Transmission – The FatMech https://thefatmech.com Maintenance guides for cars, vans pickups and more Fri, 12 May 2023 13:57:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://thefatmech.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/fav-150x150.png Transmission – The FatMech https://thefatmech.com 32 32 Citroen DS3 Clutch Replacement Cost https://thefatmech.com/ds3-clutch-replacement-cost/ https://thefatmech.com/ds3-clutch-replacement-cost/#respond Mon, 02 Jan 2023 05:15:00 +0000 https://thefatmech.com/?p=1279 Read moreCitroen DS3 Clutch Replacement Cost]]> It costs around £500 to replace a clutch in a Citroen DS3. 

The clutch assembly on your Citroen DS3 consists of a clutch plate, release bearing and a pressure plate. These three components connect the gearbox and engine to the wheels and allow you to apply varying amounts of power (also known as slipping the clutch) to move at low speeds and also to disengage the engine and gearbox from the wheels so you can change gear.

From time to time a clutch will fail. A clutch is a consumable part and will require replacement over the life of the car – although how often it needs replacement is dependent on how you drive and the kind of driving you do. For example if you do mainly motorway miles in your Citroen DS3, you are unlikely to need a clutch replacement as soon as someone who does mainly town and city driving.

In this article we’re going to show you exactly how much it will cost you to replace the clutch on your Citroen DS3.

Citroen DS3 Clutch Replacement Cost

To work this out, as we do with every article where we show you how much something costs, we’ve estimated garage labour at around £50 per hour. Some garages will charge more and some will charge less. The Citroen/DS dealer will charge significantly more. 

A competent mechanic should be able to change a clutch in no more than six hours – especially on the DS3, which is not a particularly complicated car to do a clutch replacement on. This is also based on my experience as a mechanic for over ten years – I have changed more clutches in more DS3s than I can count. 

Example car – 2016 DS 1.2 Puretech Elegance SS 

Clutch kit (LuK): £178.99 (Euro Car Parts)

Labour: £300 + VAT (six hours at £50 + VAT per hour)

Gearbox Oil (1.9L): £27.48 (2L Total Transmission Gear 8)

Total cost = £506.47 + VAT

How can you tell if the clutch is going?

A failing clutch can show itself in many different ways, but one of the most common is a higher biting point. As the clutch wears, the pedal travel at which the clutch engages gets higher to the point where you will find that the difference between moving off smoothly and stalling the car is miniscule. Other symptoms are a slipping clutch, meaning that when you put your foot down the revs will rise but the car won’t pick up speed (you might not notice this until second or third gear). Other things to watch out for are grinding or whining noises when engaging the clutch, or crunching when changing gear.

If you’re unsure as to whether your clutch is failing, get an experienced driver to take your car out for a spin and they should be able to tell pretty quickly whether your clutch is on the way out.

What is the lifespan of the clutch on the Citroen DS3?

This is an impossible question to answer because the lifespan of a clutch is almost entirely dependent on the person driving the car. If you’re doing burnouts, dropping or riding the clutch, holding the car at the bite point on a hill, your clutch will fail much sooner than someone who doesn’t do any of these things.

Clutches are consumable parts and they will wear eventually, no matter how careful or mechanically sympathetic you are as a driver. However if you’re getting less than 40,000 miles out of a clutch, I would say you’re driving in a way that’s mechanically unsympathetic to the car and you should look at your driving habits to try to ensure you aren’t prematurely wearing the clutch. It’s not unheard of for these cars to go 80,000 miles plus on their original clutch, but again, it’s almost entirely down to how you drive.

What happens if a clutch goes while driving?

You will lose your ability to change gear. If you’re in neutral when the clutch goes, or you have the pedal pushed down, you will have no drive. If you are in gear you won’t be able to change gear (although you will be fine to stay in the gear that you’re in) and when you push the clutch down and it doesn’t disengage, you will have to stall the engine by bringing the revs too low to stop the car. 

Most of the time a clutch will give you plenty of warning if it’s about to fail, so you shouldn’t leave it to chance in terms of how long your failing clutch will last. 

Check out some more of our articles on the Citroen DS3 – I’ve written many articles using my comprehensive knowledge of these cars, so if you’re experiencing other problems I’m sure I have something that will be able to help you.

]]> https://thefatmech.com/ds3-clutch-replacement-cost/feed/ 0 Peugeot 208 Automatic Gearbox Problems https://thefatmech.com/peugeot-208-automatic-gearbox-problems/ https://thefatmech.com/peugeot-208-automatic-gearbox-problems/#comments Thu, 01 Dec 2022 00:47:10 +0000 https://thefatmech.com/?p=902 Read morePeugeot 208 Automatic Gearbox Problems]]> The Peugeot 208 is a reliable supermini produced in two generations from 2012 to the present day. The vast majority of first generation (2012-2019) Peugeot 208s on the market were sold with a five or six speed manual transmission. There was, however, an automatic gearbox option which was effectively an EGC automated manual – in effect, a manual gearbox but with the clutch and gears operated by a robot. 

The second generation Peugeot 208 is sold with an EAT 6 or 8 speed torque converter automatic gearbox which is much less prone to problems than the auto gearbox on the old Peugeot 208, and in this article we’re going to look through some of the most common Peugeot 208 automatic gearbox problems and what might be causing them.

Firstly – know which type of gearbox you have

Generally if you have an old Peugeot 208 you’ll have the older style automated manual gearbox that was fitted to a number of different Peugeot and Citroen cars prior to 2016. Some of the later model first generation 208s (2018/2019) did get fitted with an EAT6 torque converter gearbox which is much better than the older EGC automated manual.

All second generation Peugeot 208s are fitted with a torque converter automatic that is very smooth and reliable, and so most of the problems we address in this article refer to the older, automated manual gearbox.

2019 mercedes-benz c-class keyless entry.

Jerky gear changes

This is one of the most common issues reported on the EGC automatic gearboxes. Just for a bit of background – I’ve worked on plenty of Peugeots in my time and these gearboxes were renowned for not being particularly good.

They were marketed as automatic gearboxes, but they really aren’t – they’re a manual with a computer that changes the gears. This means that people coming from other, proper automatic gearboxes (either torque converter or dual clutch) expect them to behave a certain way, and they don’t.

Often people complain of jerky shifting especially when making swift progress, and there is a specific reason for this due to the way the gearbox software has been programmed. What happens is that when the gearbox decides to change gear, it takes note of the throttle position. What happens is that the computer then cuts power to the engine – exactly the same as if you took your foot off the gas in a manual. It then changes gear and applies power again.

The act of the power being cut and the clutch being brought up can sometimes cause a jerk to be felt throughout the car. 

The reason it does this again is exactly the same as if you change gears in a manual. If you have your foot down on the gas and prepare to change gear, you would ease off the throttle as you dip the clutch. If you don’t do this, the car will rev up to the maximum. The ECU senses this and this is why it cuts the throttle.

Of course, this is less of an issue in a manual because you can control the speed at which you bring up the clutch, and slip the clutch a little longer for a smoother change. 

The only thing I can advise to prevent this is lifting your foot slightly before the car changes gear which should lessen the jerk somewhat.

Noises when changing gear

This again is characteristic of the EGC box and the way it works. There are two very common noises on the Peugeot 208 EGC automatic when changing gear – one of them is almost like a squeak which you may notice particularly when changing from gears 2 to 3, 3 to 4 or down from 4 to 3 and down from 3 to 2.

It’s difficult to describe this noise but as I mentioned it’s more like a squeak or a gentle thud which comes from the general gearbox area. 

This seems to be a common issue on all versions of the first generation Peugeot 208 – even on the manuals I have noticed this (and I’ve fixed enough of them and used to own one which did exactly the same.) I’d say this is more pronounced on the diesel versions, but it is something you will have to live with as it just seems to be characteristic of this gearbox. 

A rally car, Peugeot 208, driving on a dirt road with an engine oil pressure fault.

You may want to get the gearbox drained and re-filled with gearbox oil (Peugeot say this gearbox is sealed for life but I’ve personally seen higher mileage examples of this gearbox and the oil was like sludge so it’s definitely worth getting the oil changed every 50k) which may quieten down the gearbox.

You could also try using a slightly thicker oil – these gearboxes can usually take 75W-80 or 75W-90, so you may try dropping down to the oil with higher viscosity and see if this makes a difference.

The other noise you might experience is a thud or a bang when the drive engages – this is as a result of the clutch being brought up quickly. As we’ve mentioned this is a manual gearbox with actuators, and the clutch actuator in particular is very quick at bringing the clutch up – so much so that it can actually cause an audible thud in the cabin.

This again is exactly the same as if you brought the clutch up too quickly in a manual car – although with a manual you have the option to slip the clutch a little more in order to smooth out the gear change. This noise generally isn’t anything to worry about but if you’re getting a really audible thump combined with jerky shifting, you may want to ask Peugeot to take a look.

Difficulty picking up speed

There’s two aspects of this – one when you’re already rolling (say accelerating from a crawl out into traffic) or when you’ve stopped and are starting to move. We’ll address both in this section.

Firstly, a common issue with the 208 EGC gearbox (or indeed any semi-automatic gearbox) is that it draws a lot of power. The clutch and gear actuators (or robots) use extremely high powered motors to do their job, and if they are down on power, or can’t draw enough power from the battery, you will likely experience difficulty moving off from stationary – almost like a bad manual driver releasing the clutch too soon and nearly stalling the car. 

Often this happens in stop-start traffic, where the stop start (or ECO mode) is enabled. You might find that if the engine stays off for long enough, and you’re running the air conditioning, using the radio, etc, you may find that you don’t actually have enough power left in the battery for the clutch and gear actuators to work properly, and you will get either a “gearbox failure” or a “service” message on the dashboard. 

If you get this message you may find that just letting the battery charge up properly fixes the problem, which you should be able to do just by letting the engine run for a bit. You should, however, do a code read with an OBD reader and see what comes back. 

