RS Gearboxs.............who's had problems

[Budgie]

Mine span a bearing on the main gearset a few months back.

On inspection, the original clutch was fine after 102k!

 

[-J-]

mw51/bl172 is on his 3rd new Box in as many months IIRC LOL

 

[pablo_ni]

I used 75/80 from halfords. Seems fine so far.

Filled it the first time then when putting the last bottle in noticed it was different (same bottle). had to drain it all and buy 3 new bottles ffs.

 

[Greeny.]

Before I owned my car a drive shaft came through the side of it :/

 

[Tav]

I have trouble selecting 3rd when changing down from 5th or 4th whilst also applying the brakes heavily. 99% sure it's the engine mounts letting the box move too far and not allowing the selector shaft to quite slot the next gear.

 

[clio_luke]

I have trouble selecting 3rd when changing down from 5th or 4th whilst also applying the brakes heavily. 99% sure it's the engine mounts letting the box move too far and not allowing the selector shaft to quite slot the next gear.

ktr uprated engine mounts seemed to have helped smooth my gearchanges. my car is on 55k and running really well. im not too rough through the gears and the car does get driven hard on a regular basis, not every trip, but often enough. i also try to rev match when downhifting. might start using the heel toe method.

 

[saltyhair81]

My bearings decided to whine like babies at around 69k.. I had the box rebuilt. If anyone was to ask me.. "Downers about owning one?" I'd say engine mount and a weetabix gearbox.

12k warranty ftw. lol I always blip the throttle to match revs now, it's second nature :dapprove:

 

[Gaz_]

even the gearbox in my escort gti was faultless and that suffered EXTREME abuse to make the car go anywhere

renault just failed. badly.

Lad i knew blew 3 diffs in his Escort gti back in the day!!!

 

[Mark One]

3rd gear crunching from 44k.
172 Ph2

Edit, and as above. Heel-toe every gear, all the time. Essential to prolong RS engine mounts and gearbox.

another edit:
If I owned another, i'd be trying 75-90 gear oil in it as my 3rd gear would only crunch when gear oil was really warm. Anyone tried 75-90?

 

[GodSpeed]

3rd gear crunching from 44k.
172 Ph2

Edit, and as above. Heel-toe every gear, all the time. Essential to prolong RS engine mounts and gearbox.

another edit:
If I owned another, i'd be trying 75-90 gear oil in it as my 3rd gear would only crunch when gear oil was really warm. Anyone tried 75-90?

Yes the Castrol oil I described as not working so well earlier in this thread was 75w 90. It is the Elf oil and only the Elf oil you should use for best result. My friends changed from Castrol to ELF and all problems dissapered. The Elf oil is specially developed for Renault JC gearboxes. Have also heard that it conatains some friction adetives a bit like a plate diff oil.

 

[Tav]

ktr uprated engine mounts seemed to have helped smooth my gearchanges. my car is on 55k and running really well. im not too rough through the gears and the car does get driven hard on a regular basis, not every trip, but often enough. i also try to rev match when downhifting. might start using the heel toe method.

Heel toe (or side ball as it should be called these days) is good, doesn't quite solve my problem but I use it pretty much 100% of the time. Can't remember the last time I didn't rev-match a down shift.

KTR engine mounts are tempting but worried about the extra vibration.

 

[PYE21]

Yes the Castrol oil I described as not working so well earlier in this thread was 75w 90. It is the Elf oil and only the Elf oil you should use for best result. My friends changed from Castrol to ELF and all problems dissapered. The Elf oil is specially developed for Renault JC gearboxes. Have also heard that it conatains some friction adetives a bit like a plate diff oil.

Agreed, the Elf oil is the only one to use.

I used to change mine every 10k in my 182. Noticeably improved gearshifts from cold every time.

 

[saltyhair81]

Heel toe (or side ball as it should be called these days) is good, doesn't quite solve my problem but I use it pretty much 100% of the time. Can't remember the last time I didn't rev-match a down shift.

