Alasdair1

Thanks will take a look. Need it fairly soon. Didnt think to try screwfix Alasdair

Hi there need to get a better trolley jack. Been using a small 1.5 ton halfords one but its ancient and need something to lift higher plus I could do with two as I am about to remove gearbox. Budget is around £100. Was looking at some online but problem is don't know what quality and build is like (They all look very similar but is it good Chinese or bad Chinese etc ). My local motorfactors only do professional and there £400 upwards. Halfords have a 2 ton one for around £100 but not sure if its any good. Had a look at SGS but seen mixed reports on build quality and reliabilty. The halfords ones come with 3 year guarantee. Will get used fairly often but not all the time. Any reccomendations welcome. Many thanks Alasdair

Quick recap from this morning Jacked up both sides and in neutral, both wheels turn by hand no real resistance from box and only the wheel you turn moves. Jacked up both sides and in 1st gear turned one wheel by hand and the other goes in the opposite direction with slight resistance so reckon Diff working. Jacked up both sides and started car in neutral no wheel movement on either side but in first gear both wheels rotate forward in the same direction but I can stop them by hand. Reckon its the clutch thats failed suddenly. If its the original clutch its 19 years old so may be a corosion/age related problem. Who knows as said its a new one on me, so gearbox out unless anyone can think of anything else? At least the gearbox is fairly small. Hope it comes out without having to dismantle too much. Many thanks Alasdair Quick recap from this morning Jacked up both sides and in neutral, both wheels turn by hand no real resistance from box and only the wheel you turn moves. Jacked up both sides and in 1st gear turned one wheel by hand and the other goes in the opposite direction with slight resistance so reckon Diff working. Jacked up both sides and started car in neutral no wheel movement on either side but in first gear both wheels rotate forward in the same direction but I can stop them by hand. Reckon its the clutch thats failed suddenly. If its the original clutch its 19 years old so may be a corosion/age related problem. Who knows as said its a new one on me, so gearbox out unless anyone can think of anything else? At least the gearbox is fairly small. Hope it comes out without having to dismantle too much. Many thanks Alasdair

Hi there , Did cross my mind but hub nut is tight and shaft spins in relation to wheels both sides when turning wheels by hand. When in gear neither shaft spins with car on ground with engine running. Car does seem to want to creep forward very slightly. Also raised car and held each shaft securely at gearbox flange ,turned wheels by hand with engine off and in neutral and they are both solid with no signs of movement. The car has done 70000 but is 06 and I reckon original clutch.

When I was trying reverse without the clutch it was very gentle. the minute I heard the gears grating I stopped moving the gear stick. It was just to check the gear selector on top of gearbox was actually selecting/finding gears. It doesnt grate with the clutch pressed and seems to engage ok but no drive. After checking absolutely everything and replacing slave I think the clutch has either been contaminated with fluid but as i have nothing leaking under car more probably the centre of the plate has parted company or something like that. As I seem to have exhausted every option I think its time to try and remove box and have a look. (not looking forward to it as I hve no ramp) Theres no other way of checking. Going to have a word with an old mechanic mate tomorrow to see what he says but it does look like a gearbox removal. It was my teenage son who was driving but unlike most teenagers he is very good and doesnt abuse/thrash cars. He also stops and phones me if he hears or has any problems with the car. He said he changed down to pull into our road ,no noises and no previous slipping. Car just started reving without drive. If it is a clutch that has suddenly gone its as said very unusual and a new one on me but not impossible. Good thing is the cars in very good condition and everything underneath is corrosion free so should come apart fairly easily. Many thanks Alasdair

When I was trying reverse without the clutch it was very gentle. the minute I heard the gears grating I stopped moving the gear stick. It was just to check the gear selector on top of gearbox was actually selecting/finding gears. It doesnt grate with the clutch pressed and seems to engage ok but no drive. After checking absolutely everything and replacing slave I think the clutch has either been contaminated with fluid but as i have nothing leaking under car more probably the centre of the plate has parted company or something like that. As I seem to have exhausted every option I think its time to try and remove box and have a look. (not looking forward to it as I hve no ramp) Theres no other way of checking. Going to have a word with an old mechanic mate tomorrow to see what he says but it does look like a gearbox removal. It was my teenage son who was driving but unlike most teenagers he is very good and doesnt abuse/thrash cars. He also stops and phones me if he hears or has any problems with the car. He said he changed down to pull into our road ,no noises and no previous slipping. Car just started reving without drive. If it is a clutch that has suddenly gone its as said very unusual and a new one on me but not impossible. Good thing is the cars in very good condition and everything underneath is corrosion free so should come apart fairly easily. Many thanks Alasdair

