360 gearbox baulking in 1st and 2nd

[Alanovich]

My 360 has, since I bought it, had a bit of a baulk on 1st and 2nd gears, that is to say the gears are a bit sticky and it usually takes a bit of effort or two attempts to select the ear, particularly when changing down to 2nd. It's not a show stopper, but I'm getting a bit tired of it.

It may be that I just need to fit a new gearbox, which I'm quite prepared to do, but I was wondering if there are any simpler, cheaper things which I could investigate first to resolve this issue without the nuclear option?

Thanks for any advice.

[volvodspec]

refresh the gearbox oil

it's common the synchro's of 1st and 2nd gear wear a bit harder than the rest; nearly all 300's have it.

[Chris_C]

Could this be the beginning of the 360 gearlinkage weld going? I dont know the symptoms well enough

[Alanovich]

I'll try the oil change then.

The car was previously owned by an old boy who burnt out two clutches in the last couple of years, so I expect the gearbox has taken a frightful beating. That may well be pertinent to the issue.

[volvosneverdie]

All of mine have been stiff in 1st and 2nd. I just thunk it was a "trait".

[trabitom99]

+1 to what Anjo says - checking the gearbox oil level on a 360 is often forgotten as the top up plug is a pig to reach. The current recommendation is Castrol 10W-40 engine oil for V300 gearboxes AFAIK:
http://www.volvo300mania.com/forum-uk/v ... 9&start=15

Cheers

Tom

[SteveP]

Could this be the beginning of the 360 gearlinkage weld going? I dont know the symptoms well enough

Nah that feels totally different... big difference in 'feel' - it barely feels connected when it does it

[Speedy88]

Adam recommends ATF but I've been using mineral oil 10w-40 in his old 170k gearbox and it works just great. Takes the power all day with no deterioration

[Fuse]

Check the adjustment for reverse lock also! If the reverse lock bar is not properly adjusted it causes the 1st and 2nd gears to be hard to select.

I've been using 10W-40 motor oil in the box because the input shaft seal leaks with ATF and I haven't got around to fixing it yet. Works good with the motor oil though.

ATF was probably recommened back in the day for M47 also because mineral based gearbox oils back in the day didn't work well in cold temps with synchros. Engine oil became another recommendation at some point also. There is no ATF (type-F) requirement for the M47 like the M46 box requires because of the planetary over drive unit.

-Marko

[Ride_on]

Could this be the beginning of the 360 gearlinkage weld going? I dont know the symptoms well enough

Nah that feels totally different... big difference in 'feel' - it barely feels connected when it does it

Yep.. feels exactly like Fiat Panda gearbox. Its not the 'gear' linkage that goes, its the base thats connects to the clutch bellhousing to accurately reference the gear lever.

Also if the reverse detent is not well adjusted you can't get the lever over enough and it will be stiff to get into 1st+2nd. Try lifting the reverse collar when you are selecting 1st+2nd to check it out.

[Alanovich]

I don' t fancy changing the gearbox oil myself, so I'm going to get a local garage to do it and check the reverse lock at the same time.

Will report back! Hopefully to say that it's sorted, cheaply.

[pettaw]

I'm not surprised. Its a complete PITA to check, because the fuel tanks are in the way of the fill plug. I've only ever managed to get the plug undone by removing the gearbox!

[Speedy88]

It is possible, but a PITA indeed. I resorted to using old hellfrauds gear oil bottled to fill it (they have little bendable nozzles on the end, very handy)

[SteveP]

It is possible, but a PITA indeed. I resorted to using old hellfrauds gear oil bottled to fill it (they have little bendable nozzles on the end, very handy)

Try it on a 360... much, much harder! 340's are dead easy in comparison to top up/replace gearbox oil

[volvodspec]

a 6-sided wrench does the trick on a 360.

if you have a fearbox with a smaller hex filler plug (13 or 14mm?); replace it with a square type or 19mm hex those are much stronger.