gearboxs are they realy this weak?

[danny h 172]

hi everyone i havent had my clio very long when i was driving home around the back lanes and changed from 2nd to 3rd and then had no drive,later found that the gearbox had blown, i wasnt abusing the gearbox but i was in high revs when changing. anyone else had this problem or is it my bad luck?regards dan

 

[JON13S]

think its just luck mate. i drove a saxo vts for 57k with no troubles (very hard) then i had a saab aero and the gearbox gave up in that. damn me for having the six speed model....... mine seems ok in the cup....

 

[H182]

They are quite a weak point but usually ok if not rushed.

 

[danny h 172]

ok cheers chaps, iv just put new box in so taking for test drive tonight so hopefully goes ok!!!!!!

 

[Beef-Mc]

Should be ok, gearboxes are generally quite good.

 

[MillerLight]

i did 80K of fast snappy driving with my 172. never had any probs with the g.box or clutch. although Lewis from my area had a g.box go at about 50K in his cup

 

[MillerLight]

i did 80K of fast snappy driving with my 172. never had any probs with the g.box or clutch. although Lewis from my area had a g.box go at about 50K in his cup-----------------oops not sure what happen here

 

[DrR]

My syncro went at 44k, shocking really.

 

[danny h 172]

well my gearbox just mashed everything inside! right b**ch of a job to do aswell!

 

[Henry]

seems to be a luck thing IMO. mine broke at less than 40k, contributory factor being the suspicion that it had been run low on oil at some point (second hand=gamble) - they're apparently prone to leaking which won't help..

people are always quick to defend the gearbox if they've not had trouble themselves (fair enough) but there's no getting away from the fact that it's not a very good gearbox. the crappy engine mounts don't help but it does have a poor shift action (and especially if you want to press on with it). people will queue up to disagree on here - but they really need to have spent some time in a car with a good 'box to be able to compare meaningfully.

i feel better for that:approve:

 

[Big Iain]

A few mates and I had them go at the 40k mark, seen the casing blown apart too when a cog lets go! Liked to pop out of gear too after a rebuild!

 

[fillip]

hmmmmm mines popped out of first before and kind of crunches when going into third when cold:S

 

[SBV116]

think its just luck mate. i drove a saxo vts for 57k with no troubles (very hard) then i had a saab aero and the gearbox gave up in that. damn me for having the six speed model....... mine seems ok in the cup....

My VTS had 4 boxes in 2 years!!!

 

[Matteh]

i keep a few spare now

 

[bmh.01]

Yes they are a s**t box but not as bad as some people make out. The trouble (imo) stems from the fact that the box design is 20(+) years old, it was never designed as a 5 speed box and was also probably never intended to take the torque/power/abuse they get in a 1*2. It is imo one of the cars big downsides, but some mechanical sympathy will go a long way to helping it survive.

Renault knew this obviously as all the current range (afaik) use the new design gearboxes which are of nissan design I belive (at least some of they are). Although as some 197 owners will tell you they're not bulletproof either.

 

[craigc]

My regular garage said that the gearbox on my Clio was knackered and said I would be looking at £1000-£1300 to get it repaired. For that sort of money I decided to get a second opinion. They put it on their diagnostic machine and said that cylinder 3 was low on pressure and that by the time they stripped it down to find out what was wrong it would be cheaper to buy a new engine.

I bought a new engine and they fitted it. Now when it idles it is very erratic. The revs go up and down to the point that it feels like it will stall. This seems to be worse once the engine has warmed up. I've read a few threads on this forum and they mention cleaning the throttle-body. When I took the car back to the garage they took the air filter off and cleaned the throttle-body whilst I was there. This seemed to help straight away, but by the time the air filter was screwed back into place the engine was idling erratically again.

The gearbox is still as rough as before despite the garage putting some "rejuvenator fluid" in the gearbox.

The noise I could probably learn to live with but there is a distinct lack of power when accelerating to get onto the slip road of the motorway.

My question is - is it the gearbox or the engine that is causing the lack of power? There is just no pull in the car at the moment. I don't want to put too much stress on the gearbox and break it - especially on the motorway!

