1999 freelander 2.0 xedi gearbox problem???

[bigdaveh]

hi all

i am a newbe so please forgive my lack of specific knowelage

i have just purchased a 99 2.0 xedi
it cam with suspected gearbox problem
when driving it makes a noise like when the brake pads are worn ( they are not )
also the clutch is very hard to press and it is difficult to get into gear
it will go in to 1st 2nd and 3rd and stay in but with the noise
4th and 5th gear are harder to engage though once its in it will stay in while accelerating but as soon as i reslease the power it jumps out of gear.

i have checked the following.

there does not apear to be any leaking from the clutch

though when i checked it at the gear box i noticed that there is very little movement against the clutch arm so i removed it from the arm and found that the arm had alot of free movement (like 2-3 cm )
and yet when the clutch is depressed its only moving about 1 cm
my conclusion to this is that the clutch must be worn out but any corrections to that would be greatfully received

now to the gearbox.
i got under the car while running and found that there is a grinding noise coming from the gear box ( i realise that this could be the clutch )
but i dodnt think i can put the lumping out of gear and all the noise down to it
my conclusion is that the gearbox must be shot.
again any other ideas would be great

i have drained the ird to check for any metal bits on the magnetic plug
there are none so i dont think its that.


any help would be greatfully received

Dave