HI All

had my car into the garage today as its developed a droning noise when driving over 15mph, i assumed it was the wheel bearings, it turns out its not.

the garage checked the wheel bearings and said everything was solid and as it should be, the owner took my car for a spin so he could hear the noise for himself,

on his return he came over to me and handed me the keys back and said "its the gearbox"

he says the bearings have gone in the box causing it to make a racket when driving.

now the car is a 52 plate with 103K on the clock, it owes me less than £1000, but im unsure what to do about it.

Do i buy a 2nd hand box off the likes of ebay and get the garage to fit it? (he estimated around £120-£150 to remove and install another box)

Or should i ring and get some quotes from gearbox places for a rebuild?

or should i just scrap it and cut my losses? Car has MOT until May but does need a new backbox and rear brakes need redoing too.

im torn really as the boxes on ebay seem to be about £300 for a 2nd hand one, then plus the fitting costs its almost £500.

any advice guys?

thanks

Just drive it until the box goes! If it owes you not much just drive it until it dies

I'd get it reconditiond if it was me, give a few places a call, might not be as much as you think. Anything under £200 sounds like a bargain

Had exactly the same problem with ours. Was at about 105k miles.

Seems its pretty common.

It's still not been 100% after recon gearbox and still crunches a little when cold.

We've given up on it and hopefully getting a new car soon.

I'd probably just keep driving it until it broke.

If you want to keep the car long term then you'd probably be better off replacing it. If you were planning on getting another car in the near future, then drive it 'till MOT time and trade it in for something else then.

What exactly did he say? If its just the input shaft bearing, these can be had for very little, and its not a big or hard job to replace it, its just the labour cost to remove and refit the gearbox. Add £50 tops to the quote he gave you for a new bearing and to fit it, and I reckon that should see you well. Get a few quotes from elsewhere too so you can try to keep costs down to a bare minimum would be my recommendation.

If your going to fix it, recon the current box. It'll cost as much as a second hand one, but then that might well go a few weeks later.

Ours failed fantastically.

It had been whining for a while and had tried a gear oil change and the garage had fixed the gear shift mechanism.

Before we could get it back to the garage for further investigation there was a big bang and loud knocking noises from the gearbox.

We couldn't use our current gearbox again as there was damage to the casing so had to get a 2nd and recon box.

Phil

Thanks for all the replies, im calling a couple of places tomorrow for quotes on rebuilds but tbh after thinking about it im probably just going to run it until the MOT expires then scrap it.

its been a great little car but im not prepared to sink night on £500 into a £900 car. hopefully ill be able to bag myself another one for similar money as i really like the little fabia's and they are mega cheap on fuel, tax and insurance, at least then i can swap over my good bits onto the new one

I got mine reconditioned for £500 including the fitting, I made the mistake to be there while they were doing it. They manage to drop the gears on the floor, plus washed the internals with water. The put Triple Q oil in it. I changed it after about 50 miles to genuine one. What came out was white and not clear because of the water in it. But now after about 1000 miles is OK, so in the end as long as you change the oil after a while, everything should be fine. Also they didn't tight up properly the front wing liner and the battery cable was a bit twisted.

I got mine reconditioned for £500 including the fitting, I made the mistake to be there while they were doing it. They manage to drop the gears on the floor, plus washed the internals with water. The put Triple Q oil in it. I changed it after about 50 miles to genuine one. What came out was white and not clear because of the water in it. But now after about 1000 miles is OK, so in the end as long as you change the oil after a while, everything should be fine. Also they didn't tight up properly the front wing liner and the battery cable was a bit twisted.

bloody hell where did you take it bodgit and scarper transmissions???

I got mine reconditioned for £500 including the fitting, I made the mistake to be there while they were doing it. They manage to drop the gears on the floor, plus washed the internals with water.

While they were at it, they should have just put the cogs in the dishwasher!

I would at least get someone to look at whats wrong with the box first then decide.

A back box and rear brakes are cheap, any replacement car you buy will need work sooner or later so it comes down to a simple question: What the repair will cost you and can you buy a better car for the repair cost and whatever you can get for your car in its current condition + whatever you are willing to spend. I suspect the answer will be probably not. The answer to that is far from simple.

That leaves you with a few options:

Run it till it dies, you may have to have it recovered as it will die when you least want it to but you will get it's scrap value.

Have it repaired, this will cost you in the short term but if you can get a few years of trouble free motoring out of it then a few hundred quid is probably a good investment, at the end you still get the scrap value.

The problem with either option is you can't predict the future, you could fix the box and something else significant goes or you could buy a newer car and it throws a turbo or a clutch.

Better the devil you know than the devil you don't but it's not as simple a proposition as do I or don't I spend 2-500 on a £1k car.

What car is it btw, I just assumed a 6 speed vrs, but valued at £900 it can't be. The normal 5 speed box's are quite cheap really.

Backbox also cheap, rear brakes, set of shoes maybe? Also cheap!

I popped the main shaft right out the end of the box!

3rd to 4th change on a hybrid at full whack with an uprated clutch the box did no like

Was spectacular

What car is it btw, I just assumed a 6 speed vrs, but valued at £900 it can't be. The normal 5 speed box's are quite cheap really.

Backbox also cheap, rear brakes, set of shoes maybe? Also cheap!

Think it's an SDI 5 speed box.

I have also heard of a few of these failing.

These gearboxes are made of a mixture of cheese and chocolate you know.

Phil

Think it's an SDI 5 speed box.

I have also heard of a few of these failing.

These gearboxes are made of a mixture of cheese and chocolate you know.

Phil

yep tis an SDI matey, on 104k at the mo.

ive noticed a couple of "odd" things though.

1. the noise doesnt go away when the cars in neutral, is that right?

2. when im turning right at over 15mph (roundabouts etc) the noise completely goes away, but when i straighten up its back again.

anyone any ideas?

so it still makes a noise even in neutral and parked?

so it still makes a noise even in neutral and parked?

no mate silent until you get over 15mph or so.

anyone else got any ideas ref the 2 points ive mentioned above? thanks

It means the problem isn't on the input shaft. I'd possibly be getting a second opinion on the wheel bearings before pulling the gearbox out though.

It means the problem isn't on the input shaft. I'd possibly be getting a second opinion on the wheel bearings before pulling the gearbox out though.

Thanks bud will get someone else to give them a once over