Technical 2008 Fiat 500 gearbox leak

[StephenFiat]

Hello, I'm posting on behalf of a friend in the Channel Islands. She has a 2008 Fiat 500 1.2L which has done about 70,000 miles. Due to being on a small island with max speed 35mph, most journeys are very short and I wonder whether this causes more wear and tear than longer journeys in the UK?

The clutch was replaced about 2 months ago. Recently she has said there is a whirring noise. A couple of days ago, she found oil under the car. It has gone to a garage who say it is a gearbox fault but I don't have any more details than that! The garage said it would cost £1500 in labour but I'm not exactly sure what they are planning to do. It might not be economical to spend that much on a car of that age.

Sorry I can't be more helpful, I will try and find out more. Are gearbox problems common in a Fiat 500 of this age and mileage? Is it likely to be related to changing the clutch?

 

[steveras57]

Hi be helpful to have some additional information as so far its so vague we have no real idea of which direction to point you!.
However for information this might be a start
!.
Fiat 500 gearboxes are not inherently weak! and prone to failure unless run low on oil! or theres some form of contamination!.
If the oils never been changed than at 70k miles it NEEDS! doing pronto!.

Badly degraded oil MIGHT be the cause of the noise( more of a whine than a whirring sound!) but it could also be gearbox bearing failure! that being the case a used good gearbox from a well known e- bay supplier at about £400 and garage labour to fit it again about £400 to £500 still works out a lot cheaper than the £1500 you have been quoted!!.

I would be checking the garage that quoted that! amount out online! or at the very least pushing for a much more detailed explanation of what has failed with a breakdown of the costs of the repairs!.

moving on to the oil under the car! you need conformation from someone trustworthy as to where this oil is coming from! even a badly damaged gearbox wont leak oil unless the casing has been damaged in some way! unless its some thing simple like a leaking drain or fill plug! the most common source of leaks under the front of the car is a rusty and pourous sump pan they develop "pin holes" allowing the engine oil to weep out! so get that checked as well!.
get back to us when you have done the above and or have some more detailed info for us to work from!
good luck with it!

 

[vexorg]

Kind of depends where the leak is, if it's just the output shafts, then you can replace the seals with minimal cost.

If it's the input shaft then I've read quite a few reports of that on here, and she'll probably need a new clutch again.
It'll need the gearbox out, replace the seal or bearings, new clutch, could eaily come to £1500 for a garage. A typical garage will not fit a second hand box off ebay.

 

[John202020]

It's even possible the noise is the cam belt! And not gearbox related, is it a manual or auto box?