Gearbox Or Clutch?

July 24, 2006

Hi all, my 1996 Corolla xli 1.3 was doing fine. I recently(6 weeks ago) had a new clutch installed and timing belt installed with a full service. However, yesterday I was drivinf about 100km to my sisters house. When I got to within 8 kms of her house, I noticed the car was 'roaring' a little when I accelerated. At first I thought it was nothing really, but it came and went again for the next few kms. Then it started to make different strange noises, like the revs were changing or gears were shifting by themselves even though I wasn't clutching or shifting the gearstick. I stopped the car and started up again and when I put the car in first the sound wasn't right, slight 'roaring'. Into second and the car bolted once, with a loud noise, and the gearstick seemingly tried to slip out of gear. I continued to my sisters house and let her husband hear the car in action and he thought it might be the gearbox, but he is not a car expert at all. Have to say that gearbox was my first thought too, but I am no expert either. But I was thinking about having the clutch replaced and having the full service and wondered if future gearbox trouble would have been predicted by my mechanic? And that maybe it was the clutch? Perhaps it needs to be bled? It's 6 weeks old.

I called the mechanic and as it was a saturday night, late, he suggested that I try to get the car back home in the early hours and try to keep it in 5th all the way home. I did that, with some 'roaring and loud bolting(2 loud bolts- once in 2nd gear and once when dropping from 5th to make a turn)', and when I got to my house and put the car in reverse, she wouldn't budge. I had to really over accelerate to get her to move at all. The next morning(NOW), I started the car up and tried to put her into gear and found the gearstick to be very stiff. When I did get it into gear it required huge acceleration to move the car, even slightly. I have spoken to my mechanic again, who never gives suggestions to the problem until he has studied the car, and I have to call him back in 3 hours. All he said was that he may have to come to me.

Any ideas? Thanks a lot.

July 30, 2006

it was the gearbox. I was, apparantly lucky to get home in it. It cost me 600 euros to fix. Now thats the clutch, gearbox, handbrake cable, windscreen, and back brake shoes all since the start of the year!