Zafira gearbox oil

Anyone know what kind of oil goes in a manual box? Mr Haynses book of jokes
says a vauxhall part no,.
but is it just ep90 or something or is it a (expensive) Vx 'special brew' ,
much like the power steering fluid for the same car?

TIA

Mike

 

It is a special semi-synthetic gear lube, and the last time I
checked, there was still no aftermarket brew available. The
genuine stuff is under £7 a litre (ask for discount).

Rgds

Sean

 

Thanks.

Mike

 

You're welcome.

BTW, what gearbox is it? It should say something like F17 or F25
in the top of the casing, usually near the selector entry?

Sean

 

I havnt looked. At the moment I am just going though possibilities to
eliminate a rumbling noise, definately rolling because it does it with
engine off, but gets louder with some steering to the right. Had a front
wheel bearing changed -not cheap!- but still same. was wondering about oil
level in box, maybe a noisy diff, but at the moment I am now thinking a
gearbox mount, as is loud in the car but cannot be heard ouside.

Mike

 

Which side front bearing did you have changed?
Did they do the right side?

 

O/S bearing changed. I'm pretty sure it was the right one, as after it was
done I had it up on ramps to try and identify
the noise and I checked, there was no play at all. but the garage replaced
the same bearing on the second visit
FoC, saying it was a faulty bearing. They played with the car all day and
couldnt fathom it.

withthe car up off the floor and being driven, they say the box is slightly
noisy, ( I havnt done this myself, so I cant
verify it) but that it is really noisy inside the cabin, which makes me
think of sound transference. As I said before, its a rolling
sound, not engine as it does it coasting in neutral with the engine off, but
starts to get louder with a bit of right hand steering.
and no, its not a cv joint going clunk clunk. nothing is felt from the
steering. Perhaps a rubber mount has perished, and a little bit of right
hand turn is enough to throw extra weight on the box, which is on the left
if you are sat in the car. At least thats the way my thinking takes me at
the moment, but I'm always open to other ideas. But unfortunately it will be
next weekend at the earliest before I can get it up on some ramps to check
it out.

Mike

 

If the noise is louder when turning right I would expect the problem bearing
to on the left side of the car.

 

Sounds also like outer CV joints. Is there any noise in the
straight ahead position? Does the noise get worse with more
steering lock, ie: 1/2 turn is noiser than straight ahead, 1 full
turn is noiser than 1/2 turn etc. If so, I would definately go
for the CV joints, if not, look elsewhere.

You also mention it gets louder when steering to right, what
about when steering to left? If not, I would check your front
left wheel bearing. With the wheel on the ground, get a firm
grip in the top of the tyre and push-pull vigourously, as though
you were trying to actually pull the wheel of the hub. There
should be no free play at all. Next, jack up the same corner,
using appropriate additional support to the jack. Grab the wheel
at the 12'o clock and 6'o clock positions, and try to rock the
wheel - again there should be no play or knocking at all. Do the
same at the 3 and 9 'o clock - if you feel any play here (but not
6/12 'o clock), then you have most likely found play in the
steering gear or joints. Try and spin the wheel, feeling for any
harshness or noise. Don't get mixed up with the "shhhh" from the
brake pads on the disk. If you are competant/confident enough,
remove the wheel, push the pads away from the disk (making sure
your master cylinder resevoir doesn't overflow), refit the wheel
and spin again.

One other thing, don't get confused with the motor on the
electro-hydraulic power steering, they often whine, but never
rumble as you describe.

The diffs are usually fairly robust, usually fifth gear lets go,
generally after seriously abusing the 'box. Are there any sign
of leaks, either from the bottom cover plate, or from the
driveshaft seals? To check the level, the car must be raised
level, not easy without a proper ramp, but it can be done. If
fully jacking up front and rear and using four axle stands, allow
the fluid in the 'box to level for a good half hour b4 checking
the level. The level plug can be a barsteward to get to, the
correct level is anywhere between running out when you remove the
plug, to 10mm below the bottom of the threads. If it don't run
out, get a bent paperclip to check the level, unless you have
ultra skinny hobbit fingers! The oil should be cherry red, &
completely clear. If the oil is seriously low, first, work out
why and rectfy, then consider changing the oil. To fill / top up
the 'box, remove the breather plug and trickle in, a syringe is
ideal, until it runs out of the level plug.

An easy way to check for engine / gearbox mounts: with all wheels
on ground, handbrake firmly applied, engine idling, 1st or
reverse gear, foot hard on the brake and work the clutch up and
down around the bite point, on and off, and you will hear any
clunking or knocking. This test works well for front and rear
mounts, but doesn't really work for left and right mounts,
although they are less stressed anyway, and much less like likely
to fail than either the front or rear.