KTR engine mounts are tempting but worried about the extra vibration.

The extra vibration is fine dude, honestly. it's worth it for the feel for the car you get. Makes it feel more raw and responsive.

 

[ripp]

also having problems with the gearbox myself.
1-big crunches when changing fast at high revs from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd
2-standing still, engaging 1st gear and while holding down the clutch and revin' the engine above 5k the car pulls slightly ahead and then it smells like burned clutch.. which by the way it's new (the Helix organic kit)
driven normally the box works fine, the clutch biting point is about half way down the pedal travel (that's why I can't understand the problem number 2 ^^ )

I'm considering to change the clutch cable, the clutch fork and possibly the pedal assembly, maybe some syncros as well but I'm afraid I'll be spending too much unnecessary before solving this
p.s: the car is 46 k and had the clutch changed a month ago, new oil also (elf 75w 80)

 

[jack_davey]

no need to double declutch (there hasn't been in cars for about 50 years) - you're just torturing yourself

could blip the throttle to match revs to the those of the lower gear whilst downshifting though

Ofcourse there isnt any need to, it just means that you are doing the work of the syncros which reduces the wear on them

 

[Andyman]

118k, original box and on the 2nd clutch. Starting to wear a little now. Not as smooth as it was although fine

 

[Aluco]

My 182 was on 62k or something when I sold it and its gearbox was mint, the PH1 gearbox is exactly the same, there is a slightly longer throw on the gear stick but I think that's the dogbone mount. I always rev match driving anywhere and heel toe when driving fast so I think that helps. It makes me cringe when people change down a gear or two without rev matching.

 

[Brett]

I double de-clutch down the box contantly. I did in my 1.2 aswell. I'm hoping that along with trying to keep the shifts smooth will keep the box from breaking.

So far the only problems I have is a cruch when quick shifting from 3rd to 4th at high revs and sometimes when stopped it wont go into 1st. If you let the car roll ever so slightly forward or backways i'm talking an inch it will go in fine.

 

[Aluco]

Double declutching is pointless, just rev match and use heel + toe if you're driving fast and doing extreme downshifts.

 

[Henry]

my reasoning in suggesting there's no need to double de-clutch is in the fact that it requires (literally) twice as much effort and that you probably make millions of gearshifts in the typical lifetime of a gearbox. not looking forward to having to replace the gearbox in mine again, but i'd far rather do that than waste so much effort double de-clutching it for years

only thing i've ever driven that needed ddc'ing was a wartime Willys Jeep, although there are plenty of commercial vehicles that still need ddc'ing. fair enough if you're happy using it, just making life much more complicated than it need be though

 

[Darren S]

no need to double declutch (there hasn't been in cars for about 50 years) - you're just torturing yourself

could blip the throttle to match revs to the those of the lower gear whilst downshifting though

Citroen 2CV....

My 'box was very slushy from new but felt transformed with a change of gearbox oil at the 36k service. Since then, it's been changed twice and I may even have it done again at 72k. It can only help to extend the life of the gearbox itself, imo...

D.

 

[Jcs]

mine went at 35k. 3k after i had it lol

jus bought a brand new box 800quid from renault. wanted to do the job properly

 

[Mark One]

yes. Hai
3rd gear crunch here 172ph2. The gearboxes are pants tbh. Oil change didn't help.

 

[Skink]

I'm not yet convinced as to what this thread is adding to our dirty little lives. Surely there should be a 'Who's not had problems?' thread. Without one this just gives a shiny platform to the poor buggers, who's kit has failed, to voice their well deserved pissed offedness. Fine, if aimed at the manufacturer but this is splatter gunning anyone and everyone.

This crap creates urban myths and all manner of fashionable hysteria that usually births the 'chocolate _ _ _ ' phrases.

