Renault Trafic Swift Six gearbox

[puffernutter]

The van sat down last night at a busy junction and refused to move from neutral (I wasn't popular!)

Diagnostic shows servo/actuator failure, quotes for the part alone at around £2500+VAT and it and engine out job, so labour is mounting up. Then you have to find someone to do it - my local transmission specialist won't touch them!

Looks like a new (to me) van, unless there is any wisdom from the list. It is my only form of transport and is caged for out 7 dogs. Whatever is done needs to be quick!

So, any experience with this gearbox, prices whilst not reasonable, do seem to be in the ball park and that's not a main dealer (dread to think what they would charge!)

We paid over £1000 for the caging, so it has to be another Trafic or Vivaro?

What would you go for? Budget around £5-£6k (I know not a lot!)

Peter

 

[DanZac]

I don't know if it helps but it looks like you can get reconditioned units.

Renault Vauxhall gearbox actuator

Renault Traffic gearbox control unit. Also fits Vauxhall and Nissan Fits Semi Auto PA0

www.bristoltransmissionsshop.co.uk

 

[voipio]

Blimey. All this fancy technology seems very expensive!! Armstrong actuators are free ;-)

 

[puffernutter]

Good call and reasonably local. They will fit as well, so waiting for a price.

Peter

 

[puffernutter]

I'd probably get a used box and fit it myself

If I had the time and space (and youth) but not these days.

I have changed engines in the past, but a lot simpler ones!

Peter

 

[Kram]

Hmm?

 

[puffernutter]

My dogs prefer to be inside and carried, not part of the motive unit

 

[frank horton]

get it fixed and sell the dam thing......or set fire to it.....
who makes a good van these days........
Only see Japanese here.........

 

[dobbslc]

Even the small Toyota vans are rebadged Peugeot's/Vauxhall's now
What have they done?

 

[DanZac]

What have they done?

They've same as they've done with every vehicle, they've stuck more and more unnecessary stuff on them and made them more and more complex.

This is a prime example, I'm guessing the gearbox servo unit is a motor unit to change gear in a manual box? What's wrong with a gear knob and a bit of wrist action?

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Buy a cheap run around, to keep mobile, which can be sold at a later date.
Search the net for advice on changing the Renault gearbox / repair and then do it at your leisure

 

[Can'tWeld]

Could you perhaps manual swap it? Or does it need to be auto for some reason?
Bet manual boxes for the traffic are ten a penny and i imagine all the other stuff would bolt up (might have to drill the firewall to fit the clutch pedal if there isn't the hole there)?

 

[puffernutter]

If only it were that simple. I can be done and there are pages of what has to be done, but believe it or not, you need the ECUs (yes plural) from the gearbox donor van and then transfer some data across to the ECU from the van being change to manual otherwise the dash lights up like a Christmas tree as it is missing a whole heap of data and messages from the robot gearbox!

 

[Can'tWeld]

Oh - that's a shame - advantage of driving older stuff as on my car it was just a case of moving a jumper link inside the ECU to stop it talking to the autobox.

Still might be cheaper than replacing the van outright or replacing/repairing the autobox.

 

[Blobber]

I think the easytronic bit is just an add on to the standard gearbox to make a manual box into an auto of sorts, they had a lot of issues when they were new

 

[puffernutter]

This is a box with the "Easyshift", "Quickshift" bolted on the back!

No independents (and I have spoken to many over that last 2 days) will touch it!

 

[m_c]

It's probably just the hydraulic pump that has failed.

I've done one on a Vivaro in the distant past, but we also had a fleet of Sprinters with a similar setup.

 

[m_c]

Now I'm home, to actually diagnose you need suitable diagnostic kit that will communicate with the gearbox.
Key thing to check is the hydraulic pressure. It should climb to over 50bar as soon as the drivers door opens and/or the ignition is switched on. Sometimes giving the pump a tap with a hammer while it's meant to be running will bump it back in to life for a short period.
If it doesn't climb, check the fuse and the relay, but it's most likely the pump that has failed. If you replace the pump, you should also replace the control relay. A bad pump can kill the relay, and a bad relay can kill the pump, so for the sake of a tenner, it's not worth risking damaging a new pump.

You'll also need the correct hydraulic fluid for the hydraulic circuit, and put it in the correct reservoir.
Don't mistake it for the clutch reservoir (ye olde DOT fluid), and don't put gearbox oil in the hydraulics.

It's also worth checking the pressure accumulator hasn't failed. The gearbox should manage two or three stationary gear changes (with the ignition on/engine not running and your foot on the brake, you should be able to run up/down all the gears with the lever) without the pump cutting in. If the pump is cutting in every gear change, then the pressure accumulator has failed.

That generation of ASM boxes were actually pretty reliable, it's just a lot of techs just don't understand them, or how to diagnose them.

 

[m_c]

Forgot to attach a parts diagram-

 

[puffernutter]

Now I'm home, to actually diagnose you need suitable diagnostic kit that will communicate with the gearbox.
Key thing to check is the hydraulic pressure. It should climb to over 50bar as soon as the drivers door opens and/or the ignition is switched on. Sometimes giving the pump a tap with a hammer while it's meant to be running will bump it back in to life for a short period.
If it doesn't climb, check the fuse and the relay, but it's most likely the pump that has failed. If you replace the pump, you should also replace the control relay. A bad pump can kill the relay, and a bad relay can kill the pump, so for the sake of a tenner, it's not worth risking damaging a new pump.

You'll also need the correct hydraulic fluid for the hydraulic circuit, and put it in the correct reservoir.
Don't mistake it for the clutch reservoir (ye olde DOT fluid), and don't put gearbox oil in the hydraulics.

It's also worth checking the pressure accumulator hasn't failed. The gearbox should manage two or three stationary gear changes (with the ignition on/engine not running and your foot on the brake, you should be able to run up/down all the gears with the lever) without the pump cutting in. If the pump is cutting in every gear change, then the pressure accumulator has failed.

That generation of ASM boxes were actually pretty reliable, it's just a lot of techs just don't understand them, or how to diagnose them.

That is very useful. Thank you. I'd never appreciated that the noise when I opened the door was that pump charging the system.
I'll keep you informed of what I find.

Peter