Sudden Gearbox Failure. How?!

[Eatonm112]

On 3/16/2018 at 6:49 PM, onlyoneunited said:

Hi,

My car is a 1.4  manual petrol 2011 Fiesta with 70,000 miles.

I was driving home from work yesterday and was nearly home when I pulled, as I was accelerating and changed from I think 2nd to 3rd gear my car suddenly felt like it was in neutral. No matter how much I revved or which gear I used I just coasted to the side of the road and came to a stop.

I restarted the car and tried 1st gear, and a few others but was unable to find a biting point in any gear and even if I completely lifted my foot off the clutch it wouldn't stall in gear.

I was towed to the independent garage I usually used and they first said it was likely the clutch. I was surprised as my clutch was fine up to now, no slipping etc and I tend to be kind on the clutch with how I drive anyway (got 140,000 miles out of my last Fiesta's original clutch).

I got a call today to say that it wasn't the clutch after all and was the gearbox and it will need to be replaced. I've been quoted £1000 to replace the gearbox with a reconditioned one and have a new clutch fiitted whilst they're doing the gearbox anyway.

What I don't understand is how a gearbox can fail so suddenly without any warning signs at all? No grinding when selecting gear and no slipping of the clutch at all to suddenly having a car that has absolutely no power making it's way from the engine to the front wheels.

Does this look like a gearbox failure based on what happened and can a gearbox fail so suddenly?

Has anyone experienced something similar to this or have any thoughts of how this could have happened? The garage has a reputation for being trustworthy.

Any thoughts will be much appreciated! :)

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know of any known issues with your gearbox but to me it sounds like the input shaft has broken.

[onlyoneunited]

3 hours ago, Nikstryker said:

The thing is this - when anyone garages etc give you a cost of £1000 that just makes me laugh - now if they had given you a bill of £975.53 that sounds feasible but when mr con man picks a nice round figure out of the air thats not professional nor does it reflect well on the person who is giving you the quote - "yeah mate a nice round grand".

Nah not having it!

I have to admit the only work ive ever done on gearboxes was my Dutton Phaeton s3 kit car - i could get the engine and gearbox out in my sleep 15 mins tops with my dads help and thatS the only time i ever worked on a gearbox 1600xflow engines are lovely so simple no electronics just a big metal lump so i am no expert on gearboxes but i know for fact i could get a Fiesta gearbox for £250 and have my mate John in East Kilbride fit it for max £300 and he is very expensive but is probably the only Garage i have found in 40 years that does a proper job for the money - Barrack street up in the Barras would probably charge £200 to fit so max £450 - £1000 is mad dude, did you not google first - doesnt matter what i buy or repair these days i always use google and youtube etc for hints and tips - no one is an expert there are so many things to learn but the one thing I have learned over 40 years car mechanics - I started with my dad removing a wheel when I wur 7 years old lol and thats 99% OF GARAGES AND MOST TRADESMAN SADLY ARE A COMPLETE RIPOFF IN THIS COUNTRY!!!

I feel for ya dude its maddening to know they ripped you off after the fact - THE LESSON HAS BEEN LEARNED I THINK - TRUST-NO1.

 

I was on the side of the road with a car that wouldn't budge an inch so had to be towed to the garage which I knew would be bale to work on it relatively soon and would trust to eave my car there overnight, so I went this the usual garage I've used- they're know for being trustworthy in the area.

In terms of a break down of the cost, it was £525 for a fully reconditioned gearbox. £250 for labour to have it filled. £160 for a brand new clutch (I wasn't charged for labour for this) as the clutch would've needed changing relatively soon anyway. I also got a lifetime warranty on the gearbox for an extra £50.  Forgive me but I rounded all that to £1000 ...

At the moment I do not have the time or the space to work on my own car but I will do a lot of my own work once I do.

I have no problem spending money, even £1000 , on car repairs, it's having work done that wasn't necessary that bothers me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[onlyoneunited]

1 hour ago, Eatonm112 said:

I don't know of any known issues with your gearbox but to me it sounds like the input shaft has broken.

I've done some reading into this and it looks like the symptoms match mine. Having read into this it looks like it would have cost not much less, if not the same as the £800 to have the gearbox replaced  if I were to have it done at a garage(excluded the cost of the clutch and the warranty).

I'm having issues with 3rd gear on the new gearbox so Im going to get it checked anyway on Friday and I will be sure to ask exactly what was wrong and where the new gearbox was sourced from etc...

 

[Nikstryker]

Yes England seems to have very high prices for everything i presume you live in the South?