Additionally you may experience problems accelerating from a crawl – say you’re at a queue of traffic at a roundabout, creeping forward and a gap opens. You push the throttle but nothing happens. Sometimes this is an issue with the gearbox not dropping into first gear and keeping it in second – and even in a manual if you’re trying to pull out with too high a gear you will struggle to accelerate.

In these situations it’s worth putting the gearbox into manual mode and forcing a change down to 1st gear.

A Peugeot 208 car parked on the street with an engine oil pressure fault.
Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sometimes there are issues with the clutch calibration on the car, and the actuator may not be bringing the clutch up enough to facilitate swift progress. This is less of an issue at speed but will be very pronounced in the change between gears 1 and 2.

What you can do to reset this is take your car somewhere quiet and come to a full stop. Put the gearbox into automatic mode and put your foot to the floor. When you reach third gear, you can ease off the throttle. This is supposed to reset the gearbox and calibrate the clutch so the car should be a little bit livelier moving off.

What you should remember is that the Peugeot EGC gearbox is not a true automatic and you can’t treat it as such – it’s an automated manual, and therefore all the physical and mechanical aspects of a manual gearbox are still there, just without the required input from you as the driver.

Therefore you shouldn’t expect the EGC gearbox in the Peugeot 208 to behave as a true torque converter gearbox would – it will have its little quirks and sometimes this is something you just need to get used to. That being said, if you really can’t get on with it, it’s worth talking to Peugeot just so they can test that it’s working properly.

Car rolling back on hills

This is an easier one to explain as it’s just the way an automated manual gearbox works. With a torque converter automatic, when you release the foot brake the car will start to creep forward irrespective of whether you’re on an incline or not. However with the EGC gearbox your Peugeot 208 may roll back slightly if you are not using the handbrake.

Some 208s with the EGC were fitted with hill hold assist and an automatic handbrake. If you have the auto handbrake you shouldn’t experience rolling back on hills, and if you do, your handbrake is faulty.

The reason the car rolls back is exactly why a manual car would roll back if you hadn’t used the handbrake – there’s nothing stopping the car rolling back until the clutch is brought up to the biting point. 

To mitigate this – keep hill hold assist on, which should hold the car for two or three seconds after the footbrake has been released, or use the handbrake when you’re stopped on an incline. 

I’ve written a comprehensive set of articles on common problems with the Peugeot 208, which you can check out below.

]]> https://thefatmech.com/peugeot-208-automatic-gearbox-problems/feed/ 1 Peugeot 208 Clutch Replacement Cost https://thefatmech.com/peugeot-208-clutch-replacement-cost/ https://thefatmech.com/peugeot-208-clutch-replacement-cost/#respond Tue, 29 Nov 2022 03:40:58 +0000 https://thefatmech.com/?p=893 Read morePeugeot 208 Clutch Replacement Cost]]> Featured image: Alexander Migl, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Quick answer – around £500.

The clutch is one of the most important parts of your Peugeot 208. Engaging and disengaging the clutch determines whether power is transmitted from the engine to the wheels or not, and if your clutch fails you’ll either be stuck in or out of gear – and will need to be recovered home.

A clutch is expensive to replace on any car. While you can typically expect 50,000 – 70,000 miles out of a clutch, they usually don’t just fail straight away and give some sort of warning, so at the first signs of trouble you should have your clutch replaced.

In this article, we’ll cover exactly what to look out for when your clutch is failing, as well as how much it costs to have a new one put in and exactly what you’re paying for at the garage.

What are the signs of a failing clutch?

Clutches are wear items – they will fail. Just like getting an oil change or fitting new brakes, you can expect a clutch to need replacing every now and then. It’s normal.

There are numerous signs that tell you that your clutch needs replacing. One of the main signs is that the clutch starts to slip – and this means that when you put your foot down in gear, the engine revs but the car doesn’t pick up speed. You may also notice crunching of gears indicating the clutch isn’t disengaging properly, or you hear a squeak or grumble when pushing the pedal down. 

Replacing a clutch is a big job, but it’s one that most mechanics do day in and day out. With the Peugeot 208 being such a common car, and sharing a lot of its parts with other cars such as the Citroen C3 and DS3, most mechanics will have done several of these cars previously and replacing the clutch should be very straightforward for them.

What parts make up a clutch?

When we say clutch replacement, generally we are talking about a clutch “kit” – not just the clutch plate itself. In a clutch kit we find:

  • Clutch plate
  • Pressure plate
  • Release bearing

If any of these parts fail it will cause you to lose your drive, so they are replaced all at the same time. A failing release bearing will usually emit a screeching or screaming sound when the clutch is pressed, and a failing pressure plate will usually result in crunching or grinding as there isn’t enough pressure being put onto the clutch plate itself to properly engage and disengage it.

Peugeot 208 clutch replacement cost

In this section we determine exactly how much you can expect to pay to replace a clutch on a Peugeot 208. This is going to be different for the mark 1 (2012 – 2019) and mark 2 (2019 onwards) so we’ve outlined the cost for each below.

A close up of a metal clutch plate.

You can usually expect to pay around £50 + VAT per hour for labour for a mechanic to work on your car. If you take your car to the Peugeot main dealer, you will pay more – however some Peugeot dealers offer fixed price servicing on certain jobs, including bigger jobs like timing belt changes and clutch replacement. This is mainly at Robins & Day and Griffin Mill garages, but check with your local Peugeot main agent first if you plan to take your car to the dealer.

A garage shouldn’t really bill you any more than six hours to replace a clutch, unless there’s something that’s made the job more difficult for whatever reason – so we’ve estimated six hours of labour for each job below.

Peugeot 208 A9 (Mk1) Clutch Replacement Cost

Example car – 2015 Peugeot 208 e-HDi 1.6 Diesel

Clutch Kit (Sachs): £174.99 (Euro Car Parts)

Labour: £300 + VAT (six hours at £50 + VAT per hour)

Gearbox Oil (1.9L): £27.48 (2L Total Transmission Gear 8)

Total cost = £502.47 + VAT

Peugeot 208 P21 (Mk2) Clutch Replacement Cost

Example car – 2020 Peugeot 208 1.2 Puretech Petrol

Clutch Kit (LuK): £178.99 (Euro Car Parts)

Labour: £300 + VAT (six hours at £50 + VAT per hour)

Gearbox Oil (1.9L): £27.48 (2L Total Transmission Gear 8)

Total cost = £506.47 + VAT

As you can see the cost is basically the same, as the old and new Peugeot 208 share the same group of 5 and 6 speed manual gearboxes.

Do clutches fail suddenly?

Generally, no. They can, however, fail suddenly, but this is usually after you’ve ignored the warning signs. For example, if the friction material has come to the end of its life the linings may disintegrate leaving no mechanical connection between the gearbox or engine. Alternatively the clutch plate could just shatter and cause damage to the bellhousing of the gearbox.

Usually, however, you get warning signs well before this happens, and if you know what to look for you will have booked your car in for a clutch replacement before this happens. As mentioned, if your clutch has started to slip, you’ve noticed crunching when changing gear or you get strange grinding or squealing noises, get your car booked in for a clutch replacement ASAP. 

Why is replacing a clutch so expensive?

Simply because of the labour involved. I’ve done numerous clutch replacements on both the old and new Peugeot 208s and while they’re not any more difficult than any other car, they’re a big job. Without going into huge detail, here’s a quick run down of what you need to do to replace a clutch on a 208 and why it’s so expensive:

  • Remove battery and battery tray to expose the top of the gearbox. 
  • Lift the car, and remove front wheels. 
  • Drain gearbox oil.
  • Remove both driveshafts. Remove gear linkage.
  • Using a transmission jack, support the gearbox and unbolt from the car. 
  • Remove old clutch and pressure plate. Fit new using clutch alignment tool.
  • Fit new release bearing to the input shaft of the gearbox and grease the splines.
  • Use the transmission jack to refit gearbox and bolt to the car.
  • Reconnect driveshafts. Fill the gearbox up with oil again.
  • Refit the wheels. Lower the car and reassemble battery compartment and refit battery.

As you can see this is a very involved job and does take between four and six hours to complete successfully. 

Can you drive a Peugeot 208 with a slipping clutch?

You can, but I wouldn’t advise you drive it very far. The problem with a slipping clutch is that you don’t know how long it will be before it gives out. Nobody can definitively say exactly when a clutch will fail, but if yours is slipping it’s as good a sign as any other that it’s about to fail soon. Whether soon means 50 miles or 2000 miles, nobody knows.

A blue Peugeot 208 displaying an Engine Oil Pressure Fault warning parked in front of a building.
Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

My advice – if your clutch is slipping, don’t chance it. Get it booked in for a replacement ASAP.

What wears the clutch quickly?

Lots of things – doing burnouts and spinning rear tyres, dropping the clutch at high RPMs, riding the clutch – but mainly what causes premature clutch wear is people not driving properly. Let me explain.

Lots of people have been taught to hold the clutch at the bite point on hills. This is a terrible idea. A clutch wears only when it’s hot – and by holding it at the bite point, the clutch heats up rapidly. This causes wear to the friction material and will usually generate an unpleasant smell. If you need to stop on a hill for more than a few seconds, use the handbrake. That’s what it’s there for!

Additionally lots of people wait at traffic lights with the clutch down and the car in gear. This again is a horrible idea because when you push the clutch in, the release bearing starts spinning. If you keep the release bearing spinning eventually it will wear out – even if your clutch is fine, you won’t be able to change gear with the release bearing (sometimes called the throwout bearing) damaged. If you’re stopped for more than a few seconds, take the car out of gear.

Another thing that causes premature clutch wear is driving with the clutch partially depressed. The clutch is not a footrest and should not be treated as such – and if you drive with the clutch pressed in a little bit (known as riding the clutch) you will case premature wear and tear on the clutch assembly and cause it to fail earlier than it otherwise would have. Change gear, and put your foot on the floor!

Hope this article helped – we’ve got many other guides on the Peugeot 208 if you’re experiencing other problems!

