Reverse Gear

[anonymous-user]

Hi

I went to Monkfish today for the SportPac to be fitted, really pleased with the results especially the throttle response although it's not as noisy as I expected so I guess the headers really do make a difference.

While I was there Roger remarked on reverse gear which is quite difficult to select when cold and suggested I get it looked at. I think I should follow his advice while the car it under warranty so I'm looking for a new dealer. I'm thinking of calling Motorbodies in Luton, are they any good?

[mackie1]

I've had warranty work done at Motorbodies and have no complaints.

[Monnington]

Hi Wormus,

Mines a bit like that too, in fact all the 'top' gears are quite difficult on first selection, but after that it's fine. Does your's stay sticky till warmed up then??

[anonymous-user]

When it's cold it doesn't want to go into reverse at all however when it's warm and it's in the mood it will slot straight in. If you go from reverse to first, pull forward a few inches and then try reverse again it doesn't want to know. However if you maintain pressure on the lever and gently raise the clutch it will go in. All the forward gears are fine.

[slackalice]

wormus said:

When it's cold it doesn't want to go into reverse at all however when it's warm and it's in the mood it will slot straight in. If you go from reverse to first, pull forward a few inches and then try reverse again it doesn't want to know. However if you maintain pressure on the lever and gently raise the clutch it will go in. All the forward gears are fine.

Mmmmmmm like the man said get it looked at asap, it sounds from what you describe like clutch drag ?

[V8 EOL - Rich]

wormus said:

When it's cold it doesn't want to go into reverse at all however when it's warm and it's in the mood it will slot straight in. If you go from reverse to first, pull forward a few inches and then try reverse again it doesn't want to know. However if you maintain pressure on the lever and gently raise the clutch it will go in. All the forward gears are fine.

Same here, but putting it in first and then back in to reverse usually sorts it out... or letting the clutch out and then in again sometimes also gets it for me.

Sounds like I should get my a*se down to the place with lovely coloured grass.

[anonymous-user]

Cheers. My Dad has an identical car to mine and says his is gearbox is similar. I've booked it into Motorbodies so I'll get back to you with details of what they find.

[baz7175]

V8 EOL - Rich said:

wormus said:

When it's cold it doesn't want to go into reverse at all however when it's warm and it's in the mood it will slot straight in. If you go from reverse to first, pull forward a few inches and then try reverse again it doesn't want to know. However if you maintain pressure on the lever and gently raise the clutch it will go in. All the forward gears are fine.

Same here, but putting it in first and then back in to reverse usually sorts it out... or letting the clutch out and then in again sometimes also gets it for me.

Sounds like I should get my a*se down to the place with lovely coloured grass.

Mine is also a member of this club...a few pumps of the clutch pedal or slight movement forward normally sorts it out for me...interesting to hear what the garage says about it...

[anonymous-user]

Well, I took it down to Motorbodies this morning and they phoned back within 2 hours to tell me it needs a new gearbox. They've had the work authorised by Vauxhall and it should be done hopefully in a few days. Superb service!

A big thanks to Roger at Monkfish for pointing out the fault, apparently a new one is 7 grand if you buy it from Vauxhall outside warranty.

[baz7175]

Interesting....how long is the standard warranty period again? 2-3 years?

I'm out of the country with work all month and can't get access to my docs back home at the moment - by the sounds of it I'll need to book the big wagon in to get looked at next time I'm home in the UK...

[mackie1]

They replaced my steering rack with no quibbles aswell. It probably didn't need a whole box but it'll be much easier just to swap it out than rebuild it.

Roger said he thought mine had a new gearbox at some point in it's life because it was much cleaner than the rest of the running gear.

I wish they did an extended warranty, I might have to buy a 3rd party one just incase.

[anonymous-user]

..and I thought these cars were supposed to be simple and tough. Not sure about the warranty, I think it's 3 years but the last 2 have to be renewed by the dealer on your behalf.

I'm having difficulty understanding how my car with only 11k miles could already consume a new set of brake discs and a gearbox. It's not exactly highly tuned.

[mackie1]

Brakes disks could simply be down to it standing for a while. Gearbox could be just bad luck. Like I said it probably didn't need a new 'box but it's much easier and quicker for the dealer to swap it out rather than rebuild it.

[anonymous-user]

The time taken for Motorbodies in Luton (Kimpton Road) to diagnose the need for a new gearbox, get the work authorised, source a new gear box, fit it and return the car was 2.5 days. That has to be a record & I would highly recommend their excellent service; they were polite, efficient and I'm really chuffed. If you ever need any warranty work done take it to them.

[J. J.]

Both of my cars have had difficulty in selecting reverse from first start up. I've found that going through a couple of the gears, including reverse before starting the car has made a world of difference. Don't know if this is of any help.

[monkfish1]

Just to avoid any confusion, the gearbox reverse selection in wormus car was very bad. Its the only one ive experienced like this. Much worse than the normal obstructiveness.

Richard, yours is just fine!

[anonymous-user]

Once again Roger, thanks for pointing out the fault. Being new to the car I thought "they were all like that", obviously not. Also, over the past couple of weeks it developed a really bad "whine" in all forward gears, it got so bad I could hardly hear the engine on a light throttle. Now it's been replaced it feels loads better, still notchy but the whine has gone and reverse goes straight in.

If you are worried get it checked by the dealer or Roger.

[mackie1]

The notchiness is probably down to it be spanking new, it'll probably mellow a bit over time.

I sometimes have car paranoia but mine was given a clean bill of health by monkfish a couple of weeks ago

[anonymous-user]

Most interesting thing is my fuel consumption has improved overnight by about 4 mpg and the car feels much more urgent. There must have been something seriously wrong with it to sap so much power.