Hello guys,

last winter I was having problem with the gearbox frozen stuck for the low temperature.
I came to the conclusion that I have water on my gearbox;

One thing led to another, I never change the oil .....
but I need to do it now, before General Winter arrives again;

I was just thinking to remove the lateral plate of the gearbox, so I can use an hair drier to dry up all the water an also inspect the gears.....

When I remove the plate, there is a risk of moving things out of their seats, or they are all firmly held in position by other screws/clips/whatever?

What about the gear stick? I've never greased it, only the other end of the gearbox cables.....?

The gearbox has a drain plug on the diff housing. No need to remove anything else.
Oil will naturally rise above water, so if possible, leave it for a day or so, then drain it out. All the water will be at the bottom, so come out first.
Use the correct Fiat oil. If you're worried about it, change the oil again after a week or two. Give it a good run, get the oil hot. Leave to stand for a couple of hours to settle, and cool a little, then change the oil again.

Then ask, how did water get in there. Have you been through floods?

If there is water in the gearbox you will know right away as as the oil will be rust coloured . I don't think you have water in the gearbox as this would cause issues even in warm weather.

It is more likely that you have water in the cables between the gear stick and the gearbox. The rubber gaiters on the end fail and moisture can get in. This is one case when WD-40 is the correct cure. Spray it liberally under the gaiters while someone moves the gear stick. Then pull the gaiters back and let the cables drain for an hour or so. Finally grease the inner cable and pack the gaitors with grease, ideally a synthetic with PTFE like Loctite "Super Lube".
Or replace the cables.



If the oil is rust coloured the best way to remove all water is to drain the as far as possible, put the plug back in, add a litre of 99.9% pure Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA). leave for an hour but rotate one front wheel by hand with the car in gear. for about a minute when IPA is first put in and about every 15 minutes. Drain the IPA. Add a litre of oil rotate wheel for a minute or two, drain throughly.
Refill with correct quantity of oil.
The IPA will absorb any moisure. All the wheel turning is to clear out the differential housing which tends to be the low point and poorly drained.



Robert G8RPI.

g8rpi
Thanks for all the additional tips and tricks. I'll check the oil color when I change it.
I'm sure enough it's the gearbox (when it was completely froze, I could see the cables "apply movement" on the spheres welded to the levers that goes inside the gearbox. But the levers were completely firm.
portland_bill

Then ask, how did water get in there. Have you been through floods?

Click to expand...

ehm.... hypothetically, but there is not certainty about it, a dumbass :nutter::nutter:, during a clutch redoing, could have been washing the gearbox.
using a water pressure washer, without paying enough attention to the gearbox breater....:shakehead::shakehead::shakehead:......

I report back what I've done.

when I've drained the old oil, the color was perfect: no rust; but on the surface of the oil coming out, I saw three or four lentils floating on the surface (water or air bubbles?).
I'm not sure because, without thinking, i've collected the oil in my messy flat oil container (it's a closed container with caps, and there is already drops of water in it) :bang::bang:.
Then, having problem in finding the Ipa alcohol locally (we do not use that as a rubbing alcohol), I've used a lot of compressed dry air, that has blown out a lot of oil (and I hope moisture as well).

It seems to me that the gearbox is better now (the previous oil was new and top of the line).....
Now I'll wait for the extreme weather and we'll see

I dont understand, how is anyone getting water in gearbox ? should we all be changing gearbox oil on a regular basis like engine oil then, is that the cure ?

Unless you have driven through deep water or jetwashed your gearbox there is no need to worry about water in your gearbox oil.



Robert G8RPI.

Oil can freeze... if its cold enough

Oil on the gearbox is rare... something else is afoot here...


A decent fluid change and u should be alright

Ensure you use the correct viscosity oil for your temperature/climate


In GB (UK) 75-90 or 75-85 is fine all year round

Problem solved !!!
I've changed the oil, but the problem remains....

So, as I said, while someone was moving the gearstick, I clearly saw the cables wiggle, but the levers from gearbox were rock solid. So I've always assumed that it was the gearbox frozen stuck.


But....no, it was really the external hinge of the lateral movement lever that was completely frozen.

The other lever was ok, because it's just a shaft coming out of the gearbox, so it's not hinged on the outside of the geabox.

The lateral movement lever instead, is a shaft that goes inside a very long sleeve, attached on the outside of the gearbox. So, if there is water inside, the shaft and the sleeve froze together .

You can solve this by using an ultra-specialized product, born for this sort of application, Water Displacement Number Forty :devil::devil:; spray it between shaft and sleeve.
For a better result, put the car on inclined ground, so that one end of the sleeve is higher than the other.....






P.s. If it's a common practice to build gearboxes this way (lateral movement lever hinged outside the gearbox, gear selection lever nothing outside), this can be the explanation why you can almost always put in gear moving the gear stick back and forth, but not move it side to side......