]]> https://thefatmech.com/peugeot-208-clutch-replacement-cost/feed/ 0 Peugeot 107 Automatic Gearbox Problems https://thefatmech.com/peugeot-107-automatic-gearbox-problems/ https://thefatmech.com/peugeot-107-automatic-gearbox-problems/#comments Wed, 16 Nov 2022 20:48:37 +0000 https://thefatmech.com/?p=756 Read morePeugeot 107 Automatic Gearbox Problems]]> Featured image: © M 93 / Wikimedia Commons

One of the most popular city cars on the road because of its durability, efficiency and clever design, the Peugeot 107 has sold in huge numbers since its’ launch in 2005. The Peugeot 107 is effectively exactly the same car as both the Citroen C1 and Toyota Aygo (pre-2014), sharing much of the mechanical underpinnings.

While known for its reliability, the Peugeot 107 shipped with a 5-speed automated manual gearbox. This gearbox is a dependable unit, but like many automatic gearboxes, it suffers from its fair share of problems. In this article we’re going to look at some of the most common Peugeot 107 automatic gearbox problems and faults reported by owners all over the internet. This is not an exhaustive list of potential problems – just some of the most common issues with the Peugeot 107’s automatic gearbox and what you can do to resolve them.

Citroen/Toyota/Peugeot 2-Tronic Semi-Auto

It’s worth mentioning that the same semi-automatic gearbox was fitted to both the Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1 and the Peugeot 107. The 2-Tronic semi automatic gearbox fitted to these vehicles is effectively just a regular 5-speed manual gearbox with two actuators attached to it – one responsible for engaging and disengaging the clutch, and the other responsible for actually changing gears.

As a result, the Peugeot 107 automatic gearbox is not going to be as smooth as a regular torque converter auto transmission or even a dual clutch automatic – as it is mechanically exactly the same as a manual gearbox – you just don’t have a clutch or a conventional gear stick. As a result, you may find that if you put your foot down the power isn’t immediately there – as the gearbox may want to change down to give you extra power. While this will be quicker than if you were driving a manual and you changed down, it’s still not going to be as quick or as smooth as a proper automatic gearbox.

Additionally you may also notice that moving off is not as smooth as other automatic cars – again because the gearbox has to slip the clutch for you as opposed to you doing it yourself with a clutch pedal.

A blue car parked in a parking lot.
Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

You can put the transmission in “E” mode (meaning “easy”) and have it handle all the gears for you, or you can put it in “M” mode (manual) and control the gears either by pulling back to change up or pushing forward to change down (marked as “+” or “-” on the gear stick itself) or you can use the flappy paddles at the rear of the steering wheel.

Loud clicking and groaning noises

This could be a number of different things. It’s worth mentioning that opening the window may make this obvious in a way that you didn’t notice it before, and especially noticeable on a hot day. You may notice a very loud clicking noise as you’re driving or as the gearbox is moving through the gears – this is actually normal and is the high power actuators inside the gearbox doing the gear changing. This can be accompanied with a groaning noise – which is the spring in the actuator that engages and disengages the clutch rubbing against the internals of the clutch itself. 

If this is your experience, then this is normal operation and as long as the gearbox works properly, you should leave it alone. However, there are a number of other things this could be – the factory clutch on the 107 is a little bit prone to failure, particularly the drive straps on the pressure plate, and this can cause a knocking or clicking noise when taking power. Generally when having the clutch replaced, garages will put in an upgraded unit which is a lot less prone to failure than the factory clutch pack – so if you are noticing the clicking and banging when taking power, this is something you should get checked out.

Something definitely worth mentioning (and will apply to all the points below) is that the actuators inside the gearbox require a lot of power to run, and if your battery is beginning to fail you may notice strange things happening with your gearbox. If your battery is over five years old and you’re experiencing gearbox problems, it may be a useful first step to switch out the battery just to see if the problem persists.

Difficulty selecting some gears

This is nearly always an actuator problem. As we’ve discussed, the Peugeot 107 automatic gearbox is basically just a manual gearbox with high powered electric actuators that change the gears for you and operate the clutch. Generally when you have difficulty selecting only some gears, this is because one of the actuators (which are basically just electric motors with brushes inside the gearbox) has failed or is failing – meaning only certain gears will engage.

The technical explanation for this is either one of the motor brushes has become too short to make proper contact, or that there is conductible residue from brush wear. If you actually hit the actuator (and if you’re stuck at the side of the road, bizarrely this might actually help you limp home just by hitting the gearbox a couple of times) you sometimes can get the residue to move or for the brush to make contact and the gear engage.

A gear shift in a car.

This is likely to be an expensive job and will result in the gearbox coming out of the vehicle and likely the electric motors/actuators being replaced. You may find it cheaper and easier just to replace the gearbox with a reconditioned one – this should limit the amount of time your car is off the road.

This is unlikely to be a clutch issue – as if it was, you’d probably have difficulty engaging all of the gears. The clutches are notoriously bad on the 107, Aygo and C1 range and especially if you’re on a factory clutch, they can give problems. 

You may also want to check the transmission fluid as a quick fix. There’s no dipstick on the 107 so you would need either to drain and refill the gearbox (using the drain plug underneath the car and the breather at the top of the gearbox to put the fluid back in) or you could do a top up and see how much fluid the gearbox takes. The 107 doesn’t use any kind of special ATF – it needs 1.7L of regular 75W-80 or 75W-90 GL-4 manual gearbox fluid, which can be had at any reputable motor factors or even from Peugeot themselves at a reasonable price.

Loss of all gears

This is generally a clutch problem. The Peugeot 107 semi-auto gearbox doesn’t have a clutch pedal, but it does have a clutch assembly – it’s just controlled by an actuator. As we mentioned in the previous section sometimes these actuators can fail – and if the clutch actuator has failed then it will be impossible for you to select any gears.

It’s also possible that the clutch has worn out – as mentioned the clutches on these cars are very weak and the factory clutches have been known to wear out inside 30,000 miles in some cases. You could also have problems with the clutch fork or release bearing not engaging and disengaging the clutch properly (listen out for a loud screeching sound when trying to engage a gear if you think this might be the case).

Irrespective of what the problem is, if it’s clutch related it’s unlikely to be a quick, cheap fix – so prepare for a gearbox out job and a new clutch. What you might want to do (and this has been mentioned before in another section) is check that your battery is providing enough power – if the problem is with the clutch actuator, you might find that it’s actually because the battery isn’t providing enough power for the actuator to work properly. Swap your battery out with a known good one and test again – if the gears engage you know you have a broken battery.

Jerky shifting

This again is usually a clutch issue. It can be one of two things – either the clutch is worn and is unable to engage gears smoothly (exactly as a worn clutch would feel on a proper manual with a clutch pedal) or the clutch actuator has failed or is failing. The clutch actuator on these cars does need resetting quite often, and what can seem like a failing or slipping clutch is actually an actuator that is not engaging properly and needs to be reset.

You should have the clutch assembly looked at by a technician if you are experiencing jerky shifting – either it’s a gearbox out, new clutch job or just a clutch actuator reset which should be a bit cheaper.

Check out some of our other gearbox/transmission related articles!

]]> https://thefatmech.com/peugeot-107-automatic-gearbox-problems/feed/ 3 Dacia Duster – Common Gearbox Problems https://thefatmech.com/dacia-duster-common-gearbox-problems/ https://thefatmech.com/dacia-duster-common-gearbox-problems/#respond Sat, 12 Nov 2022 01:26:44 +0000 https://thefatmech.com/?p=748 Read moreDacia Duster – Common Gearbox Problems]]> Featured image: Thomas doerfer, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Dacia Duster is a family SUV that has been manufactured in two generations since 2010. Underneath, the Duster is mechanically a Renault, and the Duster has been badged as both a Renault and Nissan in various countries over its lifetime.

While not necessarily being prone to gearbox problems, it’s not uncommon for Dacia Duster owners to report experiencing problems with their transmissions. Whether you have a manual or automatic transmission, gearbox problems can be costly to repair, so it’s important to understand exactly what might be wrong with your Dacia Duster gearbox before committing to a repair.

In this article we’re going to go through some of the common gearbox problems reported by Dacia Duster owners and what you might be able to do to fix them. As ever, if you’re unsure what you’re doing, you should check your car into a local, trusted garage for your Dacia Duster to be repaired.

Table of Contents

Manual or automatic

Depending on the region you live in, your Dacia Duster could have any number of different gearbox options. Most common are the 5 and 6 speed manual transmissions, and the 6 speed Renault EDC dual clutch automatic transmission. However, the Duster has also been manufactured with a CVT transmission since the first generation in some markets, and a variety of other gearboxes including a 4-speed automatic and a 6-speed automated manual.

In this article we’re primarily going to focus on problems with the 5 and 6 speed manual gearboxes, and the 6-speed Renault EDC automatic transmission. All of these are reliable, proven units, having been fitted to many Renault, Dacia and Nissan vehicles over the past 20 years. 

Common problems with Dacia Duster Manual Gearboxes

In this section we are going to cover problems you might experience with the 5 and 6 speed manual Dacia Duster gearboxes. Be aware that this is not an exhaustive list of problems you might experience – just a list of commonly reported problems by Dacia Duster owners.

Stiff when going into gear

This could be down to a couple of different things. The easiest thing to check is the gearbox oil level, as a low gearbox oil level will make it difficult to shift gears and will make moving between certain gears much harder. If you’ve had this checked, move onto the clutch assembly – if the clutch is not disengaging properly, you may find it difficult to shift gears.

Other things that can cause a stiff gear shift are worn synchroniser rings – this is worth investigating if it’s only one or two gears that you’re experiencing stiffness. This is an internal gearbox strip down job, so you’ll want to get your car booked into a local garage you trust.

Not going into gear

Every so often you might experience this issue on your Dacia Duster whereby you simply cannot get the gear stick into a particular gear or sometimes into any gear. You may notice clunky or noisy shifting before this happens. 

Generally this problem starts with the clutch – so the first thing you should do is release the clutch fully, make sure the car is in neutral and try to put the car into gear again. If this doesn’t solve the problem your clutch is likely defective in some way – probably that the clutch isn’t disengaging properly and it’s not allowing you to shift gears.