 

[Jat_172cup]

cannot select 4th gear on mine, looking to get this sorted soon though

 

[Skink]

Screw it!

I've not had problems!

(I can almost smell the curse I just put on myself)

 

[Henry]

if you've a good box, 'all' i reckon you can do is make sure the engine mounts are good, keep an eye out for leaks, change the oil more regularly than the (non-existant) Renault schedule, and not hammer it

i might say this, as i've been 'unlucky' with mine (secondhand car), but i honestly think they deserve a bad rep. it's almost disappointing clown that it doesn't seem to be reported in these buyer's guides that you occasionally see

rant building..
when you consider how aggressive the engine and chassis are, the gearbox is at odds with the rest of the package. you're just not allowed to shift particularly quickly (not habitually, anyway) - it's not really surprising that so many develop problems, given how 'encouraging' the rest of the car is and how unwilling the gearbox is. definitely Renault's biggest failing with this car in my own view

 

[Skink]

Forgive the newbie question but what are the costs involved in replacing engine mounts?

 

[ripp]

Forgive the newbie question but what are the costs involved in replacing engine mounts?

k-tec are offering OE ones, go check it out

 

[Ian172southend]

I'm not yet convinced as to what this thread is adding to our dirty little lives. Surely there should be a 'Who's not had problems?' thread. Without one this just gives a shiny platform to the poor buggers, who's kit has failed, to voice their well deserved pissed offedness. Fine, if aimed at the manufacturer but this is splatter gunning anyone and everyone.

This crap creates urban myths and all manner of fashionable hysteria that usually births the 'chocolate _ _ _ ' phrases.

Totally agree. Think how many of these cars are sold, if you have a problem with your own gearbox then you can go and find some people who have the same problem with theirs. It doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be a problem. If you search for "window regulator problems" lots of people that have problems with their window regulators are going to say "mines got problems" but it doesn't mean yours will!

Sorry, Just my 2 pence worth....

 

[Mark One]

Sorry, Just my 2 pence worth....

I'm afraid you'll need more than 2p when your 3rd gear synchro gives up.

 

[Ian172southend]

:lolup: i'll probably crash it before then anyway:rasp:

 

[Fred@BTM]

on serious track cars (running decent power) expect to be rebuilding the box every 12-18months

 

[james_swimmer]

No mention of the good old circlip?!!!

After getting intimate two times in as many weeks with said part i have decided it was a crap design. Tiny little bearing surface to hold in so much lateral force, depending on how shagged the teeth are in the diff. But then I've noticed mechanical engineers don't have the same factors of safety as us structures guys, thats the reason things break, not poor design, less conservative design. Can of worms anyone?

 

[|sAs|]

My box died on my 172 ph1 this sunday. Done 170.000km
Front wheels blocked up and it spilled all the gearoil.
Problems before it died, for 6months it has had a little whining sound when driving.

 

[DMS]

My car's on 79k and still on the original box.
It's also been turbo'd for the last 7k or so and it's still fine. Mechanical sympathy goes a long way IMO. If I was to do a couple of 5k rpm launches it'd probably fail in spectacular fashion.

 

[Kyias]

Mine has just gone at 36K, the syncro has gone i think, i cant select second or shift down to second when hammering it. It just grinds. Going for a rebuild this weekend, been quoted 250

 

[WillyCup172]

lots of problems with my 172 cup. there was a 'common' fault with the box in the car i bought. it wud just lose all drive and u couldn't select no gears. then the replacement box was faulty, there was a bearin chewed up and the box sounded like a socket set in a washing machine lol. the box was changed on warrenty so 3rd time lucky. i think renault build their boxes blindfolded

 

[Fletcher]

My gearbox how now done 120k without any problems (touches wood)

And before any asks I do give it hell!

 

[Nick r26r]

i have had 2 clio's recently , schweppy's which crunched in 3rd gear when changing and mine which now crunches in 3rd after a track day i done , 3rd gear seems to be the most common problem