06 Mondeo TDCI - Possible gear box worries...

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Thu 18 Nov 2010 16:40
06 Mondeo TDCI - Possible gear box worries... - itsmeself

Hi guys,

I was hoping maybe someone here could help me out. I have recently bought an 06 diesel mondeo (6speed one) and i have just recently noticed a strange noise when accelerating in low gears. The noise is hard to describe really but the closest i can think to say is that it is like a whistle or whirring noise. A friend tells me it sounds like a noise he had in his old punto before the gearbox gave up on it, and after he told me that i did realise that on occasion it can be difficult to get it into 1st or 2nd gear). My questions are, does this sound like it might be a gearbox issue (or am i being necessarily paranoid, as i have been accused of being in the past) are there any ways i can easily check this and if it was a gearbox problem are they a major cost to replace/fix?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Conor

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Thu 18 Nov 2010 20:16
06 Mondeo TDCI - Possible gear box worries... - over30

Check the wheel bearings first, that may be where the noise is comming from.

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Thu 18 Nov 2010 21:30
06 Mondeo TDCI - Possible gear box worries... - Peter.N.

There are checks you can do on the move, firstly under what circumstances does it make the noise, under load, off load, does it vary with throttle opening, does it stop or get worse if you push the clutch out, is it there when stationary, does it do it in all gears, does it do it at all speeds, does it change with engine speed or road speed? If its a wheel bearing it will probably get louder or softer dependending on which way you are cornering.

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Fri 19 Nov 2010 08:25
06 Mondeo TDCI - Possible gear box worries... - itsmeself

Thanks for the quick replys,

The noise is generally only noticeable while accelerating normally in first and second gear and increasing as the revs increase, engaging the clutch seems to stop the noise (although maybe with a very small delay). Im pretty sure the noise never happens when stationary, as for getting changing as i corner i cant be sure but i don,t think so. The noise is quite quiet and ive only just noticed it recently as i was driving without the radio on.

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Fri 19 Nov 2010 09:27
06 Mondeo TDCI - Possible gear box worries... - Peter.N.

If it is only there in first and second, that does point to the gearbox, but, as there is a considerabl ammount of torque applied to the rest of the transmission in those gears its not conclusive, does the sound rise and fall with the engine speed?

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Fri 19 Nov 2010 09:41
06 Mondeo TDCI - Possible gear box worries... - itsmeself

It does seem to rise with speed and then fall off again as i clutch. Although i have not tried holding it in first or second for longer than usual to test this fully.

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Fri 19 Nov 2010 09:42
06 Mondeo TDCI - Possible gear box worries... - Peter D

Are you sure you are not hearing the turbo. What was your peviuos car. Regards Peter

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Fri 19 Nov 2010 09:47
06 Mondeo TDCI - Possible gear box worries... - itsmeself

I cant be sure to be honest, this is the first diesel car i have personally owned although i have driven a diesel xsara (that had a turbo) for quite a while and never noticed this noise. Perhaps i should just take it into a garage somewhere and hope i don't get a sold a pile of work i don't need yet.

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Fri 19 Nov 2010 10:01
06 Mondeo TDCI - Possible gear box worries... - itsmeself

This may or may not be relevant, but since ive had the car i have always noticed a fair bit of black smoke from the exhaust under moderate to heavy acceleration. I only mention this cause ive not noticed it on the only other diesel ive ever driven for any length of time, although i do tend to see other cars on the road that seem to have similar amounts of smoke.

Other thans these issues the car feels/drives absolutely fine and i think i seem to getting decent mpg.

Edited by itsmeself on 19/11/2010 at 10:04

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Fri 19 Nov 2010 10:19
06 Mondeo TDCI - Possible gear box worries... - gfewster

I wouldn't worry about it. Even if it is the early signs of the gearbox giving out, all you can do is drive it until it gives up and then address the problem. No point in replacing the gearbox before it needs to be done, that's just a waste of money. What will happen will happen, and it might last another 2 miles or another 200,000 miles.

Modern diesels push out black smoke (unburnt fuel) when accerating even moderately. Nothing to worry about and completely normal, though the amount does vary from car to car.

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Fri 19 Nov 2010 13:13
06 Mondeo TDCI - Possible gear box worries... - Peter D

Your comment "although maybe with a very small delay" may be the clue. There would be no delay if this was the gearbox. I suspect the delay is the fact you take you foot off when you press the clutch and that spools the turbo down thus the delay is the noise change. Play with it for a while and post back. Regards Peter

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Fri 19 Nov 2010 14:15
06 Mondeo TDCI - Possible gear box worries... - Peter.N.

I would agree, if its turbo noise you it should be able to modulate it according to throttle position, the more throttle the higher the frequency.

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