gearbox replacement

[PandaMark]

Hello All,

 

I've been gifted(?) an 02-plate Fabia 1.4 16v Comfort, with just under 120,000 miles. The engine is as quiet as a mouse but it (definitely!) needs a new gearbox. It seemed a shame to turn it down / break it. I'm no mechanic and I'm slightly baffled by all the different codes, etc

The engine / transmission codes on the information sticker in the boot are: BBZ / GDM

 

If I end up scouring ebay, what are my options from throughout the group?

 

Thanks

[sepulchrave]

You're no mechanic but you say it DEFINITELY needs a new gearbox?

 

Explain please.

[devonutopia]

Well, I am no mechanic but if it wasn't able to select gears, or making a horrid noise in gear, or between shifts,  I would think new box too

[PandaMark]

explanation: it was a professional diagnosis from a trusted source

 

it's extremely noisy and barely drivable - we managed to move it 100yds onto the trailer and then manoeuvre it across the yard once unloaded at the workshop, but you wouldn't want to take it to the local shops!
something inside has failed; I suppose that it could be repaired or rebuilt, but a swap is likely to be cheaper and easier at this stage

[Breezy_Pete]

If you scroll down this page until you start seeing the gearbox codes associated with the 1.4 l/74 kW engine which is what yours is, there seems to be quite a few codes. Might be best to stick to variants from around the same manufacturing dates, but that might give you quite a few more to search  for on ebay, rather than just GDM.  There is one of those currently listed but for biggish money.

Make sure your replacement box matches your present one in terms of presence/absence of speedometer sender.

[PandaMark]

Thanks for the link...
 

Make sure your replacement box matches your present one in terms of presence/absence of speedometer sender.

 

• the link states:"as of 11/02 vehicles with ABS do not have the sender for speedometer"

 

it's an August '02 car, so I presume that mine does have it and that that narrows my search...

 

Cheers

[Jon_woo]

imo opinion if you are not needing to use the car then i would drop the box and get it rebuilt

[vzo25]

Hello All,

I've been gifted(?) an 02-plate Fabia 1.4 16v Comfort, with just under 120,000 miles. The engine is as quiet as a mouse but it (definitely!) needs a new gearbox. It seemed a shame to turn it down / break it. I'm no mechanic and I'm slightly baffled by all the different codes, etc

The engine / transmission codes on the information sticker in the boot are: BBZ / GDM

If I end up scouring ebay, what are my options from throughout the group?

Thanks

Your lucky you only have 2codes. When searching for my box there was choice of3. And tbh if i was to have probs again i would get the whole thing recon

As i sourced gbox from car older than mine but had certified 60k. Yet had i waited another week i could of had whole engine with gbox witharound same miles for same price.

Mines the 1.9tdi pd100 atd . Recon box for mine would have been 600 second hand box was 225

[PandaMark]

Make sure your replacement box matches your present one in terms of presence/absence of speedometer sender.

 

is that it on the bottom left, above the driveshaft?

[Breezy_Pete]

I believe so, yes.

[PandaMark]

Well, it's been a slow process but we eventually found a matching gearbox (why are they always so far away?) and it's been fitted; on workshop trials it drove very nicely - the engine is so quiet I had to keep checking that it hadn't stalled!
The vehicle is now MOT'd - it just needed a set of new wipers for the test! - (though I'm still awaiting a logbook; the original was lost as my friend moved house) but there are still some niggly bits, which will no doubt be mentioned elsewhere...

[hutchysrs50]

Good result then

[PandaMark]

and so, with a log-book now in my name, and road tax paid, I've been out for a couple of short spins, instead of idling on the drive...

 

It's still scarily quiet!

What wasn't picked up during the gearbox replacement was that a fault light is now on on the dash (17 in the picture below ); it looks like the general 'engine management / gearbox' symbol, though the manual says 'exhaust emissions'  - will this go off after a bit of running, or can this be turned off by plugging it into a reader? 

The ABS warning light is also on (16); I can hear a dragging from the n/s/r wheel (with the window open) though I would imagine that it's more likely to be a broken sensor?

These two are accompanied by a triangle warning light (12), which the manual says is ESP/TCS - what is this and what can I do here?

As expected, the front windows don't work! Is it possible to clean / repair the motors or is it a case of fitting new ones? Do any Fabias have old-fashioned windy-windows?   

 

Edited 27 March, 2016 by PandaMark

[Tech1e]

Until the fault codes are read it's anyone's guess.

[Breezy_Pete]

Check that the electrical connectors on a bracket on the front of the gearbox have been reconnected after the replacement box was fitted.

[PandaMark]

Thanks - I'll be taking it into work tomorrow for a bit of a valet - we'll have a look around the engine bay for any loose / non-existent connections Hopefully, when the tech's are back in on Tuesday I'll get the codes read

[PandaMark]

Well, one of them was easy enough - after a bit of a drive the emissions light went out
(didn't have a chance to get the other codes read; maybe next week)