A cautionary gearbox tale........

[Duffy]

Hi all.

Being a sensible S8 owner and not wanting to part with the cost of a new gearbox, I get the oil on mine changed every 30k, the cars done 133K now and the gearbox is perfect.

However, last week immediately after the latest change, the car came away clunking between changes and with a distinct whine whilst changing gear. Straight back to the garage (Who on the whole I trust) and asked them to check the level. They did this and assured me that all was well however on road testing they admitted to the clunk/whine thing.

I asked the foreman (Whom I'm on first name terms with and do respect as somebody who knows his job) to personally do the job again, which he did. He found that the seal between the oil pan and the gearbox main body wasn't sealing and was allowing the pump to suck the occasional bit of air rather than oil.......

All fixed and the gearbox is again as new, but one to watch out for and it gave me a big fright!

I will be keeping a close eye to ensure that no long term damage has been done.