Hi all,
got a x reg ducato lwb 2.8idtd and my gearbox is on the work bench.
5th gear went when doing a glasgow to london run 150 miles from london.
i dont suppose anyone has a spare 5th gear.failing that does anyone know were i could get my hands on one .tried all the scrap yards and parts gateway and 1st choice and no luck so far. the 2.8 ducato seems to be very rare in yards .
does anyone know if the 2.8 jtd has same gearbox of the older 2.5
any help would be great
cheers
alan
Hello Alan,
When you say 5th gear went on you, What exactly do you mean. If you meant the cogs on the gear cluster broke...then you will without doubt need the 5th gear cluster. (you do NOT need to take the engine/gearbox out on some models) If however you mean you can not get the gear when changing up/down without a crunch...then the problem is the synchro mechanism...This is not always as bad as it seems...Garages have quoted crazy prices into hundreds of £s but the job can be sorted for as little as £5 and an hours work if you are confident. I am ex motor trade for 45 years and hate this rip off business with the gearbox fiasco on the Fiat vans. There is without doubt a weakness on the boxes but many can be fixed for next to nothing as stated.
The 5th gear mechanism runs outside the original gearbox and can be got at from under the nearside wheel arch, with the engine in place. There is an extension case on the end of the box. It is fixed with size 40 Torx studs or bolts. Drain the gearbox oil before starting and then removed this gear case extension.
You can see the Sychro cluster on the left and the output shaft on the right. You can also see the selector fork and selector shafts. Get someone to go through the gears in the van while you watch what happens. You will soon get the idea of what is going on....Having got this far you can tap the C clip or Horse shoe thrust clip/washer off the shaft releasing the 5 gear Synchro cluster. You must also take out a bissel/split pin which holds the selector fork into place on the right hand side shaft. This will drift out with gentle hammer blows and the correct size punch pin. Now very carefully keeping all the gears and the fork together,,,,slowly pull them off. You need not remove the right hand gears.
It is a good idea to have some white paper on the floor and place the complete cluster onto it. Now as you remove the parts, (top one first, and so on) place them all down left to right, the right way up on the paper and the oily marks off them will tell you which one came from where as you pick them up to examine them. No chance of mixing them up if you do this.
Nine times out of Ten it is the spring which holds the synchro cog in place that causes the gear to crunch and also in some cases stops the 5th gear from staying in when selected. Some synchro cones are brass in colour and easily identified. The 2002 onward JTD models usually are. Earlier models vary. Some have 3 poppet springs and indents, others have a single C clip with protruding shoulders at 8am...12 noon and 4pm positions. This type is only around £3.50 direct from the fiat main dealers. I did one of these last week...Total Cost £3.50 for clip...£1.50 for Gasket goo and 1 hours work. It takes more time to strip out the bits to get to the Reverse light switch to put the oil Back in.
The friend concerned was quoted £450 for the job. Now I appreciate that it is a big job to take out the box,( I have done it) But in many cases it does not need to come out. Talk about rip off. The above method will work on most gearboxes of the Fiat range with the 5th gear on the end of the box. The cog / Sychro make up varies a little but the basic principal is the same.
If one has to take out the gearbox, Then this advice may help others.... There are not any manuals that cover it properly, even the CDs/DVDs on ebay don,t go into great detail and none I have purchased show a gearbox stripped down.
To take out the engine/gearbox is a major undertaking at home on the drive or in the normal house garage.. You need a engine hoist, a couple of trolley jacks and plenty of support stands as well as a good set of tools. If anyone reading this wants a rundown on how....please contact me.
I hope this helps Alan.
Regards Derickp