£525 for a reconditioned box that probably isnt reconditioned the problem is there are so many dishonest garages out there thats why most of the guys on here do their own work as they can be sure the work is done right - even garages like Evans Halshaw and Arnold Clark are dire - my mate works for Arnold Clarke and the things they get up to with customers cars is a complete disgrace - Ive told him to take one of my hidden spycams and film for a day it would be a sensation on youtube if customers actually see what they get up to from putting cheap oil in the cars that dont ven match the xx/xxw spec to not changing it all during servicing - thats why you shoukld always do the old tippex test!

Clutches etc you can buy yourself and have delivered to the garage so they cant rip you off on the parts remember!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2005-MK6-FORD-FIESTA-ST-1999cc-Petrol-5-Speed-Manual-Gearbox/253507256078?epid=1909854001&hash=item3b0635bf0e:g:tWYAAOSwz7Nad0OD

I guess its all about how much you want to save money but if you are minted like you say you are then people will just pay it and not bother about the cost.

When you are skint or like most folks i know you will try and save any penny!

 

[onlyoneunited]

5 minutes ago, Nikstryker said:

Yes England seems to have very high prices for everything i presume you live in the South?

£525 for a reconditioned box that probably isnt reconditioned the problem is there are so many dishonest garages out there thats why most of the guys on here do their own work as they can be sure the work is done right - even garages like Evans Halshaw and Arnold Clark are dire - my mate works for Arnold Clarke and the things they get up to with customers cars is a complete disgrace - Ive told him to take one of my hidden spycams and film for a day it would be a sensation on youtube if customers actually see what they get up to from putting cheap oil in the cars that dont ven match the xx/xxw spec to not changing it all during servicing - thats why you shoukld always do the old tippex test!

Clutches etc you can buy yourself and have delivered to the garage so they cant rip you off on the parts remember!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2005-MK6-FORD-FIESTA-ST-1999cc-Petrol-5-Speed-Manual-Gearbox/253507256078?epid=1909854001&hash=item3b0635bf0e:g:tWYAAOSwz7Nad0OD

I guess its all about how much you want to save money but if you are minted like you say you are then people will just pay it and not bother about the cost.

When you are skint or like most folks i know you will try and save any penny!

 

I never said I was minted...the point I was making was I don't mind spending money on getting my car repaired as long as I'm getting value for money i.e. it''s done to a decent standard and the work carried out is necessary.

And yes I do live in the south east, and yes stuff is very expensive here.

You say even Evans Halshaw are dire, garage chains tend to be a lot worse than independent garages for ripping people off and Evans Halshaw's bad  reputation precedes them..

The gearbox has definitely been replaced, I've checked it already.

I've gone down the route of buying car parts online and getting the garage to fit them but then the garage can't be held liable if it fails, so you have to chase up the parts manufacturer yourself. I've known a couple of people who have been caught out by this.

[isetta]

"Clutches etc you can buy yourself and have delivered to the garage so they cant rip you off on the parts remember!"   

yes it can save money, but there is a potential pitfall there. 

If you get them to supply parts and labour and there is a problem a bit later then they need to sort it out.

if you supplied the part and they supplied the labour they can then blame a  problem on the parts and not the labour and as they were not involved in the parts sourcing/ supply then you are a bit stuffed.

It's a gamble which you have to weigh up the pros and cons

[Nikstryker]

4 hours ago, isetta said:

"Clutches etc you can buy yourself and have delivered to the garage so they cant rip you off on the parts remember!"   

yes it can save money, but there is a potential pitfall there. 

If you get them to supply parts and labour and there is a problem a bit later then they need to sort it out.

if you supplied the part and they supplied the labour they can then blame a  problem on the parts and not the labour and as they were not involved in the parts sourcing/ supply then you are a bit stuffed.

It's a gamble which you have to weigh up the pros and cons

Lol true that why i do everything myself since i was 18 years of age i have only used a garage a handful of times and every time they ripped me off and did a substandard job. It got so bad i nearly ended up assaulting the manager when i had to return my Opel Manta GT/J four times and it still wasnt fixed and he poo poo;d me and tried to lie his way out of having replaced just about every electrical circuit and part to fix a fault that cost my poor old mum more than the car was worth!!!
She went down and paid the bill secretly because she was so worried I was gonna do the guy in!

Another local independant who used to be a really good garage until he got too big for his boots even crushed the valance on my dutton phaeton s3 by driving it up a steep ramp and expected me not to notice the 10 inch crack and all the paint missing.
Actually told me it was there already - disgraceful!

Took my Lotus to the main Glasgow Lotus dealership and they gave up and said they couldnt find the fault - took it to my mate John and he fixed it within the week!

Unless its Gearbox i would do every other job myself but then my old man made it that way as we have our own 4 car garage with inspection pit and ramps and more tools than a main dealership - Even got a pc on one of the workbenches networked up to the house!

My dad was a great man he built his first garage when he was 17 and he didnt even have a car at the time.