Can anyone advise please regarding a noisey manual gearbox. It started about a month ago and seems very slowly to be getting louder especially with the car in neutral on tickover. If you engage the clutch the noise almost disappears. Is this something I can leave until I am forced to get a new gearbox, ie much too noisey or will the gearbox let me done on the motorway.
Thanks
Smokeyone
It is very common and may only get a little worse over several years. Make sure it has the right oil in and ignore it.
MrCheerful
I had this when I had my cavalier - went on for 2 -3 years before I sold car . Mechanic at garage told me it was nothing really to worry about . Thrust bearing on clutch. Probably go until clutch needs replacing
Does it disappear when you push the clutch pedal down?
If so, it sounds a bit like a clutch thrust bearing rather than the gearbox itself.
No. It sounds more like more worn gear box bearings. (the shaft stops spinning when the clutch is pressed down) The thrust race is spinning harder and under load when the clutch is pressed down. (therefore is noisier )
MrCheerful
In message , MrCheerful writes
I used to have one of these (the 1.3) and had a similar problem. It was only a few hours work to change the bearings as you could remove the gearbox cover complete with gear clusters from the near side wheel arch without removing the box itself.
It was a brilliant car to work on. The clutch was a doddle as were the big ends and mains.
Thanks very much for the replies. So I can leave it for a while until it gets too loud and then have it fixed or have a go myself.
Smokeyone
A friend had a Nova that was the same. Excellent idea, though not enough reason to buy one.
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