Notchy S-Type

[Silver Wheels]

Hi All,

Some advice is required from those experienced S-Type owners out there.

I recently traded in my 3.0L auto and bought a 2005 2.5L manual sport. A lovely car having only covered 88,000,  I did notice that changing gear was a little notchy, but nothing to worry about or so I thought.

Over the last month the issue has got worse where putting into first is difficult but still manageable, and changing up or down has now also become less smooth as it should be. The biting point of the clutch is quite high and I assume that it will have to be changed in about 5000 or so. There is also an almost unnoticeable vibration of the gearstick which on reflection may also be symptomatic of something ..but what ?.

Do these issues ring a bell with anybody and might have an idea what the issue is and how much to put right ?

All the best,

Mark.

 

[JOE-DOT-COM]

Hi

check the gear change linkages on the gearbox, might need lubricating, they go notchy sometimes when they go dry

I,ve seen this when engines are cleaned in garages and before selling a car to make them look better

also might be worth checking the gearbox Oil level

cheers

Joe

[Old Peter]

I thought gearbox Oil too.

With out gearboxes, supposedly sealed for life, many members  change the old at circa 70,000 miles.  It is possibly worth doing if topping up doesn't cure it.

Peter.

[Silver Wheels]

Joe / Peter

Many thanks for the very useful pointers, will follow them up and put a post on as an update..

Mark

[Lazlo Woodbine]

I changed the Oil in my 2002 cars gearbox (a different box to yours I think) a couple of weeks ago and it made a reasonable difference to the change.

The clutch on mine is not as low as I'd like but hasn't got any higher. After a year I'm still not used to it to be honest. I'm not really sure why, it's almost as if it behaves differently every time I use it. It's my first car with a DMF and it does have a very eager idle speed circuit etc. The engine management doesn't seem to let me have much more than half throttle on pull-away or when changing up but conversely will give me an artificially high tickover when changing down or on the overrun, very annoying.

Oh yes, my gear stick vibrates as well. It rattles really loudly as I approach the red line, it's quite handy actually..

[Russ68]

Hey Ralph,

How did you get on with the gearbox Oil change? Is there a drain or you pump / vacuum out or similar? I want to do this shortly, so any pointers would be gratefully received. Which Oil did you use as well?

Cheers, Russ 

[Lazlo Woodbine]

Note to Silver Wheels, this is for the 5 speed Getrag 221 'box. I believe the 2002.5 on cars like yours use a different one.

I used Fuchs ATF 3353 from Opie Oils. They're down the road from me and know their stuff. You may have seen the name "Oilman" on various forums, he's from Opie. The 'box needs 1.1l so I bought 2l, it will also work in the PAS system, which is handy as mine leaks and needs looking at...

There is a drain plug, so that was nice.

The fill/level plug is too high up to get a funnel in to so I used a pump. The hardest part is keeping the bottle of Oil upright while watching the hole and pumping as well.

I did it on a gravel drive on ramps. Having the car on a lift would make it almost pleasurable in comparison! You will probably spill some Oil on the floor and get some in your armpit but it's an easy job really.

Make sure you have a good pump, I don't. It's the first time I've used it and it leaks out Oil and sucks in air where it shouldn't. Fill and drain plugs are 13mm hex and don't have crush washers. Neither does the sump plug on the engine!

 

 

[Russ68]

Thanks! Very useful!

I did both gearbox and transfer box in the Disco recently, which I don't think I was supposed to be able to do without a pump. But I found I had enough room to squeeze the Oil in from the little bottles. A bit messy and I did end up with some of it down my arm, but it worked!

Hoping to do mine soon and lube the linkage as Joe suggests, she shifts OK, but may as well improve and protect if I can 

[Lazlo Woodbine]

I've actually taken the gear stick gaiter off along with any other necessary bits before and got someone to sit inside and pour the Oil down a funnel on a tube while I watch the level hole. I didn't this time as it looks like a lot of interior would have to come out, I've never had a car with so much sound deadening. 

I hadn't thought to look at the linkage as I assumed it was within the box casing. It would be nice to be able to get to it as although the stick on mine self centres from the left it's quite weak from the right. It's way down the list of things to do but it would be nice to have both sides near the same.

 

On 07/05/2017 at 4:33 PM, Silver Wheels said:

Hi All,

Some advice is required from those experienced S-Type owners out there.

I recently traded in my 3.0L auto and bought a 2005 2.5L manual sport. A lovely car having only covered 88,000,  I did notice that changing gear was a little notchy, but nothing to worry about or so I thought.

Over the last month the issue has got worse where putting into first is difficult but still manageable, and changing up or down has now also become less smooth as it should be. The biting point of the clutch is quite high and I assume that it will have to be changed in about 5000 or so. There is also an almost unnoticeable vibration of the gearstick which on reflection may also be symptomatic of something ..but what ?.

Do these issues ring a bell with anybody and might have an idea what the issue is and how much to put right ?

All the best,

Mark.

 

Has the biting point changed noticeably?  If it hasn't I'd be inclined to thoroughly check out the hydraulics for the clutch as it sounds to me like it's not disengaging fully.

[Russ68]

Wise not to try to mess with the gaiter, as your supposed to remove the centre console and get to it from below. I had to effect an urgent repair on a broken gear knob and went in through the top, now it's all a bit flappy and wrong! I'm now looking for a spare 2nd hand black console and will build it up with new gaiter before installing.

Agree with Lazlo, could well be clutch / hydraulic related.

Cheers, Russ 

[Silver Wheels]

Hi All,

A real grateful thank you for the advice and as promised, an update.

I couldn't get to the plug on the box so I took it to a mechanic I've used over the last couple of years. He reported that the box was practically bone dry and so he topped it up, charging me nothing into the bargain. At first I only saw a small improvement but after a couple of days and over a hundred miles or so later, it's really very much better. I would say a vast 80% if I was to put some sort of figure on it. The gears are now changeable with ease and the vibration almost gone. I'm tempting fate but I'm hoping that there's no lasting damage.

Just wanted to reiterate my thanks to all that contributed, well worth the subscription.

Mark  

[JOE-DOT-COM]

Hi

Might be worth checking around the gearbox, just in case it has a slight leak

cheers

Joe

[Lazlo Woodbine]

On 12/05/2017 at 7:34 PM, Silver Wheels said:

 I would say a vast 80% if I was to put some sort of figure on it. The gears are now changeable with ease and the vibration almost gone.  

Excellent! I'm glad it's improved.

As Joe says it's worth checking for leaks. I'd be inclined to check the level again in a fortnight and if it's still full then change the Oil completely just in case there are any little metallic bits floating about.