An orange dacia parked in a parking lot.
Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

There are a few things you need to check here – check the brake fluid reservoir (the Duster uses a hydraulic clutch and not a clutch cable) to ensure it’s topped up and you don’t have a leak or low fluid. If this isn’t the issue you possibly have a seal failed somewhere, or possibly the clutch release bearing has worn. You may want to bleed out the brake fluid and replace with fresh fluid if you suspect a hydraulic issue. 

Unfortunately after doing this, any subsequent issue you might find isn’t something you can really check yourself without removing the gearbox. Don’t force the car into gear as you will cause damage to your transmission. Check your car into a local garage you trust and ask them to inspect the clutch – you may find that some part of the clutch mechanism has become faulty.

Clunking noise when shifting gears

This is probably gearbox or engine mounts. When you let off the gas, or when you engage the clutch after shifting gears and your mounts are worn, the gearbox or engine can move and cause a clunking noise – which is possibly the cause of your clunk when shifting gears.

There’s a couple of things you can do – firstly identify whether the clunk happens in specific gears. Take your car out somewhere quiet and do a shift from first to second, and keep the clutch in – don’t engage it. Test when the clunk actually sounds – is it when you dip the clutch, when you actually shift gears, or when you engage the clutch again? 

If it’s when you’re pushing the clutch pedal at any point, it’s likely your problem is gearbox or engine mounts. This is a relatively quick and simple repair and can be done by nearly any garage.

If the clunk happens when you physically move the gear stick, there’s a few things this might be – check for low gearbox oil and check that the gear change cables are properly attached and not worn. Failing this, your gearbox will need inspection by a mechanic.

Jumping out of gear

If your Duster is jumping out of gear this can be a few different things – this can also be due to worn gearbox mounts (if the gearbox is moving it can move the gear linkage and cause the car to pop out of gear), or it could be to a loose and stretchy gear linkage. 

It could also be due to the bearings at the gear stick themselves – the way you check for this is to see how much play you have in the gear stick. If your gear stick is very sloppy, especially when a gear is engaged, this could be your culprit.

If you’ve checked all of these things and not found your problem it’s possible that the shift fork assembly or one of the synchronisers is faulty. This is an internal gearbox issue and one that’ll need to be checked into by a garage.

Gearbox whine

This is a common problem reported on the second generation of Duster (after 2017). From around 55-60mph to 70-75mph in either fourth, fifth or sixth gear, a noticeable whine can be heard coming from the transmission. This is due to the design in the internals of the gearbox, and is an issue also reported on many other Renault and Dacia cars such as the Logan and Sandero.

It appears through some research online that Dacia is actually aware of this issue and have reported that it does not affect reliability – although in most vehicles a whining gearbox is indicative of some kind of problem. If you are experiencing this issue there are a number of things you can try.

Firstly, you should test whether this whine occurs in specific gears and not in others, and perhaps more importantly, whether it occurs in 2WD or AWD mode – as if it occurs in AWD mode but not in 2WD mode it is likely that the whine is coming from the rear differential. If this doesn’t make a difference, find out which gears the whine is occuring in. 

If your Duster is relatively new or is still under warranty, it would be worth taking the car back to your local Dacia dealer and asking them to test drive the car – as if a Dacia technician can hear the whine, it’s possible that they will have heard it before and will be familiar with possible fixes. You may, however, just be told that the whine is due to the normal operation of the gearbox and isn’t likely to affect reliablility.

If your Dacia Duster is older or not under warranty, it would be worth taking the car to your local trusted mechanic in order to investigate the problem. Be aware, however, that there are reports online of people who have had gearboxes replaced more than once at significant expense, and are still experiencing this whine – so it is possible that a whiny gearbox is due to normal operation and you may just have to put up with it. You might want to look at a transmission oil change as a quick fix – if you are low on oil this could be causing the gearbox to whine.

Common problems with Dacia Duster Automatic Gearboxes

As we mentioned, the Duster uses the Renault EDC dual clutch automatic transmission. This is a reliable and proven unit fitted to many Renault cars. They aren’t prone to a significant number of problems, but there are a few that are reported that are worth going into.

Delay in shifting up

For those used to a traditional torque converter automatic, this may come as a bit of a surprise in various situations where it seems as though the gearbox is slow to shift up. In many cases this is actually normal operation of the gearbox – and the reason for this is because this is a dual clutch automatic.

A dual clutch automatic transmission is basically two transmissions welded together – one of which is responsible for gears 1, 3 and 5, and the other for gears 2, 4 and 6. When you select first gear, the gearbox anticipates that the next gear you will need will be second gear. Therefore, the other side of the gearbox will prepare second gear for you, and at the moment you need the higher gear, the power shifts from the first side of the gearbox to the other side, resulting in an instantaneous, smooth gear change. The side of the gearbox responsible for first gear will then prepare third gear for you in the background, and will switch back when you need the higher gear.

A gear shift in a car.

However, sometimes this can cause problems. Say you’re driving up to a set of red traffic lights. You may be in second gear. Because you’re slowing down, the gearbox will prepare first gear (as it thinks you will be slowing to a stop.) However if the lights then change, and you put your foot down, the gearbox has prepared first gear but you actually need third gear – meaning the gearbox preparing your next gear has to deselect first gear and engage third gear ready for when you need it. This can result in delays shifting up to the next gear in certain circumstances.

If you’re experiencing delays shifting up in other, more normal circumstances, however, it may be time to get your gearbox checked out by a Dacia technician.

“Check auto gearbox” light

This is a common fault and one that will usually throw up a code. If you have an OBD II reader, this would be the best thing to check – do a code read and see what it comes up with. On the Dacia Duster, the OBD port is inside the glove box. 

The “check auto gearbox” message is usually accompanied by some symptoms – you may notice that your car isn’t driving properly. Common faults that have been reported is an inability to move out of first gear, a very jerky and lunging gear change or clunking when changing gear. There’s not much that can be said here other than get the car read with an OBD reader and see what comes up. You can then fault-find from there. 

The “check auto gearbox” message is wide ranging and comes up for a large number of faults, from something as simple as a dying battery throwing up weird errors to solenoids and servos failing within the gearbox itself which requires a transmission rebuild to rectify.. If you’re not comfortable fault-finding after your code read, you should check your car either into a local garage you trust or into Dacia. 

Low transmission fluid

This is a fault that manifests itself in a number of different ways. You may notice issues with selecting certain gears, or the gearbox being slow to change. Transmission fluid keeps the internals of the gearbox lubricated and working optimally, and if the gearbox is leaking you may find that it operates poorly. 

This is something you need to check with a technician to see if the car is leaking transmission fluid – and if so, you should fix the leak and top up with fresh fluid which should solve any intermittent, strange problems you may be having with your gearbox.

Check out some more of our transmission related articles!

]]> https://thefatmech.com/dacia-duster-common-gearbox-problems/feed/ 0 Nissan Cabstar Gearbox Problems https://thefatmech.com/nissan-cabstar-gearbox-problems/ https://thefatmech.com/nissan-cabstar-gearbox-problems/#respond Sun, 25 Sep 2022 11:09:38 +0000 https://thefatmech.com/?p=556 Read moreNissan Cabstar Gearbox Problems]]> The Nissan Cabstar is a series of light commercial vehicles and pickup trucks produced in various iterations from 1982 to the present day. The Nissan Cabstar is also known as the Nissan Atlas, Renault Maxity, the Mazda Titan, the Isuzu Elf and the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter. The Cabstar was produced with a range of manual and automatic gearboxes. 

While Nissan commercial vehicles are generally very dependable, there are a range of gearbox issues that they can experience. This is especially important to watch out for if you’re in the market for a used model and you don’t know what kind of maintenance has taken place on the vehicle.

In this article we are going to run through a series of potential Nissan Cabstar gearbox problems and what you might be able to do to prevent them becoming major issues. With proper maintenance and care, there’s no reason your Nissan Cabstar can’t last you up to 200,000 miles.

Difficulty selecting gears

This is one of the most common issues and can sometimes point to major issues with your Nissan Cabstar gearbox. This problem generally comes if you can select certain gears but not others – for example, you might get 1, 3, and 5, but not 2 and 4. This usually indicates a problem with the gear linkage – possibly the selector cable is worn and isn’t engaging properly. If this is the case then it does mean you’ll likely avoid significant work to the gearbox, as it could be just a case of swapping the gear linkage out for a new one.

However, it could be something more serious, and you should have this checked with your local mechanic. If the gear linkages are fine, this could suggest a problem with either the gear stick itself, or potentially worn gearbox synchros or other internal gearbox damage.

Delays in shifting

This is generally a problem with automatic transmissions on the Nissan Cabstar, and delays in shifting are usually as a result of poor maintenance or high mileage. Transmission fluid keeps the internal seals and components of the gearbox lubricated, and when the fluid gets old and burnt, it is not able to lubricate and protect components of the transmission.

Additionally automatic transmissions are complex things, and contain a number of different mechanisms such as clutches, bands and solenoids, all of which can wear out over time and with heavy use. Given that the Nissan Cabstar is a commercial vehicle, it gets subjected to wear and tear far beyond that of a normal car, and therefore should be maintained more rigorously. 

A white truck parked on the street.
Mj-bird, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

If you haven’t had your transmission fluid changed recently and you’re experiencing delays in shifting, this may be a good place to start. If the damage goes beyond worn transmission oil however, you are looking at a significant repair bill for someone to strip the gearbox down and find out what’s wrong with it.

Jumping out of gear

This is usually a manual transmission fault and happens when gearbox synchromesh cones become worn. This can cause the vehicle to pop out of gear at any moment, but may happen when there is more of a load on the gearbox such as when going up a hill. You may also be experiencing a damaged gearbox mounting which is causing the gearbox to move and for the gear to jump out.

If you are experiencing this, you should get your gearbox inspected by a mechanic. If it does turn out to be a synchromesh issue your gearbox will need to be stripped down and repaired by a suitable gearbox technician – and this will be costly. A damaged gearbox mounting will be easier to replace but can be quite labour intensive.

