Ford Escort 1999 1.8d Van - I think the gearbox has gone!

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Tue 29 Jun 2010 13:10
Ford Escort 1999 1.8d Van - I think the gearbox has gone! - adam f

I had been having a slight problem where the Van would "slightly" crunch into 2nd gear. Yesterday the van started to crunch into 2nd very badly no matter at what speed the revs were at. Anyway today it got even worse and within 2 minutes of me driving i pulled over and the gearbox was making a terrible noise - it felt like i was sitting on top of a washing machine on its spin cycle. I turned the van off and have parked it up in a side street.

Do you think the Vans box has finally gone?

Would it be worth just selling it as getting it fixed would surley outweigh the value of the van?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 29 Jun 2010 21:47
Ford Escort 1999 1.8d Van - I think the gearbox has gone! - Peter.N.

Failure of the 2nd gear synchro is quite common, but it doesn't usually result in damage to the gearbox. Has it got any oil in it?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 29 Jun 2010 22:59
Ford Escort 1999 1.8d Van - I think the gearbox has gone! - adam f
Hi,

Yes the box has oil in it. I recently changed the oil as i was having a slight crunching in 2nd gear and i hoped this would have helped but obviously not.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 5 Jul 2010 15:44
Ford Escort 1999 1.8d Van - I think the gearbox has gone! - adam f
I have had it done,

Had a new clutch and second hand box put in. The clutch and box are spot on but the gear stick is not as "tight" as before (i.e when in neutral and pushed from side to side it feels very sloppy)

I just wondered if anyone new what this could be and is it an easy fix? If its simple i'll do it myself as i dont really want to lose the van for another day by putting it back into the garage.

Any help much appreciated.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 5 Jul 2010 22:12
Ford Escort 1999 1.8d Van - I think the gearbox has gone! - Peter.N.

Probably worn linkage, although I would have thought they would have used your existing set. If it drives OK I wouldn't worry to much about it. If you can get someone to wiggle the gear lever while you look underneath you may be able to see where the slop is..

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 5 Jul 2010 22:43
Ford Escort 1999 1.8d Van - I think the gearbox has gone! - adam f

Thanks for the reply Peter,

The gears selection is actually alright and stays in "tight" so not to bothered about it now ill just live with it but thats now the least of my worries.

There is a horrendous grinding/droning sound now coming from the van. It is only doing it when accelerating.It was not doing this before it went in with the old box and clutch and also when i put it in reverse it "thuds" in and the the van jerks back.

Think i will call the garage back tomorrow and get them to sort it. They sourced the gearbox so hopefully i should not have to pay anymore money to them as it wasn't doing this before it went in.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 16 Jul 2010 17:35
Ford Escort 1999 1.8d Van - I think the gearbox has gone **Update** - adam f

All has now been sorted - but what a palavar and experience it was.

I originally rang round several garages to get a quote to replace the clutch and gearbox.
I went with a garage local to me that has a good reputation and they have been around for years so i went with them.

New clutch, Second hand box (supplied by garage) oil and labour £500

Took the Van to them and they had it finished by the end of th day. Drove it home and i didnt like the feel of it. Took it back the next day for them to inspect and they rang me back to tell me that the box they had put in was "kaput" and they would put my old box back in and give me a refund to the sum of £188 (price of s/h box and VAT) they said they would source another one for me.

I went and picked the van up with my now original box in it and drove it home and parked it up on the drive.

Went out there on Saturday morning to give the van a wash and noticed a rather large puddle gearbox oil on my driveway. Had a peek underneath and to my horror and suprise i noticed that the idiots had forgot to screw back in the oil drain plug - it was literally hanging out and and only held in there by one thread of the bolt!!!!

I bought a recon box off eBay for a tidy sum of £110 (inc Delivery) from a gearbox place in Birmingham and i booked it in at a different local garage who fitted it for me today.

The owner called me to say "what a mess the previous garage had made of the box" wrong bolts etc.. used and also that one of the gearbox mounts needed replacing. (he showed me the mount when i got there and the mount had completley split in half)

I drove the van home this afternoon and it drove lovely so i am very happy (touch wood!)

In total it has cost me the best part of £650. I wish now i had just purchased the box and clutch myself and took it to this lovely chap to do in the first place but hindsight is a wonderful thing!! would have been a lot cheaper too.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 16 Jul 2010 21:23
Ford Escort 1999 1.8d Van - I think the gearbox has gone **Update** - Peter.N.

Pleased you got it sorted out. Reliable mechanics are hard to find, so I would keep hold of this one. I do all my own maintenance, largely for this reason..

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 16 Jul 2010 23:02
Ford Escort 1999 1.8d Van - I think the gearbox has gone **Update** - adam f

Just wish i wet to him first of all. I normally do most "home mechanic" things myself - servicing, brakes etc but the gearbox was way beyond me.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

From economical vans to those that have the largest payloads, we have a shortlist for everyone - click to find out which will suit your needs.

Undecided on which van to buy? Our Top 10 shortlists can help...