Transmission/Driveshaft concerns

[JamesT5]

I'm starting to get quite concerned with my driveshaft and transmission and as of yet, I've not had the opportunity to take the car to a specialist for a proper evaluation, something I intend to do as soon as possible after pay day next week!

At the moment, 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears are really noisey, especially when accelerating making a gargling/grinding sound. There's also a whistle or whine as I declutch at times in those middle gears and a constant 'humming' at lower revs and if I free wheel the car with the clutch down or the car in neutral. This humming also takes place in 5th gear where there is hardly any 'grinding' noise at all. 1st gear is also not too bad although I'm starting to hear some noise there too.

But what's most concerning is I'm getting a 'squeak' in both directions when I'm turning the car in a car park or manoeuvring for example. The best way I can describe it is that its like someone is wearing leather trousers on a leather seat and their trousers squeal against the seat.

My theory is the noise from the transmission is being caused by a worn driveshaft bearing, because this humming when the car is free wheeling means the weight of the car is causing load on the driveshaft and this is why there is noise in neutral.

Additionally, if you think about the logic of it, the gargling/grinding takes place unde acceleration because the transmission is transferring power to the driveshaft during this time and this is causing the bearings to grind together. The squeaking when I'm turning around etc, is either caused by the driveshaft sitting out of position and therefore making this sound or something has 'dried out', it may also account for why the car seems to want to stray off towards the left despite a 4 wheel alignment on a calibrated laser alignment system recently.

Something isn't right here somehow!

Regards

James

[graemewelch]

gearbox is shafted mate. nowt to do with shafts. new box and you might aswell get dmf and clutch as ive no doubt your dmf will be hammered to

[JamesT5]

gearbox is shafted mate. nowt to do with shafts. new box and you might aswell get dmf and clutch as ive no doubt your dmf will be hammered to

Thanks for the input, I know either way this will be another large bill, I'll let you know what the gearbox specialist comes up with.

[Fubar1977]

That car is really testing you mate.
I admire your perseverance.

Good luck, I hope for the sake of your wallet that Graeme`s wrong!!!

Mines in for MOT tomorrow so hopefully it won`t be a ruinously expensive day.

[JamesT5]

Off to see a Gearbox specialist tomorrow afternoon, they'll be able to listen to it and let me know what they think the problem is. A soecialist is what's needed here because every other 'standard' fitter/mechanic has just said "it's transmission noise". A specialist will be able to give a better diagnosis so I'll post on here with the answer they give me.

Regards

James

[JamesT5]

I've noticed the rattle on the drivers side that was there even before I had my suspension changed is getting worse, I wonder if this is coming from the DMF or Clutch as it's worse when the clutch pedal is down. I've listened to DMF sounds on Youtube and there is no rattle when the car is at idle (a common sign of a worn DMF as far as I can tell), only mainly on uneven/rough road surfaces and at lower speeds. My bet is that this mystery sound which has been bugging me for months is on someway related to this gearbox issue.

Perhaps I should do a video of it for people to have a listen to.......

[claymore]

FFS James, I really feel for you, but please don't chuck any more big money at this car.

[JamesT5]

FFS James, I really feel for you, but please don't chuck any more big money at this car.

I won't let this car beat me! I'm sure there are people here who have spent alot more than me but just haven't felt the need to share the experiences with everyone else. Personally I see this as a useful learning experience although somewhat frustrating, when you don't have a lump sum to go out and buy a much newer car you have to replace the bad bits in stages.

I appreciate your input and wisdom, however the car owes me too much time and money now so in my view it's an all or nothing scenario.

I wonder how many users and guests will ultimately find this 'bread trail' of mine useful, I hope to think a great many over time.

Regards

James

[claymore]

I appreciate where your coming from, I suppose I'm in the lucky position that if one of my dailys develops a big fault I just weigh it in and pick something else up. I never pay more than about £800 for a car.

[JamesT5]

I appreciate where your coming from, I suppose I'm in the lucky position that if one of my dailys develops a big fault I just weigh it in and pick something else up. I never pay more than about £800 for a car.