Of course this could be something simpler – maybe the gear linkage just needs adjusting, for example. Despite this you should have your vehicle checked over as soon as possible, as a Nissan Cabstar jumping out of gear is dangerous.

Gearbox noise

Gearbox noise is also a common problem that you may need to deal with. This depends entirely on the type of noise you’re experiencing, but common noises include a cracking noise, a squeaking noise or a whistling noise.

A cracking or banging noise could be worn gearbox mounts – as you change gear, the mounts aren’t holding the gearbox in place so the gearbox moves, causing the banging noise. If this is the case this is a relatively simple fix that a mechanic can have done for you in less than a day and shouldn’t cost too much.

How much does it cost to replace a Ford Fiesta gearbox?

A squeaking noise could be a number of different things – especially if it appears when you’re trying to shift gears. This could be worn synchros on individual gears – so check to see whether it happens only in certain gears. This is an expensive repair, so make sure you get this diagnosed properly by a garage before committing to spending any money on it – as if your gearbox is damaged too severely you may have to fork out for a whole new gearbox.

A whistling or whining noise is generally indicative of damage to the gear teeth or gear hub bearings. The most likely cause of this damage is a lack of lubrication. This is never a cheap fix and is important to get your gearbox checked ASAP. 

Old gearbox oil

As we’ve mentioned, old and burnt transmission fluid in automatic transmissions can cause issues with your gearbox, such as delayed shifting. However, manual transmissions need oil too, and if the oil is old it may not lubricate the gears as well, causing wear and damage. 

Additionally if this lack of lubrication gets too severe, small metal filings can break off from the gears and cause damage to the gearbox internals. You can prevent this with regular gearbox oil changes, and having a more detailed gearbox inspection if you find metal filings when changing the oil.

Clutch issues

What you are perceiving as a gearbox issue may in fact be a clutch issue. This is only applicable to the manual version, but if you’re finding that the clutch pedal is hard, it could indicate a problem with your clutch cable. Additionally if your clutch is slipping, or you’re finding that the gearbox is crunching when you’re trying to change gear, it could just indicate that your clutch is worn and needs replacing.

A close up of a metal clutch plate.

If you have difficulty engaging and changing gears even when the clutch is down, or you experience issues with the pedal or a judder when you hold the clutch to the bite, you will need to get your Cabstar booked in for a clutch replacement job.

Check out some of our other transmission/gearbox related articles!

]]> https://thefatmech.com/nissan-cabstar-gearbox-problems/feed/ 0 How much is a clutch for a Citroen C1? https://thefatmech.com/citroen-c1-clutch-replacement/ https://thefatmech.com/citroen-c1-clutch-replacement/#respond Sat, 24 Sep 2022 20:06:53 +0000 https://thefatmech.com/?p=542 Read moreHow much is a clutch for a Citroen C1?]]> Short answer – between £415 and £535 depending on the year of your car and the brand of clutch kit fitted.

The Citroen C1 is a hugely popular city car that was manufactured in numerous iterations between June 2005 – January 2022. The Citroen C1 shares most of it’s running gear with the Peugeot 108 and the Toyota Aygo, meaning these cars are exceptionally common and therefore most garages should be very familiar performing clutch replacements on them. 

Occasionally, you are going to need a new clutch. There are numerous signs that point to the fact that your clutch needs replacing, but as soon as you’re aware that your clutch is worn, you should book the car into the garage to get it done. If a clutch fails, you will lose your drive, meaning you could be put in a dangerous situation, especially if it happens on a fast-moving road.

We’re going to go through exactly how much you might expect to pay at a local garage for a clutch replacement. Of course – if you take your car into a Citroen dealer, you can expect to pay more, as labour costs are far greater than at independent garages. We’ve also listed a few important tips and tricks so that you can better identify when your Citroen C1 clutch might need to be replaced.

How much is a new clutch for a Citroen C1?

In order to work this out, we’ve done a bit of research into the cost of parts if you went and bought them from Euro Car Parts, as well as the average labour cost to fit the new clutch. A clutch replacement is a very labour intensive job – the whole gearbox has to come out, which means the driveshafts have to be removed and the gearbox drained of oil. 

Parts Needed:

Clutch kit (clutch plate, release bearing and pressure plate)

Gearbox oil (75W-80 or 75W-90 for the Citroen C1)

Labour required – roughly 5-6 hours

The cheapest clutch kit I could find was this a Transmech kit at £85. Your garage may also prefer to fit the LUK Clutch at £145 – generally given that a clutch replacement is such an expensive job you’re advised to fit the best clutch you can afford to the vehicle.

Gearbox oil isn’t expensive but you will need some – you’ll likely pay around £15 per litre, so budget £30 for new gearbox oil.

5-6 hours labour at £50 per hour + VAT is £250 – £300 of labour.

Therefore, to figure out how much a clutch is for a Citroen C1, let’s do the maths for each version of the clutch kit:

Transmech

Clutch kit£85
Gearbox Oil£30
Labour £360 (£300 + VAT)
Total Cost£475

LUK

Clutch kit£145
Gearbox Oil£30
Labour £360 (£300 + VAT)
Total Cost£535

Total cost = between £415 and £535

However, the above costs are entirely dependent on whether anything else has gone wrong with the car – which any good garage should point out to you when the job is being done and ask for your approval before going ahead with any work. Additionally be aware that you could be knocking off £50 of labour if the garage can do the job more quickly.

A small silver car parked on the side of a street.
Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Any decent garage probably sees at least one of these cars every week if not more often, given that they’re also around in Peugeot and Toyota iterations. I’d be very surprised if a garage can’t get through a Citroen C1 clutch replacement in six hours – so you shouldn’t be paying any more.

What does a clutch actually do?

A clutch is an integral part of your vehicle’s drivetrain. When the clutch is engaged (when the pedal is up) the engine is connected directly to the wheels through the gearbox. This allows engine power to be applied to the wheels, and the car moves. When you disengage the clutch (push the pedal down) you disconnect the engine and gearbox from the wheels. This means you have no power going to the wheels – and you’ll see this if you push the clutch in and rev the engine, the car doesn’t go anywhere.

When you bring the clutch up, the clutch plate, pressure plate and flywheel are brought together by springs on the clutch plate. While you’re slipping the clutch, the engine and transmission speeds are being matched. You’ll feel when they have matched, because you can lift your clutch pedal all the way up. This process is called “slipping the clutch” – not to be confused with your “clutch slipping” which is a sign of wear which we’ll discuss in a moment.

When you push your foot down on the clutch pedal, the pressure plate is pulled away from the clutch plate, meaning that when you change gear (and the transmission rotates at a different speed) you can do this without jerking forward or causing damage to the clutch mechanism or engine.

What does a worn clutch feel like?

A worn clutch can manifest itself in many ways – but some of the most common are as follows:

Spongy, sticky or noisy pedal

A clutch pedal should feel quite hard when you push it down – not as hard as the brake, but a lot harder than the accelerator pedal. If your clutch pedal is very easy to push down, and you don’t feel that there’s much of a spring in the pedal, this can be the sign of a worn clutch. Additionally if you push the pedal down and it doesn’t immediately return when you take your foot off, this is also a sign of a worn clutch. If there’s noticeable vibration, squeaking or grumbling when you use the clutch, this is the sign that you need to get it checked out in your local garage.

Poor acceleration

One other issue you an experience with a worn clutch is that if the clutch is engaged, and you push the pedal and the engine revs but the car doesn’t pick up speed, this is an indication that your clutch is close to failure. This is described as your clutch “slipping” and it means that power from the engine isn’t being effectively applied to the wheels.

High biting point

This is something that can catch people out on a French car like the Citroen C1 as generally French cars have a high biting point – you see this across the range of Peugeot, Renault, Citroen and DS gearboxes. However, an extremely high biting point (to the point where just the slightest movement means the difference between moving off correctly and stalling) suggests a failing clutch. If you feel like clutch control has become more difficult on your car, or your biting point has got higher, you should get your car checked out.

How much does it cost to replace a Ford Fiesta gearbox?

There are other signs, but these are the main ones. Experiencing any of these means your clutch is likely to fail soon and you should immediately get it checked by a garage you trust.

How long can you drive with a worn clutch?

This depends on how close your clutch is to failing. If you’ve just noticed it slipping, it’s probably OK for a few days or even maybe a few weeks if you do mainly motorway driving, which doesn’t really cause much wear on the clutch as you don’t change gear as often. However if you can notice any kind of distinct smell when changing gear, or the pedal sticks to the floor and you have to pull it up manually with your foot, I wouldn’t advise you drive anywhere other than your local garage to get the clutch changed. If you are going to drive with a worn clutch, make sure you’ve got breakdown insurance.

How many miles should a clutch last?

The answer to this is “it depends” – and it depends mainly on the type of driving you do and the way you drive your car. If you mainly do motorway miles (which means you don’t use the clutch, as the car is left in gear for many hours at a time) and you’re careful, don’t slip the clutch unnecessarily, don’t hold the clutch in when stopped at lights and don’t hold the clutch at the bite when stopped on a hill, there’s no reason you can’t expect 100,000 miles or more out of a clutch.

However, if you have a lot of bad habits and you do all these things, you could wear out a clutch in less than 30,000 miles. If you drive like you’re on the Fast and Furious it might be even less than that. If you drive sensibly and with mechanical sympathy in mind, you’ll find your clutch lasts a lot longer – so here are some tips to prolong the life of your clutch.

  • Don’t hold the clutch in when stopped at traffic lights. Shift to neutral and use the handbrake.
  • Don’t use the clutch to hold you still on a hill. This is fine if you’re at a give way and you’re waiting for a few seconds but if you’re stopped for an extended period of time, such as in traffic, shift to neutral and use the handbrake.
  • Don’t move off without gas – this is something that a lot of learners are taught and it’s not good. A clutch needs gas when you move off – not much, as that can also cause wear, but at least 1500 – 2000 rpm.
  • Don’t use too high a gear – as you’ll spend more time slipping the clutch to engage it and this can cause wear.

