Technical 1997 Ducato, cannot select 4th gear from 5th

[tibia]

Hi all

I have a 1.9td Ducato (1997 and 80,000 miles). Overall the van is great apart from two issues with the gearbox.

I cannot ever select 4th gear coming from 5th. Instead I have to go from 5th to 3rd and then select 4th. This is very awkward in some situations and I wonder what it will do to the 3rd gear synchro. If I coast to a stop in 5th then I can move it into 4th with no trouble.

At the last service I had the garage change the gearbox oil. Immediately after the gear selection became 'notchy'. There is a definite crunch in 3rd unless the gears are shifted slowly.

Does anyone have any ideas what the problems might be or how I could investigate them?

 

[tibia]

Any ideas? Anyone? 3rd to 4th is perfect but 5th to 4th impossible.

 

[FreeSpirit]

Exactly what type of oil was used for the refill it sounds as though the oil is not the correct viscosity maybe too thick!. The Tutela ZC 75 Synth specified for the 2.8JTD has a rating of SAE 75W/85 which to me is a fairly thick oil by the specs but in actual fact it looks like Auto transmission fluid & is red & appears to have the same viscosity as auto Transmission oil - pretty thin! Maybe check what oil was used in the refill? I would check that first then go from there to - cables/selectors/linkages etc

 

[FreeSpirit]

I was just searching for ducato stuff & found a comment regarding a similar problem on one of the Motorhome forums Quote:-

"It's fairly common for 5th gear end nut to come slack on the input shaft and cause selector problems especially between 4th and 5th. You only need to take the end plate off the gearbox to check so not a big job to do.
Check that first as it may just need tightening. "

 

[tibia]

Thanks for that, freespirit. The 5th to 4th problem was there when I bought the van so it could well be what you describe. I hope so! I will try to get a look at it soon.

 

[tibia]

OK, at the weekend I set about removing the 5th gear cover to check things out inside. The photos I looked on picasaweb (link in other 5th gear threads) show it to be straightforward. On my van the cover was held on by 7 x 4.0mm torx screws unlike the one in the pictures which has 5. There were a few other subtle differences too. However, when the screws were removed, the cover refused to come away! :bang: I was afraid to pry too hard against it for fear of distorting it and causing an oil leak.

Perhaps someone will come on and say there are 8 screws.

Any suggestions?