Sometimes, as I've said before on the forum, it's not about the money but about the goal at the end of it............

I see lots of very good home mechanics posting projects about their cars on here, some even take complete none runners and fix them and turn them in to quality cars. Are they 'chucking big money' at their vehicles and wasting their time, or are they trying to achieve something at the end of it! I've noticed one in particular, Merc85 has done a brilliant job of getting 'Blacky' back from the dead, perhaps I'm just simply inspired by projects and perseverance of this nature.

The only difference with me is a lack of experience mechanically and a lack of facilities to fix my own car alot of the time. That said, I've tackled jobs I would never have even thought about doing a year ago, thanks in part to a lot of the regular members on this site. They have literally saved me thousands!

[claymore]

How much have you spent on the car in the past 12 months?

[JamesT5]

How much have you spent on the car in the past 12 months?

As an estimate, somewhere between £2500 and £3000.

[claymore]

As an estimate, somewhere between £2500 and £3000.

I would not put a smile on the end of that sentence, you have spent around 3 times the value of the car in a year, your car is not a hobby car, it's just a daily driver, you can't compare your situation to the likes of Merc or myself who spend our money as a hobby to tune and modify our cars. But at the end of the day, it's your money, I really and truly hope it's not bad news tomorrow, but if the estimate is anything over £400 I would think about saving your money and putting it into another car, and take yours to your most local auction.

[graemewelch]

couldnt agree more. for what youve spent your almost close to spending what id want fo rmy car, never misses a beat ever £4500

[claymore]

couldnt agree more. for what youve spent your almost close to spending what id want fo rmy car, never misses a beat ever £4500

I thought I was on my own there for a while.

[merc85]

to be fair since Having got into t5's if i counted what i spent including buying the car and mods, which ive continually transfered from one car to another, The black car i know have as cost somewhere in the region of £4,000! lol but this does not take into account that breaking my 1st Auto 850 to which i paid £500 in the 1st for made me £1,100 including weighing it in.

The Manual red one which ive recently broke i paid £700 for this recently returned me £1,400 inc weigh in, which helped me buy blacky for £495. and i have a vast amount of spares to help me afford to run her.

You certainly have dedication bud. And if you love the car that much, keep on and eventually you should end up with a extremly good car that you know inside out.

It all boils down to how much you love the vehicle at the end of the day.

[JamesT5]

but if the estimate is anything over £400 I would think about saving your money and putting it into another car, and take yours to your most local auction.

I'd get peanuts for it, and for the money I'd be buying another car of similar mileage and condition. With that will come along another big bag of bills and problems.

There's a saying I use, "Better the devil you know than the one you don't". The other one is, "The Grass isn't always greener on the other side". Both of these are my guiding principle here!

[JamesT5]

to be fair since Having got into t5's if i counted what i spent including buying the car and mods, which ive continually transfered from one car to another, The black car i know have as cost somewhere in the region of £4,000! lol but this does not take into account that breaking my 1st Auto 850 to which i paid £500 in the 1st for made me £1,100 including weighing it in.

The Manual red one which ive recently broke i paid £700 for this recently returned me £1,400 inc weigh in, which helped me buy blacky for £495. and i have a vast amount of spares to help me afford to run her.

I certainly have dedication bud. And if you love the car that much, keep on and eventually you should end up with a extremly good car that you know inside out.

It all boils down to how much you love the vehicle at the end of the day.

Thanks Gav, I am rather connected with the car.

[merc85]

Editited, YOU have dedication mate, i cant believe how hard i found it breaking the Manual red 850 i had, but it saved another car in the process and it was nice seeing some very nice panels going to nealevo and other's

The Heart of the 1st 850 t5 i had (the auto) 4 years ago is still beating in the black car along with the Ported Head. Me and that 1st car have that connection you have with your car.

[JamesT5]

For those interested, here's a video I made this evening of some of the gearbox noise during a short road test. The purpose of the video is mainly for the ears so forgive the boring view of the glovebox and dashboard.

The noise can be louder than this when the box warms up a bit but at lower speeds you'll hear the sounds better. In 5th gear cruising, the sound is more like a high 'humming' sound............