gearbox gone??

S3-LINCS

S3-LINCS

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was out on a drive today and the car { s3 8l } started cutting power. i pulled over done a qwick check under the bonnet and all seemd fine! so pulled back away and about a mile up the road there was a crunching/banging/snapping sound! i stopped it and oh sh*t it was making all kinds ov sounds now the front wheels have locked up the recovery guy had to disable the haldex { fuze 9 } and drag it on the flat bed with the front wheels locked up, does this sound like the gearbox has gone??
 
Haldex is fuse 31 mate... Fuse 9 is abs...

Not known a gearbox to seize... Does the engine run ok?

<tuffty/>
 
thanks the engine runs fine mate, it goes in gear to but if i let the clutch out it feels its going to snap something it wont budge..

ive just put it on stands and the wheels spin ok by hand.. does it sound more like the transfer box as i can get all gears too
 
saying that, if i spin the driver wheel the passenger side will rotate the opposite way..

will it be ok to remove the shafts to push it on the drive? its stuck in my street lol
 
yeah it would do if your gearbox is locked up, it's just the open diff spinning around a locked gearbox output shaft; hence the wheels spinning in opposite directions. Were you changing gear when it locked up? Perhaps the gbox has eaten a broken shift fork?
 
plodding along in 5th mate, looks like its a new box job then lol.. do you no if the bearings will be ok if i remove the shafts to push it on the drive mate?
 
Alex C said:
yeah it would do if your gearbox is locked up, it's just the open diff spinning around a locked gearbox output shaft; hence the wheels spinning in opposite directions. Were you changing gear when it locked up? Perhaps the gbox has eaten a broken shift fork?
Click to expand...

That's what happened to my s3. Changed into 3rd gear then Bang! Gearbox failed and started making horrendous noises. Replaced it with used unit and now that's starting crunching going into third! Doh! Hope you get yours sorted OP.
 
SamHendry said:
That's what happened to my s3. Changed into 3rd gear then Bang! Gearbox failed and started making horrendous noises. Replaced it with used unit and now that's starting crunching going into third! Doh! Hope you get yours sorted OP.
Click to expand...
yep I've had a failed shift fork too, mine was 5th 6th; luckily the gbox didn't eat it so I could cruise to a stop safely stuck in 5th gear
 
cheers, i think i will try the gearbox end first and see if they will lower down enuf
 
SamHendry said:
That's what happened to my s3. Changed into 3rd gear then Bang! Gearbox failed and started making horrendous noises. Replaced it with used unit and now that's starting crunching going into third! Doh! Hope you get yours sorted OP.
Click to expand...
was running nice and smooth all day, i was just getting used to the sound of the s2000 filter i had put on lol... the noise that come from the box was shocking!
 
Does sound like a diff problem, I had the sun gears go in the diff on my old Mondy ST200 and it made the same noises you discribe, although these boxes are known for selector forks falling off.
 
yep my boss thinks its the transfer box that has locked up, probs got no oil in it as i never got round to changing it!

my car is a amk model, will a bam transfer box fit or any others?
 
My wife's A3 started to make a noise a while ago, sent it to the gearbox specialist round our way and when he stripped it down found one of the main bearings in the cassette of 2 had totally destroyed its self, he also said that if she had run it much further the gears would have run against the casing and then totally destroyed its self, had the cassette changed and it runs nice now, I hope yours hasn't done itself in, it cost me £600 to sort out hers. Hmmmm why do I have to pay for all her car troubles, doing a lot of that lately...lol
 
I am hoping the box is ok.. am not to sure to be honest mate as I don't no to much about them.. I've got a transfer box coming this weekend if that's not my problem then al order a box...i will be dropping the haldex oil and rear diff oil just to be on the safe side.
 