Ultimately a clutch doesn’t really wear unless it becomes hot. There’s a certain amount of heat generated when the clutch is used properly and this is unavoidable, but don’t make a habit of doing anything that gets the clutch unnecessarily hot.

Is it worth replacing a clutch?

Again the answer to this is that it depends. If you have an older C1, you might think that it’s not worth doing as the cost of a new clutch is going to be a significant proportion of the cost of the car itself. However, even if you look at the lower end of the market it’s highly unlikely you’re going to be able to get a new C1 with a brand new clutch for the money it would cost you just to do your own clutch, plus the value of your car. 

A red car parked on the side of the road.
Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Any old used car is likely to need a new clutch in the near future unless it’s been done recently – and the old saying goes that the cheapest car you can get is the one you already have, so if you plan to keep the car for at least the next twelve months, it’s worth doing.

Why do I need a clutch “kit” and not just a clutch?

A clutch kit consists of the release bearing, which goes on the input shaft of the gearbox, and then the pressure plate and clutch plate itself. You should never do a clutch job without replacing all three, as it isn’t only the clutch plate that wears. If any one of these parts fails, you will lose your drive and your car will have to be towed – so you must replace all the parts at the same time.

Can a clutch fail suddenly?

It can, but this is usually not as a result of the clutch itself failing – it’s usually as a result of either the clutch cable itself failing or snapping. If your clutch has failed without any of the above signs of gradual failure, you should get this checked first as it may just be a cause of replacing the clutch cable. The Citroen C1 has a clutch cable – many other cars have hydraulic clutches where fluid can leak out and contaminate the clutch, which can also cause failure.

Can you change a clutch yourself?

You can, but you’ll need to be very competent mechanically and either have a lift or not mind getting under a car supported by axle stands. You’ll also need a transmission jack and you’ll need a significant array of tools including many different sockets, a torque wrench and a clutch alignment tool. I wouldn’t advise you to attempt this unless you’ve got significant experience doing other jobs on your car.

Bmw x1 x2 x3 x4 x5 x6 x7 x8 x9 .

Should you bed in a new clutch?

Bedding in a new clutch isn’t required to the level a new set of brake discs or pads is – however you should avoid spirited driving for the first 500 miles or so to ensure that the clutch beds in properly. However, it isn’t something you really need to think about in the same way you might with a set of brakes, and as long as you’re driving normally, you shouldn’t really worry about it.

Check out some more of our transmission/gearbox related articles!

]]> https://thefatmech.com/citroen-c1-clutch-replacement/feed/ 0 How much does it cost to replace a Ford Fiesta gearbox? https://thefatmech.com/cost-to-replace-a-ford-fiesta-gearbox/ https://thefatmech.com/cost-to-replace-a-ford-fiesta-gearbox/#respond Sun, 18 Sep 2022 20:13:49 +0000 https://thefatmech.com/?p=507 Read moreHow much does it cost to replace a Ford Fiesta gearbox?]]>

The Ford Fiesta is one of the most common cars on the road in Europe. While these are well-engineered, well-built cars, it’s inevitable they will occasionally go wrong. If all the signs are pointing towards gearbox failure, you will want to have a read of this article, as we go through all the things you will need consider when replacing a Ford Fiesta gearbox and how much it might cost you.

Table of Contents

Are Ford Fiesta gearboxes prone to failure?

Does your gearbox actually need replacing?

Manual or automatic

Gearbox replacement cost for a Ford Fiesta

Manual Gearboxes
Mk 6 Fiesta
Mk 7 Fiesta
Automatic Gearboxes
Mk6 Fiesta
Mk7 Fiesta

Sourcing a gearbox

Breakers yard
Reconditioned exchange gearbox
Brand new from the dealer
Other parts – clutch, master/slave cylinder, flywheel, etc

Conclusion

Are Ford Fiesta gearboxes prone to failure?

Fiesta gearboxes are no more or no less likely to need replacement than any other model of car (with the exception of the PowerShift automatic gearboxes, over which Ford is engaged in an ongoing court case) – but like anything mechanical, they can go wrong. You may be noticing the symptoms of gearbox failure – clunking when changing gear, failure to engage gear properly, crunching when engaging gear, etc. 

Taking a car to the dealer for work is cost prohibitive for most of us, especially if the car isn’t under warranty, so we’re going to run through a few different scenarios in this article, including fitting the gearbox yourself or getting an independent garage or mobile mechanic to do it for you. For complete clarity, in this article we are only going to touch on gearbox replacement costs for the Mark 6 and Mark 7 Ford Fiesta. This covers roughly 2002 to 2018 models. 

For clarity, you can see which model you have based on the images below.

A white ford fiesta parked in front of a building.

Mk6 Fiesta

A red ford fiesta parked in front of a building.

Mk7 Fiesta

Does your gearbox actually need replacing?

One thing to consider is that you may not need to replace your gearbox if you’re only experiencing minor issues. If you haven’t serviced your gearbox recently, this may be a good place to start. For example, some automatic gearboxes are very sensitive to having the transmission fluid changed at regular intervals, and if you haven’t done this you may be noticing issues. A fluid change may be enough to eliminate any issues you’re experiencing.

Additionally with a manual gearbox it may not actually be the gearbox itself that needs replacing. It could well be the clutch, especially if you notice it starting to slip – or it could even be the flywheel that needs replacing. If you’re not absolutely sure you need a gearbox replacement, it’s worth consulting a good mechanic that you trust. However, if you are sure your gearbox is headed for the scrapyard, there are lots of things you will need to consider. 

Manual or automatic

Firstly, whether you’re driving a manual or automatic Ford Fiesta is going to dictate how you source a new gearbox and how much you pay for one. Automatic gearboxes are probably going to be more expensive to source, although they shouldn’t necessarily be more expensive to fit – depending on where you take your car to be worked on and how familiar they are with the Fiesta’s automatic boxes. 

Depending on which model of Fiesta you have, you may have a 4-speed true torque converter automatic or a 6-speed PowerShift automatic. Manual gearboxes are generally either 5 or 6 speed across the range.

If you do have a PowerShift gearbox, my advice would be to consult with Ford as it may be the case that your gearbox is under warranty and they may offer you some money towards the repair as a goodwill gesture. As mentioned these are notorious for going wrong and if you have a PowerShift gearbox it’s likely that at some point in its life it will need repairing.

Gearbox replacement cost for a Ford Fiesta

Before we go into the details of sourcing and fitting a new gearbox, let’s look at the cost to replace a Ford Fiesta gearbox. We’ve broken this down by manual and automatic based on every type of gearbox fitted to a Ford Fiesta from 2002 – 2018. If you plan to fit the gearbox yourself you can remove the charge for labour, which we’ve estimated at £50 per hour. Additionally we’ve included the cost for a clutch – of course if you need more than just a clutch – flywheel, master or slave cylinder, etc, your gearbox replacement will cost more.

As I’m sure you can appreciate, there is a wide range of possible costs for this work – however, you should find that in most cases, your costs are roughly similar to what’s quoted here. Additionally I didn’t bother to phone Ford and get quotes for reconditioned gearboxes as very few people with cars such as this should be going down this route – it’s just a waste of money.

Manual Gearboxes

Mk 6 Fiesta

5-speed IB5 manual

Used gearbox cost from a vehicle recycler: £192.50 (eBay)

Reconditioned gearbox cost from a gearbox specialist: £495.00 (eBay)

Clutch kit: £128.69 (Euro Car Parts)

Labour to remove, replace clutch and re-fit gearbox: £400 + VAT (based on 8 hours labour)

Cost to fit by yourself: between £321.19 – £623.69

Cost to fit by a garage: between £721.19 – £1023.69 + VAT

Mk 7 Fiesta

5-speed IB5 manual

Used gearbox cost from a vehicle recycler: £150.00 (eBay)

Reconditioned gearbox cost from a gearbox specialist: £1,150 (Directly from a gearbox specialist)

Clutch kit: £174.89 (Euro Car Parts)

Labour to remove, replace clutch and re-fit gearbox: £400 + VAT (based on 8 hours labour)

Cost to fit by yourself: between £324.89 – £1,324.89

Cost to fit by a garage: between £724.89 – £1724.89 + VAT

6-speed MMT6 manual

Used gearbox cost from a vehicle recycler: £140.00

Reconditioned gearbox cost from a gearbox specialist: £1,100 (directly from a gearbox specialist)

Clutch kit: £174.89 (Euro Car Parts)

Labour to remove, replace clutch and re-fit gearbox: £400 + VAT (based on 8 hours labour)

Cost to fit by yourself: between £314.89 – £1274.89

Cost to fit by a garage: between £714.89 – £1674.89 + VAT

Automatic Gearboxes

Mk6 Fiesta

4-speed 4F27E automatic

Used gearbox cost from a vehicle recycler: £219.99 (eBay)

Reconditioned gearbox cost from a gearbox specialist: Unavailable at time of research

Labour to remove and re-fit gearbox: estimate £400 + VAT (based on 8 hours labour)

Total cost fitted by a garage or mechanic – £619.99 + VAT

Total cost if you fit by yourself – £219.99 

Cost to fit by yourself: £219.99

Cost to fit by a garage: £619.99 + VAT

Mk7 Fiesta

6-speed PowerShift DPS6 DCT 

Used gearbox cost from a vehicle recycler: Unavailable at time of research

Reconditioned gearbox cost from a gearbox specialist: £1,400

Labour to remove and re-fit gearbox: estimate £400 + VAT (based on 8 hours labour)

Cost to fit by yourself: £1400

Cost to fit by a garage: £1800 + VAT

Please don’t rely on these as an exact costing for your gearbox replacement – this is only meant to be indicative. You may find your gearbox replacement costs more or less than what’s quoted in this article.

How much does it cost to replace a Ford Fiesta gearbox?