Been working on it again. Reset gear linkage cables, Gear selector on gearbox seems to be clunking into place. Re bled new slave and raised one front wheel. In neutral its spins without any restriction or noise from gearbox. In first it has some resistance and sounds like gears are turning and engine is moving slightly on mounts but not trying to turn over. Same if I repeat with the other wheel If my clutch has completely failed and slipping badly is this a sign or is it a gearbox problem? Brain is so full of stuff can't think straight anymore. Many thanks for the replies Alasdair

I can rotate wheel when in gear but what could be the problem? I assumed that the diff was compensating and it was the lack of clutch to engine connection causing the drive problem Alasdair

Also remembered that if engine is running and no clutch pedal pressed it grates when trying to select reverse. Stops grating when clutch is pressed and seems to engage further but no drive. Its got me stumped. Alasdair

I think so. Gear cables operate and selector moves and clunks into place/goes forward back and up and down. Difficult to tell if its in gear as there seems no drive from clutch at all. With one side jacked up and I rotate road wheel with gears I think are engaged it does feel very slightly different. When it was running the car would want to creep forward at medium revs slightly in first and also slightly creep back in reverse but you could stop it with one finger it was so slight. Also a slight humming/rumbling sound when in first and slight revs. Alasdair

That makes sense. Never removed inner bolts Just outer hub nut etc. and inner bolts are still in place. Couldn't see it going back together either or been able to drive car for two weeks if I had pulled inner cv joint and it hadnt gone back in again. Reckon then its the clutch thats either worn out all of a sudden or contaminated with fluid. Changed slave as noticed internal gator was split as I removed it to check it hadn't seized in the out position. Seemed slightly damp plus clutch pedal was returning ok but may have been leaking over time. No signs of fluid under car but it could be sitting in bell housing and not draining. Had fluid level drop but had leaking rear brake cylinders as well as front flexi which were repaired for MOT so perhaps didn't notice I had another leak in the slave. Just hoping I didn't haave to remove box but can't think of anything else. Thanks Alasdair

May seem like a simple question and I hope it makes sense. Been having drive problems. Changed wheel bearing and after driving for about 2 weeks drive went completely. Checked everything and narrowed it down to clutch or drive shaft. Been pointed out I may have pulled drive shaft from gearbox end during bearing change but as car was fine for 2 weeks after not sure how ? Question is how to check. Shaft seems solid and cv boots are intact, when I turn road wheel by hand shaft and outer cv joint rotates as well as inner cv including flange at Gbox end with no noticeable roughness or clicks. Shaft seems solid No noises when it happened either. Car just reved and came to a stop. Am i checking it correctly or am I missing something Alasdair

Hi there had a sudden no drive problem with 1.2HTP and after a lot of hopeful checking to no avail reckon its either Diff problem or clutch contaminated/failed Took the slave out and internal gaitor is split with very slight signs of fluid. Fluid leak maybe a lot worse when clutch is pressed. No obvious signs of fluid under car but reckon clutch may be sitting in a puddle of fluid and not managing to drain out of bell housing hence no drive. Even with the slave removed still no drive/contact between engine and gearbox Tried everything else. Checked drive shafts and they seem good. Reckon need to take gearbox out. Had a quick look on line and tutorials say engine has to be hoisted up slightly with bar across wings when removing mounts. I have no lift or bar so question is can I support engine via sump. Its steel but don't want to crush it or damage it, Has anyone succesfully done this? (Mate put a trolley jack through his sump which was alloy) trying to lift his car. Used to regularly use the ssteel sump on my old volvo 940 but again it was a volvo. Also any tips etc would be appreciated ie. how high do I need to lift the car. Dont want to start then realise I have to lift it an extra inch or two to remove box. Its a 55 plate with 70,000 on clock. Normaly on a car of that age I wouldn't even bother but its in really good condition with no rust and so far everything has come off or apart with ease. Its like working on a new car compared to my other octavias and terminal rusty seat altea xl. I had a rear brake leak and front flexi which I have repaired so didn't notice any fluid loss. Many thanks in advance Alasdair

Its a bit fiddly especially where the door lock mechanism fits through the plate . I watched a you tube vid. They removed cables etc from door but I managed to work around that. As said rivets are H duty I got this from toolstation for £20-00 and it did the job perfectly. Rivets I think are N91078801 The ones I used are I think https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174121630690?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5339017974&toolid=10049&customid=Cj0KCQiArby5BhCDARIsAIJvjISKJ7ZJ4GU8k2wH5Lg5ozSagk2Qo6iVb6zbzR36UTCjtlFc3dwWdLEaAlxYEALw_wcB&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiArby5BhCDARIsAIJvjISKJ7ZJ4GU8k2wH5Lg5ozSagk2Qo6iVb6zbzR36UTCjtlFc3dwWdLEaAlxYEALw_wcB Alasdair