 

Lots of good advice here. First off, definately not cv joints or PS pump.
Reason is gets louder with right
hand cornering, but quieter with left hand. to the point of disappearing
altogether with a modest amount
of LH cornering. There is absolutely no play on the bearings at all, even
when levered from underneath the tyre with a crowbar.
But I am coming round to suspecting the NS bearing again. Part of the
problem is the parts cost. If this was a 20 squid
bearing it would have been replaced asap, but at more like 110, or 150
fitted Its a little on the dear side to be fitted on the
off chance.

The comments about the diff are valid, but as I said, they cannot be heard
outside the car when it is run off the ground
(jacked up on ramps)

A combination of shitty weather and an inescapable commitment meant that it
will now have to wait while next weekend
before I can have a look at it again, but if the mounts turn out to be ok I
think i will bite the bullet and get the NS bearing removed.


Mike

BTW, I cant remember if I said this before, but when both front wheels off
the deck the NS is a fair bit harder to turn than the OS.
theres also a sort of gentle rubber squeaking sound from the NS. Its been
commented that its just the cv gaiter, but if that was so then chances are
it would do it on both sides. I dont think its the brakes drakking a bit as
it went straight on the ramps from a 10
mile drive and there was no appreciable difference in temperature between
the discs.

Readng back over what I have just written its looking like it IS the front
bearing. starnge that theres no play in it though.

Oh, and theres no sign of any oil leakage from the box

 

If one of your balls - pardon the expression - in the bearing has gone out
of shape through contamination or damage then you would have no play but
still get the noise.
I think you will have to bite the bullet and get the ns bearing done.

 

Firstly, for the OP and anyone else reading, my previous reply
was to help the OP explore any related possibilites, and either
rule in, but more likely rule them out.

Faulty wheel bearings do not have to have any play at all to
indicate a failure. Play (excessive, more than any that is
specified, I hasten to add) is however "one" very positive
indication of bearing failure. Also, the Mark 1 HomoSapien, as
amended etc, may not be able to induce play in wheel bearings,
even with the aid of levers, but the forces of 1½ tonnes of car,
multiplied by the centrifugal forces when cornering, would be
able to induce play. A great visualisation of this, when TV
cameras are mounted near the wheel / tyre area on motor racing
cars, the amazing deflection in the tyre which can be seen during
cornering - to the un-initiated, it looks as though the tyre is
gonna roll of the rim!

It may be a posibility that the garage damaged the new bearing
whilst fitting it. They could have tried to install it at an
angle, or more likely (and sadly, quite commonly) applied force
to the inner bearing race. Applying force on the inner race
during fitting usually totals the bearing before the car turns a
wheel on the new bearing.

Was it an OEM bearing kit they fitted, or a pattern part? I
would go back to them and request they re-do the bearing with an
OEM - the bearing also incorporates the ABS wheel speed sensor
(which also provides data for the speedo and odo), which is why
they are so flippin' expensive. Whilst chatting to a trusted
local independent mechanic, he told me of problems and
difficulties with ABS / ESP systems after other customers had
non-genuine ABS incorporated wheel bearings fitted by other
garages (and himself, he admitted), which were only corrected
after re-fitting OEM bearings. Apparently, the bearing housing &
sensor only needs to be slightly out of calibration for it to
send "different" data to the ABS and speedo ECUs.

It is very often the case, of not being able to hear noises
outside the car, but they become very obvious inside. Firstly,
most modern cars are usually very well insualted against external
environmental sounds, so other noises, such as wind noise, noise
from other cars, etc will be numbed or eliminated. Therefore,
any noise directly "attached" to the car will appear to be louder
(remember the classic experiment of two empty baked bean cans
connected with a long piece of (taught) string, and used as a
primitive telephone). Secondly, a car interior is actually quite
a good amplifier to any sound connected to it (although hi-fi
accoustics are poor, and v.difficult to achieve). That is why
many sounds seem much louder inside a car, when they may be quiet
or inaudible from the outside.

If one front wheel is harder to turn than t'other, check you dont
have a binding brake caliper / seized brake pads. Push the
calipers/pads clear of the discs on both sides like I mentioned
in an earlier post, and then see if there is any difference
spinning the wheels by hand. You may also have a warped disc.

The rubber sound you mention - the standard CV joint gaiters
(boot) as supplied by Vauxhall are a plasticky type, which do not
make any noise. If your Zaf need a CV joint boot changed, for
whatever reason, someone may have fitted an aftermarket rubber
one, which will make more obvious "rubbery" noise, which would
explain the side to side differnece.

 

Just a final update on this and then (hopefully ) put this one to bed.

Thursday we had the n/s bearing replace, and, yes, it solved the problem. I
think if I
was just left to my own devices I would have done it at first. 2 things put
me off though.
1-the garage saying it felt ok, even though they couldnt figure out where
the rumbling
sound actually was coming from.
2-the cost.

Ah well, live and learn. I'd like to thank every one who contributed some
time, thought and effort in replying
with suggestions.

Merry Christmas.

Mike