CAMPERVAN 2.5 TDI GEARBOX help!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Where do I check gearbox oil level and where to fill if required? Not in handbook! Also any info re obtaining service manual for above 1996.
Also anybody had problems with slipping out of 5th gear please contact me.
Thanks Desperate dann

Desperate Dann said:

CAMPERVAN 2.5 TDI GEARBOX help!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Where do I check gearbox oil level and where to fill if required? Not in handbook! Also any info re obtaining service manual for above 1996.
Also anybody had problems with slipping out of 5th gear please contact me.
Thanks Desperate dann

Click to expand...

Our 1988 campervan started slipping out of 5th gear, and then started making a noise in other gears. We were told by 2 Fiat garages in France (whilst on holiday) that it was just a problem with 5th gear that was easily solvable, but fine to drive with. We attempted to drive home, not using 5th gear, but ruined our gearbox - so badly that the casing has split. When we got it (towed) back to a garage in the uK, they said it was actually just in need of oil (which is what we had asked garages in France to check). The terrible situation is that we can't find a replacement gearbox, so may be losing the whole van, for the want of a drop of oil. SO, get it checked!!!!

Hi Guys,
slipping out of fifth gear is probably due to a worn synchro ring or the gear on the output shaft that it engages with. I've posted a pic from the Fiat ePER parts catalogue and indicated the gear and ring.
The good news is that the parts can be checked and replaced with the box still in the van as they are just behind the pressed steel case at the end of the gearbox. Bad news, parts can't be purchased individually, its a pair of gears and the complete synchro hub and they are not cheap! I paid around €400 for 1st to 2nd synchro and 5th gear for my 97 ducato.



The oil level is on the front of the box facing the radiator. It is an allen plug that takes an 8mm key. Bad news is that it is aluminium and will probably be damaged whan you are removing it. Filling procedure is to put van on lavel surface, take plug out, squirt oil in until it begins to flow out, wait for it to stop and then refit plug. An alternative place to fill from is by removing the reversing light switch from the top of the gearbox, beside the engine mount and using a funnel add the oil here.
Keep well,
Torq.

I had serious gearbox problems with my Citroen Jumper based motorhome which, as we all know (!) is more or less the same apart from the engine. I believe all the gearboxes are made by Citroen. My box was reconditioned or repaired three times. My local Fiat dealer who specialises in motorhomes said that earlier models suffered from water getting in to the box through the gear-shift entry where water runs off the windscreen/bonnet and sits on top of the box in the flutes in the casting of the gearbox casing. Even a small amount of water in the gearbox oil knackers the box very quickly so they fill in the flutes with silicone rubber. The design of the drain pipe is now changed also to prevent water draining on to the box. The gearbox reconditioner reported a problem with the original Citroen synchro rings in that they tend to crack causing these gear-change problems. Mine started crunching up and down in to 4th and 5th and 5th eventually started jumping out just when we got back to the UK from France! Now fitted with "copy" synchro rings under warranty from the reconditioner, it's been fine since (touch every bit of wood to hand......)