Meant to add that if its just the plastic wheels etc you can get them individually but I just replaced the whole unit as mine had totalled itself

Same happened to me . Cable came loose and wrapped itself around motor drive mechanism. Bit of a hassle to remove but managed eventually. I got a repair kit from ebay and fitted it. It was one that didn't come with the steel door card. Not too bad a job but my steel door panel was riveted so had to drill them out. You need special rivets which are pretty heavy duty tto attach the metal plate to the door From memory they are 6.4 x 10 and have circular cut outs along the rivets. Normal are I think 6.2 and dont give a decent hold. I had to get a heavy duty double handed pop rivet gun to do the job as my lazzy riveter didnt have the larger end nozzle. Some of the early ones had bolts but mine was riveted. Sorry cant access ebay at moment to send you any links. Alasdair

As long as the rear brakes work and are even then it usually passes MOT with an advise on discs. Mine were like that and I did replace them anyway. I have had 3 coil springs go on cars that have been sitting for months. Mechanic mate said they find it happens a lot. Maybe the springs get brittle over time when not being used. Not sure if its a timing belt or chain. If its a belt get it changed plus waterpump when your at it. If its a chain check the replacement interval. I normaly do my belt every 50000 or every 5 years depending which comes soonest. My 08 1.9tdi is bad with rust on the subframe and sills but so far its just been an advise. Check bushes in rear swing arms as well as mine are failing and causing rear tyre wear. I just replaced the tyres on my sons fabia for exactly the same reason. Had a flat and the tyre service I use policy is they wont fix tyres that show cracking or over a certain age. 4 new tyres is a lot cheaper than having a blow out and if there really bad lots of points if you get caught Alasdair

UPDATE. Got the car finally into workshop on a flat level concrete floor. It will move forward in first very very slowly. The drive is so weak you could stop it with one finger at mid revs and also same in reverse but still no drive. Wont move at all in 2nd -5th Bled clutch and today took slave cylinder out and it seems ok. I can push it in without restriction so rod not seized in out position. (going to replace it as the rubber internal gaitor is split). I can also push lever that operates clutch with a lot of force and it springs back so clutch spring is still good. Still to check drive shafts which seem solid and rotate when pushing car back and forward. but reckon its either Diff or clutch so first planning to check shafts etc. and make sure there still connected and not broken or damaged and if there ok its gearbox out time unless I am missing something. Never had a problem like this. Normally when a clutch fails it slips before hand or totals the bell housing/flywheel and weird thing there was no noise before it happened. If anyone has any ideas what else I could check I would very grateful. Alasdair

Many thanks. I was getting confused and not having PR sticker doesnt help. Not sure which has gone. All gears failed yesterday changing down. Still trying to work out whats gone. wrong. No sounds from box or previous slipping. Its as though the clutch just didn't disengage. Pedal feels fine and bled system today but nothing. Very slight rumble when in gear and very slight amount of clutch when in 1st or reverse but not enough to move car?? Looks like its a gearbox out to see whats wrong. Cars done 70000 Thanks again

Thanks for the reply VIN is TMBPY46Y064548528 Reg is GL55KJE Alasdair

Hi there looking for the gearbox code for a 1.2 fabia HTP 2006 hatchback. Think the engine is BME but PR sticker is missing from boot. Is it stamped on the gearbox itself and if so where about? I either need a new gearbox or new clutch but need to find code. So far narowed clutch down be either a 190mm or 200mm clutch depending on VIN Thanks Alasdair

Pressure bled clutch and fluid was not good. Almost green/brown in colour. Kept bleeding till I got nice clean fluid through but still no joy or any air. Pedal goes to the floor and comes back ok. Could it be the slave actuator being stuck in the out position and not fully returning ? Don't think the clutch is adjustable.

Another point. Was trying to change gear with and without out clutch depressed and seems to engage. Grinding noise without clutch depressed when going into reverse so gear box seems ok and its actually shifting into gear but no drive so looks like a clutch related problem? Will try and bleed cluch system to see if that helps.

Hi there, Quick update. Car is on level ground now and if in first gear is just trying to move forward very very slightly (about 1-2cm) when revving and slight noise from I assume clutch area . Slight rumble but no major noises The higher the gear the less it moves Nothing in 5th . Rocked it back and forward and drive shafts moving but no resistance in any gear. Could this be a completely failed clutch pressure plate or something jammed to stop the clutch disengaging? Not sure how to check Alasdair

I just replaced front wheel bearing and didn't touch the drive shaft/gearbox end. As said cars been fine f0r 10 days. Theres no noise when idling and the pedal hasn't dropped or changed pressure. The gear linkage seems to be operating and the gearstick is smooth into all gears but car feels like its in neutral. There have been no CV noises etc either and no sign of clutch slipping before loss of gears. Reckon it might be the gear selector shaft inside the gearbox.