I have just drained and refilled the gearbox oil of my 2001 Felicia 1.3mpi. I now have a gearbox whine whilst driving for the first kilometre. After that, not a sound.

It sounds like one of those rally cars or modded minis with the straight cut gears?? although the gear noise on mine is not as loud.

 

The new oil is 75W90 as I can see recommended in this excellent forum and from other sources, so i'm sure it's the correct grade.

 

I think the problem might be, is that i was rather generous at the filling stage. My understanding is that it should be ~4mm up the plastic worm gear. (please correct if i'm wrong), however careful I was, I managed to fill to the bottom of the gearbox hole the speedo assembly sits in.

 

My question is:

Is it

Because of overfilling, The whine has been created.

OR

The new oil has somehow highlighted an existing problem with the gearbox.

OR

It's just coincidence that the two events (oil change + whine) happened on the same day.

 

Opinions/comments/recommendations appreciated

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/247026-very-strange-gearbox-noise/

Thank you JohnDoe for your forum link, plenty of information.

 

Some more info:

The car has 300,000kms on the clock and after talking to the previous owner (from new), he has never replaced the gearbox oil at any service interval.

 

At the time of draining the old oil, I checked the 32mm 5th gear end nuts, they were solid. (N90790601)

 

Please correct me if I'm wrong for benefit of other forum members.

1. Gearbox oil increases in viscosity (thickness) as time passes. Due to Molecular breakdown, esters, acids, swarf etc.

2. Wear in the gearbox over time will expand clearances, therefore needs a more heavy duty oil(higher w) to keep quiet.

3. If 1 & 2 are correct, putting lower viscosity oil in, during oil change, has highlighted a problem ie whine.

 

Simplistically, I've taken out old thick oil and replaced it with what is specified, but it's too thin for the wear over the years, therefore it is whining.

 

But why does it stop after 2mins or 1km of driving.

 

My knowledge of gearbox stripdown is zero.

 

Should I just live with it, Balancing the cost of a rebuild, or is there another approach.

 

As always, comments, criticism, a fix, are always welcome

 

changing gearbox oil every 60.000 km or 2 years is often forgotten. 

but as long as there was the right oil at the right level over time, not changing tl has little or no importance.

gears wear out mainly from bad shifting or from putting too much weight/stress on the car

normal driving habits keep the gearbox happy.

1) 2) and 3) are correct, but that is not the problem.

the noise disappears because the gearbox gets hotter, the metal expands and the play is reduced. no mystery.

Felicia's gearbox has a design flaw in 5th speed gears area.

there is a spot with bad oiling.

all Russian Felicias developed that noise more or less after 100.000 km

depending of driving style and load.

 

I will explain the steps of failing:

- the bearing that fails first from bad lubrication (dripping style) is this:

this needle bearing has a plastic cage.

 

see additional photos below (1)

 

 

 

- then 5th speed gears start to worn out from wobbling

- finally the outer bearing of input shaft starts to wear.

 

now you know what to change:

needle bearing for sure, maybe 5th speed gears, maybe input shaft bearing.

I hope this helps.

Wow..!!

Clear, concise and to the point with pictures of the likely problem and a suggested fix. So impressed.

I'm not planning on either getting either a gearbox bearing rebuild or replacement box soon.

 

Unless, In your experience, the whine is a sign that the gearbox is soon going to go critical with an energetic disassembly (BANG) or something I have to live with for a few months. ??

 

So after 300K and it's first gearbox oil change has highlighted some wear.

Whilst draining the oil (after a 20min drive to warm up) I thought to myself "this stuff's a bit on the thick side" even compared to the cool replacement 75W90 ~2.5litres of oil I had next to me in the bottle.

I'm surprised the gearbox has lasted this long with such a viscous oil, last year the nightime temp fell to -33C. The gearshift had a bit of resistance, must have been hell for the bearings prior to warming up !

Unless, In your experience, the whine is a sign that the gearbox is soon going to go critical with an energetic disassembly (BANG) or something I have to live with for a few months. ??

I know one person that had a horrific experience when driving uphill in 5th at 90 km/h.

he was traveling with his wife and had half full luggage compartment

so not such big load.

his gearbox had a constant whine for some time.

what happened is the 5th speed gear(s) cracked and the gearbox blew off

locking the front wheels in the process...

the car hit the guardrail then rolled over on the field.

luckily both had safety belts on and only got minor injuries at knees and head.

but what a mental shock.

 

so I would say it's a gamble.

me personally I'm afraid to say '"that will never happen to me".

Local old-boy mechanic replaced all input shaft bearings this week and refilled the box. He's got a "thing" for gearboxes. If it's problem, he says, I can solve it. (in polish).

A few zloty and much vodka was exchanged. happy days.

He did point out, however, that I would still have a whine for the first few hundred kilometres, whilst the "new guys are saying hello" <bedding in>

True to his word. I have the sweetest gearbox in the whole of europe. not a whisper of gear noise.

Moral of the story.....experience

can you ask the local mechanic if he took photos while doing it?

if not on your gearbox, any other Felicia gearbox.

even better, tell him nobody showed on YouTube how to overhaul the gearbox of our cars.

it would be a world premiere.

we will send vodka to grease his throat

I will ask him for photos the next time he has a Felicia in.

I imagine he is about 70+ years old, started life as an apprentice at the Ursus tractor factory. gearbox assembly !!

This man has worked on nothing but gearboxes all his life, he's a diamond !

 

I will make it my mission to get photos or better still video of him at work on a Felicia gearbox.

Spread the wisdom of the old boys.

Hi I have a whine / rumble from my felicia gearbox I cannot seem to find the 5th gear bearing here in the uk. All skoda dealers are out of stock & I'm told by numerous Skoda & vw delares that it is discontinued. Ive tried to source the bearing from numerous bearing dealers but they all say they cannot get it either!  

Where is the best place to get one from in Europe? I can find them listed online in many eastern European websites but even Google translate still leaves too much untranslated to make any sense of the purchase. The last thing I want is to pay expect a bearing & nothing to happen.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

P.s I have tightened the nuts up & one was indeed loose & I also changed the oil whist I was there. 5th gear looks dry & I suspect the bearing is goosed by the amount of swarf I cleaned out of the casing. However the noise is far quieter now. :S