Sourcing a gearbox

Realistically, there are only three places you’re going to be able to source a replacement gearbox for your Fiesta, be it manual or automatic. Either you’re going to get one out of a used car from a breakers yard, or on eBay or another reseller, you’re going to get a reconditioned exchange gearbox from a gearbox specialist or you’re going to go to the dealer and get a brand new unit. Let’s look into how you might go about each of these and the pros and cons of both.

Breakers yard

This is by far the cheapest option providing you know what you’re doing. Most cities will have breakers yards, where damaged cars or cars that are going for scrap end up so that people can take parts off them. These are invaluable places, and in all likelihood your local breakers’ yard will have a Fiesta Mk6, 7 or 8 for you to take the gearbox out of. Many breakers’ yards and automotive recycling companies have already taken the gearbox out and will sell it to you as a standalone unit, without you having to actually take it off the donor vehicle.

Places such as Silverlake and Charles Trent actually catalogue their inventory and make it available either on their own websites or on the likes of eBay, so you can shop online without actually going to the yard – but be warned, you’ll likely pay a significant delivery cost as gearboxes are heavy things. Usually you’ll have some idea of the engine that was mated to the gearbox and the kind of mileage the gearbox has done, and most places will even run a VRN or VIN check for you to make sure it’s the correct gearbox for your vehicle.

However – I wouldn’t rely on this, and I’d ensure you get the correct gearbox code and engine code for your vehicle and compare it to any used gearbox you plan to buy, just to make sure. You don’t want to get to the point of fitting the new box and find out you’ve purchased a slightly different variant or something, and you need to return the gearbox.

Additionally you should bear in mind that you have no idea how this gearbox is going to perform or function until you actually install it in the car and take it for a drive. Meaning that it could be worse than your old gearbox – you just don’t know the condition it’s in. Most places will have refund policies or warranties so that if the box is no good, you can either get a refund or get another one, but to be honest if you’re paying someone to fit the gearbox for you, this isn’t a road you want to go down as you’ve wasted a whole load of money on someone’s labour. This is the risk you take when buying a gearbox from a breakers’ yard or vehicle recycler.   

Pros

  • Often the cheapest option

  • Often quicker and easier than ordering up a new box or an exchange box

  • Low mileage examples can be great bargains

Cons

  • No warranty – or in many cases a limited warranty of between 30 – 90 days

  • Often not much testing is done; so you have no way of knowing if you’re buying a defective unit

  • You’ve got very little idea of the history of the car and how it was used – you may be lucky and get an example owned by an old lady or you may end up with one that was used in the Fast and Furious

  • Often these gearboxes come from salvage vehicles that have been in accidents – meaning you have no way of verifying if there’s any internal damage to the gearbox before buying

Reconditioned exchange gearbox

This is what most independent garages will opt for if you book your car in for a gearbox replacement. There are businesses out there that strip down and rebuild old gearboxes. These might have been gearboxes that have failed or have gone in for repair and have been deemed uneconomical for the owner to repair them. These places will strip the gearbox down, identify the issue, clean the gearbox up and then rebuild it back up to the point where it’s essentially no different to a brand new gearbox. Any part that needs to be replaced will be replaced, and these gearboxes will be fully tested before they’re shipped out.

For example, if you booked your car into a garage with gearbox failure, they might tell you that a replacement gearbox is cheaper than repairing your issue, simply because you will pay a significant amount in terms of man-hours to have that repair done. The garage will source you a reconditioned gearbox, and as part of sourcing the reconditioned box, they will send your old gearbox to the supplier – what’s known as an “exchange”. You pay the bill, you get a new gearbox and the supplier gets your old one. They will then strip down and rebuild your gearbox, and if someone else needs a new gearbox they will get your rebuilt old gearbox and their old, broken gearbox will be given to them as an exchange, and so the cycle continues.

This is something to bear in mind, as you will need to make arrangements to send your old gearbox back to the supplier you choose. However, there’s usually provision for doing this after your new box has been fitted. If you don’t, you’ll likely get charged to the value of a new gearbox – as this is how the supplier sources their inventory. Using a reconditioned gearbox like this generally gives you more peace of mind over securing one from a breakers’ yard or vehicle recycler, but isn’t as expensive as a new gearbox from the dealer.

Pros 

  • A like new gearbox for a lot less money
  • Peace of mind – you generally get a better warranty on a reconditioned gearbox than you would with a used one

Cons

  • The second most expensive option of the three
  • You will need to make arrangements to send your old gearbox back to them, which can be a pain

Brand new from the dealer

This is by far the most expensive option and in all honesty, probably won’t net you a unit that’s any more reliable than a reconditioned gearbox for a significantly higher outlay. However, if you want to, and you feel it’s worth doing, you can contact the dealer and get a replacement brand new unit.

Ford operates through a network of dealers – some of the largest include TrustFord and Evans Halshaw. Each will have a parts department and you’ll need to call them to get hold of a gearbox. They will generally be able to find the correct unit based on your vehicle registration or VIN, and will also be able to deliver it to your door. A new gearbox won’t be an exchange unit, so you won’t have to send your old gearbox anywhere. 

Don’t expect the gearbox to be in stock straight away – it could be a few days or weeks before the right unit can be sourced, especially if you have an older model. Also be aware that the dealer is unlikely to have a gearbox for a very old Fiesta in stock – you are likely going to have to wait for a few weeks for one to be sourced and delivered either to you or to the dealership for you to collect it.

Pros

  • You will get a manufacturer warranty with a new unit – as you are buying directly from the manufacturer, so if something goes wrong you will have some recourse
  • Peace of mind – this is a brand new gearbox from Ford

Cons

  • Unnecessarily expensive – you’re very unlikely to notice any difference between a brand new gearbox and a reconditioned one. Expect to pay upwards of £1500 – £2000 vs around £600 – £1000 for a reconditioned unit

Other parts – clutch, master/slave cylinder, flywheel, etc

It kind of goes without saying if you know how to work on cars, but you won’t be able to get any of these other parts used. Whenever you’re changing the gearbox, you’ll want to change the clutch as well; it just makes sense seeing as the gearbox is out. For the sake of £100 for a decent clutch kit from a local motor factors, it’s worth doing. 

If your vehicle has a DMF (dual-mass flywheel) you might also need to replace this, especially if there’s any scoring or marking on the flywheel. If your flywheel is cracked anywhere, it’s definitely due for replacement. If your flywheel is a solid flywheel, these are very rarely replaced – so as long as there’s no obvious damage or any high spots, you’ll probably leave this in.

Don’t try and buy a used clutch, or any other part of the hydraulic system. Of course if you did your clutch very recently it might not need replacing, but it’s always a sensible thing to do if the gearbox is out. You can pick up a clutch kit for any vehicle at a good Motor Factors such as Euro Car Parts, GSF or Spartan.

Conclusion

To answer the initial question – a Ford Fiesta gearbox replacement can cost anywhere from around £300 to over £1800. It depends entirely what kind of Fiesta you have, what year it is and what gearbox it has. Generally manuals are more widely available than automatics meaning that manuals are cheaper, and likely you will be able to source a gearbox much easier and your car will be off the road for less time. However, it’s worth shopping around and seeing if you can get a bargain.

Hope this article helped – stay tuned for more!

Check out some more of our Ford Fiesta related articles!

February 28, 2023

Marcus Brown

Ford Fiesta not starting? Here’s how to fix it


Read More

Ford Fiesta not starting? Here’s how to fix it

February 20, 2023

Marcus Brown

Ford Fiesta – Servicing Schedule


Read More

Ford Fiesta – Servicing Schedule

February 20, 2023

Marcus Brown

Ford Fiesta Heater Not Working and How to Fix


Read More

Ford Fiesta Heater Not Working and How to Fix

February 18, 2023

Marcus Brown

A guide to the best oil for your Ford Fiesta


Read More

A guide to the best oil for your Ford Fiesta

February 18, 2023

Marcus Brown

Ford Fiesta First Car – Is it a good choice?


Read More

Ford Fiesta First Car – Is it a good choice?

January 10, 2023

Marcus Brown

Ford Fiesta Tyre Pressures


Read More

Ford Fiesta Tyre Pressures

January 10, 2023

Marcus Brown

Ford Fiesta Engine Coolant Guide


Read More

Ford Fiesta Engine Coolant Guide

December 7, 2022

Marcus Brown

Ford Fiesta Exhaust Replacement Cost


Read More

Ford Fiesta Exhaust Replacement Cost

September 18, 2022

Marcus Brown

How much does it cost to replace a Ford Fiesta gearbox?


Read More

How much does it cost to replace a Ford Fiesta gearbox?

Page [tcb_pagination_current_page] of [tcb_pagination_total_pages]







First








Previous








Next







Last

]]> https://thefatmech.com/cost-to-replace-a-ford-fiesta-gearbox/feed/ 0 Can you bump start a diesel? https://thefatmech.com/can-you-bump-start-a-diesel/ https://thefatmech.com/can-you-bump-start-a-diesel/#comments Sat, 17 Sep 2022 23:49:15 +0000 https://thefatmech.com/?p=498 Read moreCan you bump start a diesel?]]> We’ve all been there – we get into the car, push the clutch in, turn the key in the ignition, and… nothing. Dead battery. So now we have to go through the pain of either calling a breakdown service to get you going, or flagging someone down to try and give you a jump. And that’s if you’ve got any jump leads – if you don’t you might be a bit stuck.

However, there is another way to get your car going if you’re stuck, and that involves either a hill or a group of people willing to push your car, and that’s bump or push starting. Generally it’s accepted that bump starting a petrol is no problem, but there seem to be some reservations and concerns about bump starting a diesel. In this article we’re going to go through whether you can bump start a diesel and how you should do it.

Firstly – what is a bump start?

Bump starting is also called “push starting” and is sometimes called “clutch popping”. Bump starting a car basically means putting the car into gear and either rolling down a hill or having some willing volunteers push your car. 

When you start your car normally, the starter motor engages and turns the engine over. However if your battery is dead, your starter won’t work, as the energy required to run the starter motor comes from the battery. Rolling the car means that instead of the starter motor turning the engine over, the rotation from the wheels actually turns the engine over. Putting the car into gear connects the engine and gearbox, and while you are rolling, slipping the clutch allows the wheels to turn (they’ll be locked if the clutch is up, and you’ll just coast if the clutch is in.)

