Jump to content
SAU Community

Did my mechanic misdiagnose my car?

silviaz

By silviaz,
in General Automotive Discussion

 Share

Recommended Posts

silviaz Experienced

silviaz

Posted
Posted (edited)

(context, my rb25det pull type gearbox was making a grinding sound on idle and when accelerating in the lower rev range but goes away with the clutch pedal in) I got a pretty hefty bill recently which I'm not overly happy about (only because the problem is still there), my mechanic told me a while back that the grinding noise I had in my car was the spigot bearing, long story short but he pulled it out and it looked like brand new, he said that it wasn't lubricated and ended up putting in a new one that was. I didn't think much of it, until I turned on the car went for a drive and noticed the car has the EXACT same sound, nothing has changed.

He said it had some noise which I have no idea what he's referring to and I told him that my gearbox was still grinding, when we went for a test drive he said it was normal. There's no way a grinding gearbox is normal. You can really hear the grinding if you're in a higher gear but your speed is low, I guess makes sense as the gearbox is working harder.

That's one issue, the other issue I noticed is there is a loud rattling sound especially when I start up the car and especially as I go up my driveway. Some other things to note is that the previous owner did a dodgy clutch install and also stripped one of the threads on the flywheel bolt which my mechanic all fixed up and put a new clutch kit in, which I'm not sure if that has something to do with it. I know a bit about the history of the car, it was definitely thrashed and tracked.

The car itself drives fine and doesn't crunch through the gears, there was wasn't much metal shavings on the gearbox. Do you believe my mechanic misdiagnosed my car? I'm trying to decide what next steps to take, I imagine I'll have to rebuild my gearbox eventually.

Edited by silviaz
Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/484997-did-my-mechanic-misdiagnose-my-car/
Share on other sites
admS15 Grand Master

admS15

Posted
Posted

I don't think you can blame the mechanic. He replaced what he thought and what is a common source of gearbox noise. It could be internal gearbox bearings that are causing your noise. Would have been an even bigger Bill. These boxes are a little noisy at low revs high load. I had a brand new one in mine before I broke it and it also had noise at low rpm.

I'd just put up with the noise and don't load it up at low rpm. Gearboxe is trying to tell you it doesn't like it.

  • Like 1
silviaz Experienced

silviaz

Posted
  • Author
Posted
9 hours ago, GTSBoy said:

Input shaft bearing, more than likely. More common on the skinny box, but still an issue on the fat box. Mine does it (groans and resonates at low rpm in higher gears).

Funny thing is I wanted that replaced but my mechanic said it's a rebuild at that stage, I wanted that replaced because from what I understand it's not deep in the gearbox. 

silviaz Experienced

silviaz

Posted
  • Author
Posted
11 hours ago, admS15 said:

I don't think you can blame the mechanic. He replaced what he thought and what is a common source of gearbox noise. It could be internal gearbox bearings that are causing your noise. Would have been an even bigger Bill. These boxes are a little noisy at low revs high load. I had a brand new one in mine before I broke it and it also had noise at low rpm.

I'd just put up with the noise and don't load it up at low rpm. Gearboxe is trying to tell you it doesn't like it.

Yeah, problem is would have been better to do it all at once but now I have to pay to pull out the gearbox again.

joshuaho96 Veteran

joshuaho96

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, silviaz said:

Yeah, problem is would have been better to do it all at once but now I have to pay to pull out the gearbox again.

Weird to me how the mechanic didn't offer to just tear into it further at that point but that's just how it rolls with a lot of mechanics. They'd rather get the cashflow sooner than later.

GTSBoy Grand Master

GTSBoy

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, silviaz said:

Funny thing is I wanted that replaced but my mechanic said it's a rebuild at that stage, I wanted that replaced because from what I understand it's not deep in the gearbox. 

Well, replacing a front bearing is not a "rebuild", nor does it trigger a need to rebuild everything in the gearbox. A dismantled gearbox with worn/aged parts can be put back together just fine. The only argument is whether the labour to do so is then considered to be wasted compared to doing a rebuild as well.

silviaz Experienced

silviaz

Posted
  • Author
Posted
3 hours ago, joshuaho96 said:

Weird to me how the mechanic didn't offer to just tear into it further at that point but that's just how it rolls with a lot of mechanics. They'd rather get the cashflow sooner than later.

Nah this mechanic is honest and for him he has a more "leave it if it's working" approach. Not always ideal because if for example I didn't replace my rear main seal and it leaked then I'd have to pay him again to pull out the box.

silviaz Experienced

silviaz

Posted
  • Author
Posted
2 hours ago, GTSBoy said:

Well, replacing a front bearing is not a "rebuild", nor does it trigger a need to rebuild everything in the gearbox. A dismantled gearbox with worn/aged parts can be put back together just fine. The only argument is whether the labour to do so is then considered to be wasted compared to doing a rebuild as well.

Yeah that's what I thought, I thought if all he has to do is take off the input shaft cover and replace the bearing behind it, that sounds like a pretty easy job but I'm not 100% sure as I haven't been able to find much information on the process.

r32-25t Grand Master

r32-25t

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, silviaz said:

Yeah that's what I thought, I thought if all he has to do is take off the input shaft cover and replace the bearing behind it, that sounds like a pretty easy job but I'm not 100% sure as I haven't been able to find much information on the process.

No it’s not that easy, you need to completely strip the box in order to get the input shaft out and press the bearing off it and press the new one on 

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Duncan
      After market rear camber arm adjustment

      By Duncan · Posted

      Then, shorten them by 1cm, drop the car back down and have a visual look (or even better, use a spirit level across the wheel to see if you have less camber than before. You still want something like 1.5 for road use. Alternatively, if you have adjustable rear ride height (I assume you do if you have extreme camber wear), raise the suspension back to standard height until you can get it all aligned properly. Finally, keep in mind that wear on the inside of the tyre can be for incorrect toe, not just camber
    • V35Newbie
      After market rear camber arm adjustment

      By V35Newbie · Posted

      I know I have to get a wheel alignment but until then I just need to bring the rear tyres in a bit they're wearing to the belt on the inside and brand new on the outside edge. I did shorten the arms a bit but got it wrong now after a few klms the Slip and VDC lights come on. I'd just like to get it to a point where I can drive for another week or two before getting an alignment. I've had to pay a lot of other stuff recently so doing it myself is my only option 
    • Duncan
      After market rear camber arm adjustment

      By Duncan · Posted

      You just need a wheel alignment after, so just set them to the same as current and drive to the shop. As there are 2 upper links it may also be worth adding adjustable upper front links at the same time; these reduce bump steer when you move the camber (note that setting those correctly takes a lot longer as you have to recheck the camber at each length of the toe arm, through a range of movement, so you could just ignore that unless the handling becomes unpredictable)
    • V35Newbie
      After market rear camber arm adjustment

      By V35Newbie · Posted

      I got adjustable after market rear camber arm to replace the stock one's because got sick of having to buy new rear tyres every few months. Can anyone please let me know what the best adjustment length would be. I don't have the old ones anymore to get measurements. I'm guessing the stock measurement minus a few mm would do it. Please any help on replacing them would be fantastic I've watched the YouTube clips but no-one talks about how long to set the camber arm to.
    • GTSBoy
      Unpeeling the Orange

      By GTSBoy · Posted

      Heh. I copied the link to the video direct, instead of the thread I mentioned. But the video is the main value content anyway. Otherwise, yes, in Europe, surely you'd be expected to buy local. Being whichever flavour of Michelin, Continental or Pirelli suits your usage model.
×
×
  • Create New...