First up, it's difficult to tell from the sound on the video.

One thing's for sure - the steering wheel cover is definitely a problem.

Sounds to me like the input shaft bearings are not happy - if the car was in neutral, when you let the clutch up, then it's spinning, and that sounds like that's the problem; my rally car does a similar thing, but it's got a straight cut set of gears (which are noisy, rather than the quiet helical ones in a standard box), but I also made an error building the box once and didn't have the input shaft shimmed correctly, and it sounded like that.

And did you notice that somebody had actually put the steering wheel on the wrong side of the car ! :p

And did you notice that somebody had actually put the steering wheel on the wrong side of the car ! :p

there you go darren perfect doner car for your new shell

Already got all the bits, Jim! I did notice it's a southpaw, but don't think that's the problem per se....

good job nobody suggested changing the clutch cable lol

ot sounds a bit like gearbox bearings to me but i just wouldn't worry about it till it fails to be honest.. re 1st gear they are sometimes a bit hard to get if the box is filled with ep80 gearoil thats why we fill them with ATF..

good job nobody suggested changing the clutch cable lol

ot sounds a bit like gearbox bearings to me but i just wouldn't worry about it till it fails to be honest.. re 1st gear they are sometimes a bit hard to get if the box is filled with ep80 gearoil thats why we fill them with ATF..

I'm guessing it's EP80 in there at the moment if that standard. ATF, thats auto box fluid innit? Is it a bit thinner?

I'm guessing it's EP80 in there at the moment if that standard. ATF, thats auto box fluid innit? Is it a bit thinner?

yes auto trans fluid is lots thinner, 30 grade i think, we were advised by S'uk back when the faverits came out that using ATF was a fix for baulky gear changes (we were a skoda uk service agent back then) and since then its what we have used in ALL the skoda box's and had very little problem with any, also change it every 40k and change the first lot of running in oil at 6k..

Do you have to flush the old oil out or just drain it and refill with ATF?

Do you have to flush the old oil out or just drain it and refill with ATF?

just drain and refil mate, go and have a cup of tea while its draining

First up, it's difficult to tell from the sound on the video.

I didn't expect to be able to pinpoint which ball from which bearing has a tiny indentation, but nevertheless... it looks like one bearing is a goner. could it be a 100.000 km specific issue on Felicia cars? and btw, 100.000 km=62,500 miles for people with steering wheel on the wrong side and changing gears with the left hand, as we all know humans are left-handed, isn't it?

One thing's for sure - the steering wheel cover is definitely a problem.  

my dog chewed the steering wheel to the metal.

so the cover is from its skin, poor thing... (evil laugh)

Edited 5 March, 201016 yr by masster

On the other hand, taking into consideration another possible 'culprit' (the shift mechanism) which is quite worn out judging by the not-at-all-stiff shift lever, where should I look for rattling parts ? I am referring at gearbox shifting parts too, not just outer parts.

Maybe some of the photos at http://automn.ru/skoda-felicia/skoda-19764-10.m_id-2041.html could help for description. Please edit photo(s) by putting red arrow(s) where necessary and attach it here.

Cheers

Here you go

The joint near the front is the usual culprit. I've also arrowed the joint between the linkage and the gearbox selector shaft as I've had a couple where the roll pin had worn the hole oval, leading to a lot of side-to-side movement.

Generally, there's not a lot of play inside the 'box. If you've ever taken one apart, you'll know why.

thank you for your quick and descriptive answer.

so... bottom line, here is what I've learned from this topic (cold weather related):

- if it's more of a rattle than of a grinding noise & shifting lever is loose -> check shift linkage for oval holes in the above designated points.

perhaps the rattle gets quieter while engine is warming up because the shift mechanism is situated near (hot) exhaust pipes.

- if it's more of a grinding noise than of a rattle => check the clutch bearing and if OK => check the 2 input shaft bearings for wear.

bearings get warm when gearbox oil gets warm and thus the noise will disappear.

thank you for your quick and descriptive answer.

so... bottom line, here is what I've learned from this topic i]

How about not hijacking threads? Only joking :p

Edited 8 March, 201016 yr by myjalopy

How about not hijacking threads? Only joking :p

as I was saying, I summed up all knowledge I've learned from Briskoda members. your copyright is included     

Edited 9 March, 201016 yr by masster