I have the subframe and other bits off today.. just got the prop to take off tomorrow and the transfer box should be out! I hope.
wen I have fitted it back on and filled it up I am right in thinking the front wheels should both rotate in the same direction?? if not the gearbox is at fault? confused lol as wen i jacked it up if you spun the driver wheel the passenger would rotate the opposite direction
 
S3-LINCS said:
I have the subframe and other bits off today.. just got the prop to take off tomorrow and the transfer box should be out! I hope.
wen I have fitted it back on and filled it up I am right in thinking the front wheels should both rotate in the same direction?? if not the gearbox is at fault? confused lol as wen i jacked it up if you spun the driver wheel the passenger would rotate the opposite direction
Click to expand...

no don't think so, the wheels will spin in opposite directions naturally. When the diff is driven by the engine through the gearbox (the input side) then the driven wheel (output) rpm will average to the input speed of the diff

eg, if the diff is being driven at 20rpm by the engine and one wheel is spinning at 10rpm then the other wheel will spin at 30rpm (10+30)/2 = 20rpm

if you spin a wheel by hand, say 10rpm, then the input speed to the diff will remain at 0rpm (your not gonna be able to spin the gearbox and the engine - least resistance is to spin the opposite wheel). In order to average 0rpm then the opposite wheel will have to spin at minus 10rpm

(10 + -10)/2 = 0rpm, the opposite wheel spins in the opposite direction when driving the diff through what is normally an 'output' shaft

You could just drop the car on the floor, put it in gear and see if you can push the car? Or if you want to try it in the air; put it in gear, have someone depress the clutch pedal and then two people spin the front wheels in the same direction - if its not locked up then your good to go? probably best to try all the gears

your changing the transfer box? the box that drives the prop shaft? I would have thought if that box was locked up then you would never have been able to rotate the wheels. When you span the wheels by hand did the prop shaft rotate? And the differential seems to be working if the wheels were spinning in the opposite directions
 
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seems odd. if I put the car on the ground it wont budge in gear or not even with the clutch in..if its on stands the wheels spin as you say, I had to disconnect the shafts to push it on the garden. I am sure the prop was turning tho
 
I had both front wheels off the floor and the car in gear. it seemed like something was to snap if I let the clutch all the way out, the wheels were still locked up
 
if you have taken the transfer box off and the engine still won't spin the wheels, that sounds like a locked up gear box, the wheels turning in the opposite direction when you spin a wheel by hand is indicative of the crown wheel not rotating. I just tried the spare box I have, both output shafts turn in the same direction if you turn one of the output shafts (when in neutral)
'fraid its gonna have to come out
 
transfer box is off.. no oil seals at all on it! seems like a pre owner has put it on with silicone and blocked the oil ways,, the prop side seems to be seized solid as I can spin the new 1 easy plus the magnetic plug was full ov swarf
 
plus no dowels! I carnt see the box sitting flush without any dowels there was silicone in there place lol.
 
newbster said:
if you have taken the transfer box off and the engine still won't spin the wheels, that sounds like a locked up gear box, the wheels turning in the opposite direction when you spin a wheel by hand is indicative of the crown wheel not rotating. I just tried the spare box I have, both output shafts turn in the same direction if you turn one of the output shafts (when in neutral)
'fraid its gonna have to come out[/QUOT

i will fit the transfer box and if its still the same { hope not lol } al order a gearbox,
will i be ok fitting with just the new seals? as i ant seen folks use selant on the posts ive read lol
Click to expand...
 
S3-LINCS said:
plus no dowels! I carnt see the box sitting flush without any dowels there was silicone in there place lol.
Click to expand...
Find the previous owner and punch him. What a moron.

