Gears Crashing When Shifting

ae80 · August 29, 2014

hello, I have an '83 AE80 sprinter and seem to have a probem when shifting gears.

i hear the gears giving a 'crashing' sound when shifting etiher upwards (1->2->3->4) and even backwards (4->3->2->1) but the sound comes up mostly when im higher up the rpm. theres less sound and sometimes no sound if im able to wait till the rpm completely drop and then shift, but then shifting that way serves no purpose.

any advise on what could be the problem guys?

thanks!

john cooper · August 29, 2014

Hello Mate

Please check the below

- Check the fluid level for the clutch (This model got separate tank for fluid)

- its worth to check the Gearbox oil level also

- Which point your clutch is off? up on the top or bottom?

Good luck mate

regards

JC

ae80 · August 29, 2014

Hello Mate
Please check the below

- Check the fluid level for the clutch (This model got separate tank for fluid)

- its worth to check the Gearbox oil level also

- Which point your clutch is off? up on the top or bottom?

Good luck mate

regards

JC

hey JC, thanks for the quick response...

- honestly, i remember checking the clutch fluid level last week, and it was quite full, but on inspection just now, it seems to have dropped, could there be a leak somewhere along the lines? would it need to be bled before topping up?

- any help on how I could check this? sorry --- this is a car i got very recently...

- quite oddly, clutch seems to get off on top most of the time, but very occasionally, lower down...

thanks!

Rumesh88 · August 29, 2014

Your symptoms are tell-tales signs of worn out or cracked pistons either in master cylinder or slave cylinder. Just inspect the rubber boots at either end for oil stains for there seems to a substantial leak if the level reduced all of a sudden. Best thing to do is to repair both of them with a repair kit. When you do this it is better to bleed the system and replace oil. Inspect the existing pistons for any irregular wear out (for example on one side of the piston) for there can be manufacturing defects on the cylinder walls causing premature failure of pistons. Although a bit unlikely (seen only once with a FB14 brake pump) in this case you will have to change the pump.

Edited August 29, 2014 by Rumesh88

ae80 · September 3, 2014

Hi Rumesh! thanks for your response! there was a leak in the washers/boots at the gear box end and have now got them replaced... but, the crashing sound still persists... my next step is to get the gear oil level checked (which i forgot to get done earlier when the boots were changed)

also, does anyone know where i could get the fuel sender unit (the floater inside the fuel tank that sends the signal to the guel guage) for this model? i think my floater has a leak, cz when i inspected it taking it out of the tank, manually moving the floater up and down, shows a deflection in the fuel guage, but when its in the tank, no deflection even on a full tank.

GayanR · September 3, 2014

Does this sound comes when you press in the clutch?Might be the throw out bearing/release bearing.

The Don · September 3, 2014

Check the gear linkage bushes. Wear and tear in them could cause the gears to engage proerly causing crashing noises. A very common problem.

I assume you have followed the other advice in checking the clutch master and slave cylinders.

The other thing is to check if pressure plate, or fly wheel has warped, and the clutch is in the right place. You will see scratch marks or bits of the clutch left on the pressure plate/ fly wheel if any of the above is true.