General Problem with Dualogic transmission

[Zakrillnakoneyan]

Hello All,

I have recently bought my first car (FIAT Grande Punto 1.4L Petrol 2009) with Dualogic (semi-auto) transmission.

At first the car was running great (apart from issues with starting due to old battery; now replaced along with new starter) but a short time later it started leaking gearbox oil. I had the shaft seal replaced and new oil put in, yet since then I started hearing a high-pitched whistling/wheezing sound when accelerating on gear 3 (normal mode) and gear 4 (ECO mode). Few days later my Punto started to jump out of gear (I think) when on gear 3 and now the wheezing/whistling sound can be heard also on gear 2.

The first time it occurred I was driving uphill on gear 3 when the revs suddenly have gone up to the roof and the car started to loose speed. It's as if the gear slips out to neutral though the screen shows it still being on 3. Only once (the first time) the system started beeping...

One of the mechanics (different one) said there is still leakage seen between the engine and the gearbox and that probably only the external shaft seal was replaced.

The fluid was filled up again to see how badly it is leaking over time (without incurring the cost of removing the whole gearbox) and although it is still dropping out of gear (between 3 and 4), it is not as aggressive as before. I'm guessing it's due to having more fluid now.

Additionally the gear change is occurring slower than before (I can rev it up higher before the gear changes). The issue is also happening when using the manual mode.

Does anyone know what the problem is and how to fix it? Would fixing the leak possibly resolve this? I'm asking as I'd rather not put money in costly repairs if it's pointless at this stage or if the gearbox fails in a month completely. Also seems like not many mechanics are familiar with semi-automatics or Dualogic itself for that matter (at least in my area).

I would be most obliged for any advice provided.


Kind regards
Zak

 

[Bernievarian]

Hi Zak,

my bet is that the "clutch kiss point learning" hasn't been performed after the gearbox removal/refitt.
Regarding the fluid refil, are you talking about the GB oil, the Hydraulic fluid or the DOT ??

BRs, Bernie

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[Zakrillnakoneyan]

Hi Bernie,

Thanks for getting back to me.

To be honest I'm not sure but I've been told that it was the gearbox oil. It's called Tutela 75W-85...

Yes, I believe they haven't done that at all seeing how "professional" they were, however I'm not even sure if they had the gearbox removed as they didn't charge me as much as expected - other mechanics say it's a lot of work and removing the gearbox itself would cost around £200.

Is it possible that the whistling/wheezeing sound I started hearing on gear 3 (normal) / gear 4 (eco) and now also on 2nd is the result of this? I can also hear a soung as if there was some kind of friction/rubbing... Though the friction sound only started after my gear "fell out" for the 5th or 6th time while going uphill.

Thank you in advance for your response, it's much appreciated.

Kind regards
Zak

 

[Bernievarian]

Hi Zak,

seems thart your GB hasn't been removed (what I thougth) so forget about the kiss point Learning :-( Gear box/clutch noise are usualy not that good / easy to fix, I'm afraid you'll have to have the GB out to check what's wrong ... :-(

BRs, Bernie

 

[Zakrillnakoneyan]

Hi Bernie,

Yes, thought as much. I had the car left with another mechanic, supposedly experienced with FIATs so there's a chance that this time it will become apparent what is actually wrong here. Thanks for your input, I'll let you know what comes out of all this; maybe other users will find it helpful some day.

Kind regards,
Zak

 

[Bernievarian]

Hi Zak, yes, please tell us what happend ...

BRs, Bernie

 

[Zakrillnakoneyan]

Hi Bernie,

So... Turned out there was still very little oil in the gearbox and the parts inside kinda got scorched/burned. The guys doing the job were actually wondering if anyone has actually filled the gearbox with any kind of fluid.

Long story short - bought a refurbished gearbox from punto shop on ebay (guys who apparently deal with Fiats for over 15 years) and had it replaced along with the clutch set. The system has been defaulted to factory settings and so far everything has been working fine. Well... almost everything as on gear 5, soon after gear change, when I release the gas pedal and the RPMs drop from around 2k to 1.5k, a little jerking can be felt. However that is not always the case as when I release gas pedal at let's say 2.5-3k RPMs, no jerking is present. Apparently it might be something to do with spark plugs being worn out.

Went for a check up and the gearbox is dry, no oil leaking seems to be present, yet when I reverse I can still smell some of the burnt oil. Hopefully that is the remainder from the previous leak and the car will keep driving fine.

Clutch kiss point relearning has not been done but I guess defaulting the system to factory setup resulted with the same thing.

In general I'm satisfied with the job, though it was a bit costy - 850 pounds causing my first car being over 3300 pounds for all the parts and job instead of initial 2100 (replaced starter, gearbox, clutch parts and battery).

Kind regards
Zak

 

[Bernievarian]

Thanks for the kind and complete update Zak, you've put the bar very high for the others ...

BTW, no (or very little) oil in a gearbox can happen, as many other things; I have seen one ball missing in a CV joint on my previous Typo 16V: no metal chip, no débris, no nothing: just 7 balls when 8 were needed (or 6 vs 7, can't remenber) and the car ran like a missile for 5 years before discovery ...

BRs, Bernie

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