3rd gear crunch

JohnCKL · Post by **JohnCKL** » 06 Jul 2007, 20:56

Seems I find it difficult to engage 3rd gear, most of the time only half in and when I release the clutch, it bounced back to neutral, whacking my hand. Sometimes can engage but with difficulty. Is it the synchro out and what can be done? What is the reason for this problem? Could it be the sound I get every time I slow down to stop and start to move away at a slow speed, I hear something hitting on the bottom of the car, like a cracking sound?

Post by **CitroJim** » 06 Jul 2007, 21:12

John,

Rest easy, this'll not be a synchro problem but rather a linkage problem between stick and gearbox. There is noting in the gearbox itself that could cause this, the selection mechanism is built of very stout stuff.

The cracking noises you hear points to your lower engine mounting. It sounds like it has collapased, allowing the engine to tilt, upsetting the gear linkage alignment and causing the noises you are hearing a low speeds as the engine rocks backwards and forwards and contacts the subframe.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 07 Jul 2007, 09:29

i agree with Jim if it where a synchro fault it would graite every time you try selecting 3rd gear as in the box that i took out of the xant i am now running, and before you ask the lower bush Jim mentioned can be purchased from GSF around £6 squide on its owen without the housing, can be fitted in situe
regards malcolm

JohnCKL · Post by **JohnCKL** » 07 Jul 2007, 14:04

Jim and malcolm, you're spot on rgds to the gear, it's the new linkage that was replaced, the long one about 8 inch long. It was slightly longer (5mm) than the original one which I think is causing the 3rd gear the jerk out and difficult to engage. When I twisted the linkages around to see if there's any one which popped out, the gear shifting was smooth after that but started to deteriorate after a while. I will change back to the original length and see if that's the cause of the problem.

As for the lower engine clacking sound, the lower engine mounting is quite new. When I jacked up the front of the car and supported it, I moved the 2 drive shafts connecting to the gear box to and fro and the sound seems to be coming from there. Any idea what's causing the noise there?

Post by **CitroJim** » 07 Jul 2007, 17:24

JohnCKL wrote:As for the lower engine clacking sound, the lower engine mounting is quite new. When I jacked up the front of the car and supported it, I moved the 2 drive shafts connecting to the gear box to and fro and the sound seems to be coming from there. Any idea what's causing the noise there?

John, do you mean when you rotate the driveshafts backwards and forwards or pulling them in and out?

Noise like this when the wheels are up in the air and being rotated backwards and forwards can be misleading. A certain amount of clacking noise is normally heard due to backlash in the diff pinions and here a little slack is normal. It may be a red herring. It could be your inner CV joints although if these wear you usually feel vibration well before they get noisy.

Another cause can be wear on the spline on the outer CV joint into the hub or a loose/incorrectly fitted hub nut. It could even be the disks moving to and fro in their calipers and making the noise.

In and out play on the driveshafts is perfectly normal and essential to their functioning but there should be no noise. One possibility is that at sometime a new outer CV boot has been fitted and in doing so, the "C" clip on the end of the shaft was left off although again, this usually shows up as a rumble when cornering.

Yet another possibility is your lower swivel joints or wishbone bushes having wear in them. although angain wear here is usually accompanied by other symptoms as well.

Also check the exhaust is not hitting anywhere on the body as this can give rise to the sounds you are hearing.

xantiaBFY · Post by **xantiaBFY** » 12 Jul 2007, 12:41

Hi guys,

sorry to butt in but what do you think of the GL4 vs GL5 gear oil for use in a xantia manual tranny. Is it true that the GL5 will not be suitable.

thanks

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 12 Jul 2007, 12:51

Modern gearboxes tend to be very fussy about their oil. Put the wrong one in and you may find you can't change gear.

Why change from what the manufacturer specified? Its not as though any Citroen gearbox is particularly frail or problem prone.

xantiaBFY · Post by **xantiaBFY** » 13 Jul 2007, 01:53

thanks Jeremy.we should stick to GL4

JohnCKL · Post by **JohnCKL** » 13 Jul 2007, 02:25

So, what is the manufacturer specifications for my Xantia 1.9TD 1996? The manual says only 75W-80 but doesn't mention GL4 or GL5?

Haynes Manual for Xantia states GL5, should we trust it?

John, do you mean when you rotate the driveshafts backwards and forwards or pulling them in and out?

I just rotated them to and fro. Thanks for all the possible causes. Will check them out.