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[theduck]

I cant answer your question, but why didnt you replace the gearbox while replacing the engine???

 

[Fletcher]

Bad luck i'd say.

My mk2 172 is nearly on 88k and still on it's first gearbox, and is fine [touches wood]

 

[craigc]

I cant answer your question, but why didnt you replace the gearbox while replacing the engine???

Well, the garage was confident that replacing the engine would sort everything out. I'm beginning to wish I had got a gearbox too, I can tell you. The main reason was cost. Now it's going to cost even more I guess!

Would a gearbox on it's way out kill the performance? I mean, it's just got no grunt anymore.

I'm taking it back to the garage tomorrow, but being non-mechanically minded I haven't got a clue really. I hate being fobbed off. If anybody out there has had similar experience or knows what it might be then please reply.

 

[gtruk]

To be hoenst mate i dont see a gearbox giving you a lack in power, its either all or nothing. You would have some really bad symptoms, like not putting it in gear, or it jumping out etc etc. I would say you have an issue with the engine. Take it back to whoever put the engine in and get them to fix it FOC, OR take it to another garage to fix, get an engineers report of the issue and send the bill to the garage who fucked up on the new engine install.

 

[craigc]

Well, it's definitely not jumping out of gear and it shifts gears fine. It just rattles/clatters a bit. As soon as you dip the clutch the noise stops so I figured that either the bearings are going in the gearbox or something more terminal ahead.

I've dropped the car back to the garage now for them to sort it out. In my mind I know how it used to run and how it should perform. Currently it drives like the world's slowest thing on 4 wheels with your 90 year old grandma behind the wheel. Put it this way... even the baked-bean tin of a car (1994 Fiat Cinquecento 899cc) that we bought as an essential runaround until we get the Clio fixed... even this can out-drag the Clio up the slip road to the motorway at the moment

Hopefully, the garage will work out the problem and we can start to drive about in comfort!

In the meantime, if anybody has anymore thoughts on the problem then give me a shout.

 

[stozza]

3rd box for me!

Some may say it could be my driving!

On 92k now!

Had it done under warranty 1st time, but they only replace parts and not replace with a new box, and second time bought a second hand one!

Still have the old one in the garage, goimg to get rebuilt for the when this one goes! lol

 

[edde]

people are always quick to defend the gearbox if they've not had trouble themselves (fair enough) but there's no getting away from the fact that it's not a very good gearbox. the crappy engine mounts don't help but it does have a poor shift action (and especially if you want to press on with it). people will queue up to disagree on here - but they really need to have spent some time in a car with a good 'box to be able to compare meaningfully.

The better boxes and gear change come at a n extra cost so you pay your money your take your choice the box is fine with reasonable care.

Renault knew this obviously as all the current range (afaik) use the new design gearboxes which are of nissan design I belive (at least some of they are).

197/106 dci owners have a co designed box.

 

[Henry]

i know what you're saying but was thinking of the comparison between the RS 'box and something like the 205GTi's box - it's a very comparable car and has a far nicer gearbox.

i agree that it's not terrible but (like BMH), i think that it does let the rest of the car down - the nature of all of the other bits encourages you to play with the car, but the gearbox is a bit of a spoil-sport imo.

 

[ghutcho]

Hi mate I work for renault and ive only seen 2 or 3 boxes give up in 5years so they are quite good really

 

[cg172]

Well, it's definitely not jumping out of gear and it shifts gears fine. It just rattles/clatters a bit. As soon as you dip the clutch the noise stops so I figured that either the bearings are going in the gearbox or something more terminal ahead.

I've dropped the car back to the garage now for them to sort it out. In my mind I know how it used to run and how it should perform. Currently it drives like the world's slowest thing on 4 wheels with your 90 year old grandma behind the wheel. Put it this way... even the baked-bean tin of a car (1994 Fiat Cinquecento 899cc) that we bought as an essential runaround until we get the Clio fixed... even this can out-drag the Clio up the slip road to the motorway at the moment

Hopefully, the garage will work out the problem and we can start to drive about in comfort!

In the meantime, if anybody has anymore thoughts on the problem then give me a shout.

Might be a bit of a stupid comment, but your clutch isn't slipping/fu*ked is it?