306 graunching in second gear

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andmcit
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306 graunching in second gear

Post by andmcit »

My brother in Law's 1996 1.4i 306 has started graunching in second gear
- all other gears are fine. The clutch is fine and has only recently been
replaced by the local Pug main dealer/agent.

My father has had a look at the car and seems to think there's too much
play on the linkages at the gearbox end and checking the Cit parts site to
see the ZX equivalent for the gear linkage it seems the bushes are 50p
each but there is a linkage between the box and the selector rod that's
a more substantial £60.

Has anyone had dealings with this issue on their 306 gears? A quick check
on ebay shows several second hand ones on buy it nows of £150 which
seems wildly optimistic - are these vulnerable boxes on these with good
ones commanding a premium?

Andrew
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Post by pug_owner2002 »

My mum had a 1995 306 1.4 that used to crunch into 2nd gear and it only had 30k on the clock.
I think it was the syncromesh or a knackered gear. Either way the gearbox was refurbed at a local specialists to the tune of £800.
We were told that this problem was very common and not to "risk" a second hand box.
Was fine after it was refurbed.
R Reg Phase 2 306 DTurbo (Blaze Yellow) (Sold)
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411514
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Post by 411514 »

For what its worth i had exactly the same problem on a 1.4 xsara, i tried changing the oil and a few different additives such as molyslip but didnt work. In the end i changed the gearbox for a used scrapyard box costing £110.
I dont know whether i was just lucky but the box i got was absolutely perfect, i used it for about 40k miles before selling the car no problem. If i was you i would try to find someone selling a box from a low mileage car preferably with it still on the car so you can test it before buying it. These boxes do seem very weak with failure even at average mileage common. £800 to refurb the box sounds extortionate to me and a gearbox refurb garages is very likely to suggest not using a secondhand box as it is extra business for them. As long as your relatively handy with spanners it really is a very easy box to replace yourself, even with basic tools you should get it done in under a day.
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Post by Peter.N. »

'Crunching' 2nd gear is a fairly common problem usually due to overenthusiastic gear changes, slamming it into gear before the speeds have synchronised causes wear on the synchro ring. Several of my XMs have suffered from this, but on on those it can be avoided by pausing for a second in neutral, usually worse when cold.

The XMs only seem to suffer at fairly high mileages, 100k +, although I have one at nearly 300k and it doesn't do it. The only cure I'm afraid is to replace the baulk ring and possibly the gear or the gearbox.

If you buy a seconhand gearbox you really need to take the cover off and check the wear on the 2nd gear splines/teeth, if its been crunching the leading edges will be worn off.

Peter
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Post by 411514 »

They do seem to have very soft gear teeth, when i drained the oil on the faulty gearbox out with it came a good palmful of gear teeth and metal shavings
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Post by CitroJim »

The MA 'box is technically excellent but suffers a little from being made mostly of cheese...

Against that, I've stripped a few and not seen conspicuous wear on the synchro hubs. Unlike the BE they're made of good, hard steel and are actually hard to abuse. It might well be just a broken synchro detent spring causing this. This area, along with the crownwheel is the dodgiest part of the design. I've seen bigger springs in a Biro pen... The baulk rings are made of the aforementioned cheese though and they can wear badly.

Swapping a 'box is not too hard as they're light (for a gearbox) and nicely accessible.

If you have a donor 'box for spares, it's also easy enough to make one good one from two... The design is clever in that there are no shimming adjustments needed where reassembling.
Jim

Runner, cyclist, time triallist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
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