Navara 2005 D22 4x4 Gearbox- no 1st

[Bradles]

Howdy all,
1st gear in my Navara 5spd box has gone on a permanent holiday. Apparently its common to strip the teeth off 1st gear. It 'fell' out of gear on 2 occasions with a bang and that was the end of it. Anyway the car runs fine and I am driving it with the remaining gears.

I am in Perth and quotes to repair the box (remove, strip & rebuild & reinstall) are ~ $3200 plus another $800 for a new clutch (why wouldnt you). Does that sound right?. Any suggestions on where to get it done?. S/H boxes are ~ $1600 and u could easy buy more problems.

Basically I am trying to work out whether the keep the old girl and 'invest' in the rebuild or say 'Adios'.. Its too big a job for me. The car has very ordinary paint but does have a bullbar, LED spots, roof cage, awning, canopy, dual battery system new turbo pipes and glow plugs, oil leaks fixed ....so what should I list it for?. Honestly I am a bit disappointed with it and think I should start again. Comments and suggestions welcome

 

[Horatius]

How much is it worth?

It's not a "common problem" with them, but it's going to be a difficult sell if it needs a gearbox rebuild, and if it also looks knocked around you're unlikely to get much for it. As you're unhappy with it anyway it might be best to cut your losses get what you can for it and use that and what you'll save from not doing the repairs, then put it towards something you might enjoy. Up to you of course but that's what I have usually done with cars that I have considered lemons.

 

[Horatius]

ps. That sounds quite steep for a s/h gearbox, unless that's installed? It might be worth looking around for a reasonably priced one, put that in and then trade or sell it. Otherwise probably the only people who'll buy it will probably be for scrap/spares.

 

[Bradles]

ps. That sounds quite steep for a s/h gearbox, unless that's installed? It might be worth looking around for a reasonably priced one, put that in and then trade or sell it. Otherwise probably the only people who'll buy it will probably be for scrap/spares.

Thanks Horatius for your comments. There are some cheaper boxes around but it’s a lottery. The $1600 quote was just to buy the box! I’ve pulled gearboxes in cars and reinstalled no problem but I’ve not done it on a 4wd where u have to deal with the transfer case and torsion suspension.
I’ll have a go selling it and if the offers I get are silly I’ll just fix it properly and hope that nothing else goes wrong.

 

[Horatius]

Not trying to convince you either way. But I had a different brand of 4wd that had a lot of gearbox problems at one time (famous for losing 5th gear amongst other things). I had it rebuilt twice, both times it failed within 18 months, the last time it broke the main input shaft. It wasn't through misuse either, as I drive like an old man. In the end I got a 2nd/h gearbox that was far cheaper and was still in it when I got rid of it.

It's true that you take your chances but if you could find a reasonably low mileage gearbox, that is likely to be far better than a rebuild IMO.

Although you've been unlucky, gearbox problems aren't that common in the D22, far less common than most other brands from what I've seen. I have heard of people in very expensive "unbreakeable" 4wd's that also need early rebuilds. While any car can have problems, generally the drive trains in these things are one of it's strengths.

 

[Bradles]

Hi Horatius no time to scratch myself so I will be back around to thinking about a low mileage box or a quick sale come 4th October. I had a Courier which developed a 'sticky' 5th gear when someone borrowed it and towed their car with it...in 5th. A no no.
I had heard that the Nissan drive trains were bullet proof so I was a bit sad when mine proved not to be.

thanks again for your post