V3 DCCD Gearbox / Coolant issue

[scooby-wrx]

Hi Guys,

I picked my car up from my mechanic on Friday evening after having had a gearbox rebuild ( # 3 ) and my mechanic seems to have made do with the parts he sourced from a V6 STI RA (which had a shredded 2nd gear), which is fair enough as a new 3rd gear would have set me back $1500 - definitely would have been better just to get a 6 speed and I'm really regretting my decision now!

I was wondering if:

1). its possible to swap a V6 DCCD 3rd gear over into my V3 DCCD gearbox. The mechanic mentioned he had a hard time as the synchro's were different and it feels very notchy / grinds when downshifting to 3rd! So I'm not sure which parts he ended up swapping over! Either way, its unacceptable after having spent over 3k on the gearbox alone over the last year.

I'm having coolant issues which were meant to be resolved within the 6 months the mechanic had my car! I fitted an alloy radiator and have been having issues ever since, but seems worse now as I'm loosing an entire over-flow tank of coolant every drive! Needless to say I don't want to drive it at all in this state and risk overheating!

2). Does the check engine light come up when water levels are low? Is there a sensor that detects this prior to the temp gauge soaring off the clock...?

I'd really appreciate any feedback as I'm extremely annoyed with my mechanic at this stage and will be going straight back after work today. I’d much rather change mechanics, however this guy owes me a perfect condition DCCD box after the $ I’ve spent on it! Thanks.

[scooby-wrx]

I've spoken to my mechanic and he's agreed to pressure test the coolant system after work, so hopefully we can resolve the leaking issue. Unfortunately it sounds like the head gasket as the coolant's pouring out of the over-flow tank! urgh... I'm in the market for a new motor anyway, so will just park it up until I source a new EJ207 shortblock or a low km's V7 / V8 longblock.

The gearbox is another story! I forgot to mention I run Castrol Syntrax oil, but the mechanic did not have enough when he re-fitted the GB so he just let me take it with the oil level right on the L marker and didn't say a thing! Very frustrating after all the issues! This may be a the cause of 3rd grinding on the downshift ( hopefully...! )

Once the GB is done I'm changing mechanics - for sure!

[X]

i got a V8 sti long block forsale... short block is sold pending payment

[scooby-wrx]

Excellent, thanks. Please send details through

KM's

Parts included - Intercooler, turbo, extractors, sump, intake manifold etc etc... May be easier to send me a pic.

ECU and wire loom included

Your Location

Appreciate it, the sooner I can get the car up and running again the better.

[X]

long block... just short block and heads 120km

[Guest]

Personally it sounds like shoddy work on your mechanics side tbh and if you have paid him he should give it back fixed not with no GB oil. Hope everything gets sorted out

[X]

sorry short block now sold pending payment

[scooby-wrx]

X - sorry, meant to get back to you sooner just been rather tied up. I'm looking for a brand new shortblock or a complete longblock with loom ecu etc etc...

VADZTER - You're right, there's no excuse really!

I'm honestly over this mechanic...! Dropped the car off on Thurs. and went to pick it up on Friday after work. He was meant to resolve the cooling issue, however had only just drained the coolant when I arrived at 5:45. he then added an additive that prevents / blocks water leaks which I wasn't exactly happy about! Took it for a drive and it still looses the entire top-up-tank of water! He ended up blaming the problem on the alloy radiator (which has been in the car for over a year!). I'm trying to source another stock one for now (to test).

Definitely time for a second opinion... Looks like I'll be going to PF Automotive this week, hopefully they can resolve the issues.

As for the gearbox, it still grinds 3rd gear so the original mechanic will have to sort this (unfortunately!)

As for the gearbox, it still grinds 3rd gear so the original mechanic will have to sort this (unfortunately!)

[hijacka]

Unfortunately you are lead to believe what ever the mechanic has told you re gearbox. I bet he hasn't even used a v6 gears or set. You might be able to tell the difference just through driving it.. The orginal dccd gearset will be close ratio so will feel like the gears are close together apart from 5th.. a standard set will drop down in rpm alot more between gear changes. have you felt any differences before and after you had him fix it?

No you don't replace 1 gear you just replace the gearset.. i have afew available if you need but they aren't close ratio sets though.

IMO It sounds like he has used a older gearset that doesn't have the double cone syncros in 3rd and 4th Pre 96 as they are proned to crunching. Another possibility is a bent selector fork or cracked syncro hub.. Only way to know the truth is to split it open and have a professional look at it.

Goodluck

[scooby-wrx]

hijacka Regarding the gearbox, you're right however my mechanic's pretty open and happy to let customers into his workshop while he's carrying out repairs etc... and luckily, I know the guy that sold us the spare gearbox. He has a V6 STI RA Rally car which shredded 2nd gear so replaced the GB with a 6 speed. I'm a design engineer so went round to the mechanic with a vernier, micrometer etc etc... and made sure the gear was identical (as much as I could) we counted the teeth etc etc... and all seemed to match mine so I was surprised to find the mechanic had issues when fitting the synchro... As far as gearing (when driving), it feels the same and I honestly think I would have noticed a difference (hopefully... ).

I've just taken a second alloy radiator (I had lying around) in and the radiator specialist had a look, checked the pressure (in my car) and told me in 2 mins its a thermostat - not opening enough, so car's booked in for Friday to have it sorted. Fingers X'd!

[hijacka]

Thats good its a open garage

IMO Seems strange that the mechanic would allow his time to be spent trying to mix and match parts. Might be ok if it was a cheap cash job or DIY with whatever parts he has but mix and matching can turn to custard. I assume your paying around the $100 per hour mark?. Perhaps you wouldn't be as out of pocket if he simply replaced the gearset with that from a inspected ty752vbca box or put your dccd end on a good box? you can get similar for less than $400, they are much and much the same. Also the damage to 3rd gear would have also damage the lathe shaft aswell so was that replaced?

Re: Crunching in 3rd could also be caused by small metal gear fillings getting lodged in the threads of the synchros and the synchros can't pivot on the hub. I Know one thing for sure is that box will need to come out and inspected to find the problem because obviously there is one. You need to ask yourself is it going to be worth stripping it back again and being without your car for longer.

I have a good gearset here for $300.