Hope you get it back together soon bud
 
i got it all back on today pal, took the handbrake off and she rolled straight back up the drive :hubbahubba:

going to fill the gearbox up tomorrow and try it out
 
result :)

hope it was just the transfer box.

this does makes sense, my understanding of the transfer box is that it takes drive from the crown wheel of the diff to transfer to the rear wheels via the prop, if the transfer box was locked it would then lock the diff, giving you the opposite direction turning of the front wheels and not allow them to turn in the same direction
/m
 
tbh I don't get it, there isn't a diff in the transfer box is there? If the transfer box was locked up how did the drivers side wheel rotate by hand? And how did the prop shaft rotate - anyway, hope its all sorted
 
correct, no diff in xfer box,
I did some reading on this awhile ago when I was looking to fix an 02m box, so memory may be a bit hazy.
the transfer box does two things
engages with the crown wheel and send the power via a bevel gear to the rear prop
another shaft engages with the centre of the diff to transfer power to the front right wheel, so as to get the usual diff action on the front wheels

post 13 in this thread shows a piccie
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/help-s3-gearbox-refitting.107586/
the long shaft sticking put of the xfer box goes into center of diff
the gear bit sticking out of the drive flange on the gearbox is connected to the crown wheel of diff


so if the bevel gear locked, it will stop the crown wheel from rotating and thereby make front wheels rotate in opposite directions when on stands, or not at all when on the ground
sneaky bit of kit
m
 
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intresting read..yes I did think the prop was spinning but I don't think it was now.. as the part it bolts to on the transfer box was jammed up. been trying all day to get the plugs off the gearbox lol, will a 14mm allen key do the job?
 
Alex C said:
tbh I don't get it, there isn't a diff in the transfer box is there? If the transfer box was locked up how did the drivers side wheel rotate by hand? And how did the prop shaft rotate - anyway, hope its all sorted
Click to expand...

car was on stands pal. wen the driver wheel was spun the passenger rotate the other way, the prop never budged thinking about it the only time I seen the prop rotate is wen it was dragged off the flat bed with the front wheels locked
 
if its a plain allen key type, then 14mm fits
if its a triple square "star" type, then its M16
 
newbster said:
correct, no diff in xfer box,
I did some reading on this awhile ago when I was looking to fix an 02m box, so memory may be a bit hazy.
the transfer box does two things
engages with the crown wheel and send the power via a bevel gear to the rear prop
another shaft engages with the centre of the diff to transfer power to the front right wheel, so as to get the usual diff action on the front wheels

post 13 in this thread shows a piccie
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/help-s3-gearbox-refitting.107586/
the long shaft sticking put of the xfer box goes into center of diff
the gear bit sticking out of the drive flange on the gearbox is connected to the crown wheel of diff


so if the bevel gear locked, it will stop the crown wheel from rotating and thereby make front wheels rotate in opposite directions when on stands, or not at all when on the ground
sneaky bit of kit
m
Click to expand...

ahhh! now that makes sense to me! I always thought that the transfer box was driven solely by the diff which always made me wonder how the car didn't go around in circles as the drivers side wheel would require more torque to rotate the drivers side drive shaft and the prop shaft & rear wheels together so the diff would split the rpm between the front wheels differentially. But now it all makes sense! Cheers
 
thankyou for all the help guys, the car is now driveable :racer:... I took it up the street and all seems fine it had less than a litre of fluid in the gearbox! surprised me a bit I guess its due to no dowels/o rings,
 
well dumb *** me forgot to put the bolt in drive flang the 6mm, so I stripd the shaft back off his morning and fetched a new bolt from vw.
the old bolt looked fxxxd, this bolt I have now will not thred into the shaft I think the pre owner has knacked the insert inside!

is it ok to drive without this bolt??

heads up my arxx as I was looking forward to taking it out today.
whats the fix? new box ? or does it bolt to the passenger drive flange any ideas guys?
 
bummer

I presume you mean the bolt that goes through the centre of flange and into the box?

it threads into the centre of the diff, one each side
passenger side has quite a strong spring holding the flange away from the box, I found i had to use a big lever to move the flange in towards the box before the threads would bite, drivers side, with the xfer box, not so sure

either way, i would strip out the flange (or xfer box) and try and clean up the thread in the diff with a tap, not easy because its quite deep in the box

good luck
 
that's the bolt mate yes,

oh no that sounds like a right pig of a job :sadlike:
 
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