A man is looking at the hood of a car.

It goes without saying that you can only do this in a manual car. Don’t try to do this in an automatic – you need a clutch pedal in order to bump start a car.

How to bump start a diesel car

  1. If you’re on a hill, make sure you can roll the car without hitting anything. If you need some helpers to push you along, make sure they put you in a position where if you start rolling, you won’t crash into any other vehicles or pedestrians.
  2. Switch off any ancillaries or anything else that might put a load on the battery – this includes radio, air conditioning, fans, heater, lights, etc.
  3. Put the car into second gear. You do this because second gear will engage at a low enough speed, but also you won’t need as much torque to get the engine going in second as you would in first. If second doesn’t work you can also try third gear.
  4. Take the handbrake off and pull the clutch up to the biting point.
  5. Have your volunteers push the car. With any luck, once you reach 10-15mph your engine should start.

Why is bump starting a diesel different?

Well, to be honest, it isn’t. A diesel manual will react in the same way as a petrol manual if you try to bump start it. I drive a diesel – and I’ve had to bump start it once or twice without issue. 

However – there are some things you need to consider. 

A diesel engine uses heat and high compression to ignite the fuel. Diesel is a lot less flammable than petrol, and in petrol engines, spark is used to ignite the fuel. Modern diesel engines use glowplugs to preheat the cylinders to ensure they are hot enough to ignite when the key is turned in the ignition.

What you may find is that if your battery is completely discharged, it may not provide enough power to heat the glowplugs. If this is the case, and it’s a cold day outside, you may find bump starting a diesel is almost impossible. In this case you’ll need to charge the battery somehow. If after charging the battery there isn’t enough power to engage the starter motor but you can operate internal functions such as the heaters or the radio, you may have enough juice that the glowplugs can heat the cylinders and you can try again.

A picture of the engine compartment of a car.

Additionally, most modern diesel engines use direct fuel injection. Opening and closing the fuel injectors requires electrical power, and if the battery is completely dead, it won’t have the power to open and close the injectors. If this is the case you may find your attempt at bump starting fails. 

Finally, your car will also have a fuel pump which provides fuel to the injectors. The fuel pump is usually electrically powered, and again if your battery is so flat that it can’t provide power to the fuel pump, bump starting is pointless and won’t work, as the engine won’t be getting any fuel. Usually you can hear the fuel pump priming when you turn the key in the ignition – if you can’t, you may want to jump start instead.

Are there any safety concerns with bump starting a diesel car?

Generally no more so than if you bump started a petrol. One thing you MUST be aware of is that with the engine not running, the vacuum system used for braking will not work. You may be able to push the brakes once or twice, but after this your pedal will likely go rock hard and require immense pressure to push it down. 

Obviously this is a safety concern if you’re bump starting on a hill, as you may not be able to stop the car if you can’t get the engine going. My advice here would be to allow the car to get up to maximum 20mph and if it doesn’t look like you’re getting the engine running, stop the car and try again. Don’t allow the car to freewheel down a hill – this is extremely dangerous.

Can you bump start a diesel van?

Of course you can – there’s nothing different between diesel engines in a van and in a car. However, if you’ve got something large like a Mercedes Sprinter or VW Crafter, these are very heavy vehicles and won’t be easily pushed by a group of volunteers unless you have a lot of them. A hill will still work fine. Just ensure you consider the above point regarding safety, as a van is bigger and heavier and will pick up speed down a hill quicker.

A white van parked on the side of the road.

Can you bump start a diesel automatic?

You cannot bump start any automatic vehicle – whether it’s a diesel, petrol, LPG or anything else. If it’s an auto, bump starting is not possible. You will need to either get someone to give you a jump, or you’ll need to charge up your battery and try and start the engine that way.

Can you bump start a diesel in reverse?

I wouldn’t. The reason for this is two-fold – obviously if you’re in reverse you have less visibility and control over where the car is going. Not only that but reversing down a hill trying to start your engine just seems like a needlessly dangerous thing to do. Additionally, the point we made earlier regarding torque at the wheels – reverse and first require the highest amount of rotational force, so it will be significantly more difficult to try and bump start in reverse anyway. 

Of course, you may find a situation where you need to bump start in reverse unavoidable, such as if you’ve parked in a bay and you need to reverse out or something – in this case, get someone to push your car so that you can bump start going forward, or jump your car. Reverse bump starting is not a good idea.

Can I push my own car and then get in?

You can, but this again just seems needlessly dangerous. I wouldn’t do this, and I wouldn’t recommend you do either.

Can you bump start a diesel with a dead battery?

Based on what we spoke about before, if the battery is completely dead you have issues with no power going to the glowplugs, fuel injectors and fuel pump. If this is the case, you won’t be able to bump start your diesel. However if there’s only a little bit of charge in the battery you should be fine.

Conclusion

Hopefully this helps you out next time you’re stuck and you can’t get your car going. For more automotive advice, stay tuned for our next article!

Check out some more of our engine related articles!

]]> https://thefatmech.com/can-you-bump-start-a-diesel/feed/ 2 Car Makes Groaning Noise When Reversing? https://thefatmech.com/car-makes-groaning-noise-when-reversing/ https://thefatmech.com/car-makes-groaning-noise-when-reversing/#respond Sat, 06 Aug 2022 07:27:41 +0000 https://thefatmech.com/?p=419 Read moreCar Makes Groaning Noise When Reversing?]]> Wondering why your car makes groaning noise when reversing? We all been there at some point but fortunately for us, its not that big of an issue!

In this article, we will discover what causes such noises and ways to deal with them.

What Causes Groaning Noise When Reversing

Let’s go over the most common explanations for why your car makes groaning noise when reversing or backing up.

Stuck-On Bits of Metal

When backing up, metal fragments might get wedged between the rotor and the brake pads, causing a screaming sound. 

The brake pads cannot do their job if these metal fragments are present.

You should probably avoid driving right now. 

Also read: Can You Change Oil Filter Without Changing Oil

If you don’t get it replaced straight away, the rotor in your automobile could be ruined. 

There’s a risk that your car’s wheel will become jammed with a piece of metal. 

When you reverse, that will also make a lot of noise.

Issues with the Transmission

When backing up, you hear a groaning sound; it could be the brakes, but it could also be the transmission. 

Possible culprits include a parking pawl, worn motor mounts, or malfunctioning CV (Constant Velocity) joints.

Used-Up Pads in the Brakes

Most of the time, the groaning sound that occurs when applying reverse brakes is the result of a worn-out brake pad. 

The squealing sound you hear is the brake pads grinding against the rotors.

issues with car brake pads

However, if the brake pads have shifted, you’ll hear that familiar click as well. 

The brake callipers and pad surface deteriorate in this way when they aren’t serviced regularly.

To keep the brakes quiet, most braking systems additionally include anti-vibration chips. 

Damage to these chips or a malfunctioning button will cause an annoying whirring noise whenever you try to reverse it.

Grease Shims Without Lubricant

Grease shims are a part that goes in between the brake pads and the brake callipers. 

It must stop the rubbing of the braking parts and so reduce the resulting noise.

If the grease shims aren’t correctly greased, your vehicle will make a screaming sound when you reverse. 

This is because, without the grease shims, the parts will grind against one another, resulting in annoying noise.

Also read: Ford F150 Interior Lights Won’t Turn On

Defective Wear Tabs

Wear tabs to keep the brakes in prime condition. 

When the brakes are used, it brings the car to a halt. The brake tabs end in worn tabs.

When these wear tabs scrape against your car’s rotor, you’ll hear a squeaking sound. 

The wear tabs have become defective or moved.

Long periods of storage without use might cause wear tabs to deteriorate. 

Because of this, you shouldn’t try to reverse your vehicle or go on a long trip if it hasn’t been used for a while.

How To Fix These

Now that we’ve covered the most prevalent sources of grinding noise in the previous blog section, let’s not look at how to fix them, will we? 

Remove Those Pesky Metal Objects!

Examine the space that is between the rotor and the brake pads for any signs of dirt or stray metal fragments. 

Remove them and then apply some lubricant to the region if you do find any. 

Before you get back behind the wheel, you should be sure that neither the rotor nor the brake pads have suffered any irreversible damage. 

Transmission Problem Remedy

One possible solution is to put the automobile in forwarding gear before reversing. 

A transmission or clutch inspection is in order if it doesn’t start. 

Your mechanic will have the ability to determine the problem and provide a solution.

Replacement for Worn-Out Brake Pads

Installing disk brake calliper grease to lubricate the brake pads is the first step to take. 

See whether the noise stops after some time has passed.

If the squeaking continues after that, the brake pads probably need to be replaced. 

When you replace your brake pads, give special attention to installing the anti-vibration chips correctly.  

Also read: ABS And Brake Light On But No Codes

Shims Needing Grease

To silence the squeaks and groans, simply oil the shims on both sides. 

To improve your car’s performance, you should do this as much as possible. 

Brake pads and callipers will last longer if you do this. 

Do NOT use too much grease at once, as this will make it sticky and hinder its use.

Correcting Malfunctioning Wear Tabs

Check to determine if the worn tabs’ position on your car has shifted. 

Take care of the problem before getting back behind the wheel. 

Maintaining your vehicle’s safety requires that you periodically replace the worn tabs.

Conclusion

Then there you have it! Brake issues, not gearbox issues, are more likely to cause annoying noises when reversing. 

Worn brake pads, dry pads, or metal debris stuck to the brake all contribute to an increase in noise. 

In addition, your constant speed (CV) joints, their connections, and any faults should be checked through the transmission (for automatic transmissions) or the clutch (for manual transmissions).

Make sure that you pay regular visits to your technician and pay attention to that groaning sound so that you may prevent experiencing the pain of this nature.

Check out some more of our transmission/gearbox related articles!

]]> https://thefatmech.com/car-makes-groaning-noise-when-reversing/feed/ 0