Ford chassis Gear Box ??

Indalo Man

Guest
Hi there

Following on my my recent post '1st van purchased', we set off for our first trip from where we live in south east spain to malaga, and 45 mins down round, after pulling off road for quick stop, the gears appeared to go.

We couldnt get into 1st gear, and even when in neutral the engine cut off as if in gear. When I put in 1st gear to pull away it was as if the hand brake was on holding us back and the van would not go forward ???

I am not mechanical at all, so my question is:

1. Does this sound like the gear box has totally gone ?
2. On a ford chassis 2.5 TD 1997, is a new gear box terribly expensive ?
3. Can you get re conditioned gear boxes ?
4. Is the ford chassis considered inferior to the fiat chassis and get more problems accordingly ?? Having bought 2nd hand and having no come backl, suddenly having cold 'engine lemon' type fits !!

I am waiting for the spanish village mechanics to call me with a diagnosis. Any advice or comment you knowledgable crew may have on this problem would be really appreciated.
 
Transit base vehicle is much less prone to problems than the Fiat. Regarding the gearbox. You can get reconditioned ones, In fact I have one here for sale. I used the 97 engine but not the gearbox which was only six months old when I scrapped the van. Its yours for £200, it cost over £600 recon. If you need it and are interested I will make enquiries to see who is heading in your direction and if they would be willing to deliver it. Postage would probably be prohibitive. Email me hearmee@screaming.net
as I don't check mail here every day.
 
Indalo Man said:
Hi there

Following on my my recent post '1st van purchased', we set off for our first trip from where we live in south east spain to malaga, and 45 mins down round, after pulling off road for quick stop, the gears appeared to go.

We couldnt get into 1st gear, and even when in neutral the engine cut off as if in gear. When I put in 1st gear to pull away it was as if the hand brake was on holding us back and the van would not go forward ???

I am not mechanical at all, so my question is:

1. Does this sound like the gear box has totally gone ?
2. On a ford chassis 2.5 TD 1997, is a new gear box terribly expensive ?
3. Can you get re conditioned gear boxes ?
4. Is the ford chassis considered inferior to the fiat chassis and get more problems accordingly ?? Having bought 2nd hand and having no come backl, suddenly having cold 'engine lemon' type fits !!

I am waiting for the spanish village mechanics to call me with a diagnosis. Any advice or comment you knowledgable crew may have on this problem would be really appreciated.
Click to expand...

hi you say van would'nt go forward1 would it go backwards?sounds silly but if it will sounds like your rear brakes are locking on!!! just a thought, also would hve thought it was a clutch problem not gearbox!!! the clutch not disengagingproperly!
 
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I'm no mechanic but it sounds like the selectors are not putting you in the right gear. Stalls in neutral and struggles to pull away in first.

I know an english mechanic near to where you live he used to own his own garage in the uk so he may have an idea of what is wrong, you have my number if you want to call, I will give you his number. I will see him today as he goes to the same spanish class as me. Hope it's nothing major.
 
maybe the gearbox is at fault which is surprising as mechanical s are so reliable in those fords, it is a shame you are not in the uk as gearboxes are literary as cheap as chips and so easy to change although in all the years i have been a mechanic i have never had to change one. one thought the diffs can give probs and you say it seems as if you have prob like hand brake on so mabey a seized diffrential more like it as they do give probs the weakest part of the transmission untold probs with noisy diffs untill they go bang. best i can do as not seeing the van.did you have a noisy diff before
 
Many thanks for all your replies and advice / offers - i have pm Wildman and spoken with Walkers. It was the gear box, which as Mandrake said, is quite unusual. Anyway, my local Spanish mechanics having only had the van since Wed morning, had a re conditioned gear box delivered and fitted by midday today, so we can resume our travel plans next week. This is a minor miracle out here, the postman still arrives by donkey and the manana & siesta philosophy is still very much written in law. Delighted to be back on the road !!!
 
I do tend to disagree with the opinion that these gearboxes are durable as they are a modified car box and in my experience do not have even half the life of a proper commercial gearbox like a ZF.

However the important thing here is that I am quite sure that this will be a MT/MTX75 type gearbox. If it is' it is ESSENTIAL that the correct MTX75 lubricant is used, using ordinary gear oil, even synthetic, will cause premature failure. This may well be the cause of the original failure.

Although here in th UK the use of this special oil is well understood I don't know the situation in Spain, it may be worth checking with the garage.
 
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