yourself or an independent engineer to inspect the relevant components.
That would either support their view or give you the evidence you need to take the matter to the small claims court.

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Phil

· #6 · Mar 14, 2010

If your sure the problem was there from day one, i would take Alb's advice, don't just leave it to the dealer to decide the outcome, you have rights and the car should be fit for purpose.
If nothing is found at least you will know?

From what you describe, something doesn't sound right?

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glennboysst3

· #7 · Mar 14, 2010 (Edited by Moderator)

hate to say this mate but if the problems been there from day one you should of given them the car back and told them to sort it there and then ,this has now left room for the dealers to say its your fault realy hasnt it .
im real fussy with cars both new and ones ive had a while so id of just given them the car there and then and said sort it out to my satisfaction or il have my money back !
sorry if this sounds abrupt but thats how i am with dealers ,i hope you get it sorted tho not nice to be driveing something and waiting for the problem to get worse or the car to break .
good luck mate and keep us posted .

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wolfman

· #8 · Mar 14, 2010

Ring me on 0161 406 9797 if you need to dicuss the problem you are having or need advice on your gearbox problem

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dboulter

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 21, 2010

Cheers for the guidance gents, I'm with Dagenham Motors this week, I'm going out with one of their mechanics for a drive. (He'll be driving)

They have it logged on their system that I complained about it previously, a few weeks after I bought the car.

I'll report back with an update,

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