Gearbox/Clutch/Mounts help.

[Steve 182]

Alright people,

Im having a little problem with the car at the moment, the gear changes dont seem to be as flush as they used to be. Also the clutch bite is really high and i made the mistake of not changing into first today and drove off in second to get a weird grinding/knocking noise from the engine, gear was changed to first soon as this happened.

As i have never had a clutch/gear box problem on any car i have owned im not sure what the problem/fault is.

I wouldnt say the gear box is abused as 90% of my driving is to and back from work in which i am stuck in traffic.

I have looked on here for some information and it has just made me more confused as to what could be wrong and made me think there could be more wrong than there actually is.

I have been given advice of several people on how to test the gear box, clutch and mounts but dont want to try any of them in case it makes things worse.

For the mounts i have been told to "floor it in first and second gear and listen for knocking sounds"

For the clutch i have been told to "floor it at around 4.5+k to see if the revs build up but the speed doesnt"

All of which sound a bit painful to me.

The car is a 182 and has covered 46K.

As you can tell im a complete novice on this part, so any help will be really helpful.

 

[Henry]

a high clutch biting point seems to be a trait, so don't worry so long as it's not slipping. the knocking whilst taking off in second will most likely just have been the engine mounts complaining (they're fairly soft and don't age all that well)

ageing engine mounts do affect the shift quality and, just on the face of what you've written, i'd say it's most likely the mounts need doing (it'll benefit in any case if they're the original mounts)

 

[Steve 182]

Thanks Henry much appreciated. :approve:

 

[Steve 182]

Anyone know how much a set (all) mounts are fitted or clutch fitted? An best place to go?

 

[Jonff]

I got my engine mounts from EuroCarParts, can't remember exact prices but I think they were,

£54 + vat for the upper engine mount
£18 + vat for the upper gearbox mount
£20ish + vat for the dogbone mounts.

Although if you can get hold of any I'd uprate the dogbone mounts with polybushed ones. When I did, it improved gear changes alot, especially 1st to 2nd when driving enthusiastically.

 

[Steve 182]

Nice one Jon, did you fit them yourself and if so how hard was it? I used the Haynes Manual fault tree last night choosing all the faults i have and all results lead to the clutch.. :dapprove: i will be taking it to AC tonight to get them to have a look and see if i can work it so i get it done under the service plan.

 

[maynard]

I priced this up the other day. Genuine retail prices for all four engine mounts are approx £170 inc vat.

 

[Steve 182]

Top man are you fitting them yourself?

Any one had a clutch replaced an know how much it is? I looked on K-Teck as a base an i think the standard clutch is £180.00 not fitted.

 

[James.f]

Fitting the mounts yourself is preety much straight forward Steve,

As for clutch dont get it from k-tec, pm maynard from here he should be able to get you a standard valeo clutch for much less circa 100ish iirc,

 

[Steve 182]

Thanks guys, took it to my mate today who is quite good with cars well he knows his stuff. An he has checked the clutch an recons it's fine. So think my best move is to have the mounts done. An then have the clutch cylinder checked as the clutch does feel high. Thanks again.

 

[Jonff]

Nice one Jon, did you fit them yourself and if so how hard was it? I used the Haynes Manual fault tree last night choosing all the faults i have and all results lead to the clutch.. :dapprove: i will be taking it to AC tonight to get them to have a look and see if i can work it so i get it done under the service plan.

Pretty straight forward really Steve, upper engine mount and dogbone mount are a doddle, the upper gearbox mount can be a bit of pain, trying to remove the nut off the top of it was my biggest problem because the whole mount kept twisting.

 

[Steve 182]

Pretty straight forward really Steve, upper engine mount and dogbone mount are a doddle, the upper gearbox mount can be a bit of pain, trying to remove the nut off the top of it was my biggest problem because the whole mount kept twisting.

Nice one, do you have a crane to support the engine when you did it or do you not need anything like that? :S

 

[Jonff]

Nice one, do you have a crane to support the engine when you did it or do you not need anything like that? :S

No, just a jack and a piece of wood to support the engine when you take the mounts off.

 

[Steve 182]

No, just a jack and a piece of wood to support the engine when you take the mounts off.

Nice one, i have it booked into Birchdown an they said they would check it when it is in.. :approve: