Seized Gearbox

[Mievo]

Well posters,

My iMiEV is now at a dealer, not for the afformentioned issue; but an entirely new one. Today my gearbox seized in the rain on a very busy commercial highway just before a junction; to illustrate the conditions. We'll see what the prognosis is, the differential was steaming/smoking when I got out to look.

I have heard in the last week or two a whine, but attributed that to when New Jersey actaully paves roads, they are very smooth. Very suddenly in the middle of a 15 mile trip, the whine got progressively louder. Then came the turtle. Once the car stopped, power was applied, but no axle rotation came. I am on a train to work luckily, I'll find out the damage tomorrow; Monday Feb 25th.

 

[JoeS]

Mievo, I created a new thread and moved your post over here. I believe this is the first time we have heard of a gearbox problem with the i-MiEV. Lost oil?

Sad to say, I'm very pessimistic about the cost to repair...

Curious as to why turtle came on, as that should be unrelated. How many bars on your fuel gauge and what was your RR?

 

[Phximiev]

Sad to say, I'm very pessimistic about the cost to repair...

As suggested in the AC compressor problem from another thread, just wondered if the part could be preserved with the notion of investigating its capacity to be remanufactured, or replaced with another car's diff?

See, e.g., https://www.jasperengines.com

But there are others out there also doing remanufactured parts. If the part can be preserved, then I suggest that we explore the remanufacturing options, which would in the long run, benefit all of us.

 

[Don]

But there are others out there also doing remanufactured parts. If the part can be preserved, then I suggest that we explore the remanufacturing options, which would in the long run, benefit all of us.

I suspect we're going to find that a bad seal caused the gearbox to gradually lose all it's oil and that caused the seizure - A very unusual and rare failure. Not very likely anyone is going to want to set up a remanufacturing option for a rare part of a very limited production car - This is the opposite end of the spectrum from say, remanufacturing Delco Alternators :lol:

I'm guessing Mievo's car is probably not parked in a garage?? If it was, a small puddle of oil under the rear of the car would probably have given him some warning something was amiss

Don

 

[Aerowhatt]

Interesting and tragic!

I'm guessing turtle came on because the drive was going through power like crazy just to keep it rolling. All that heat making steam and smoke was converted traction battery power.

If it is a lubrication issue, it wouldn't leave much of a mess parked on dirt or gravel. Only 0.76 Quart to fill the unit!

Aerowhatt

 

[siai47]

I was just at my old I-MiEV dealer and talked to the owner about the I-MiEV I sold him for parts. He says he still has the gearbox assmebly. I don't know what he wants for it but it only had 600 miles on it when the car was in a wreck. If you look at some of my old posts, you will see some pictures of the gearbox when I opened it up to look inside.

The dealer is R.C. Hill Mitsubishi in DeLand Florida. Their parts department should have a list of what parts they have and could give you a decent price on it vs. overhauling yours or finding a donor car. Good luck with your car.

 

[jray3]

Wow indeed. At least it's a pretty straightforward swap to replace. I'd be inclined to go with an entire drive assembly (motor, gearbox and inverter) from a lower mileage wreck. Then you can sell that motor and inverter to someone who wants an ac-powered conversion!

 

[kiev]

i've repaired a few manual trans over the years and the miev would be easy. Usually the axial shaft load from the helical-cut gears wears out the bearings over time and a lack of lube would accelerate that process. Radial bearings not really intended to carry much axial load.

 

[seismic]

I've recently bought a 2012 i-miev with 48,000 km on the clock. I bought the car without seeing it as a bit of a gamble as the price was (too) good. I've been pleased overall, apart that is from an ominous leak from the gearbox where the driveshaft to the left wheel emerges. I've added about 450ml of fancy Mitsubishi oil to at least hopefully avoid it running dry while I consider my options. Has anyone changed this seal to know how straightforward it is and which parts are needed?

 

[CZero]

Hi seismic + others
How did you solve the leaking driveshaft-differential-gearbox?
I just purchased a used C-Zero and the seller “forgot” to tell me the gearbox is leaking in the same way as yours. Now I will do as you-refill and consider the costs of replacing the seal.
Your experiences/ expenses fixing this would be greatly appriciated. Thanks

 

[CZero]

seismic seems to have left. Bummer. Anyway, I'm dropping the car off at the mechanic on monday and he will give me a quote / fix it if its not too costly. I will let you know how it plays out.

 

[Aerowhatt]

seismic seems to have left. Bummer. Anyway, I'm dropping the car off at the mechanic on monday and he will give me a quote / fix it if its not too costly. I will let you know how it plays out.

Thanks for keeping us in the loop. It's valuable information that should get recorded for others who run into the same issue!

Aerowhatt

 

[CZero]

Update: I got the car back last week. The mechanic cleaned the oil off the gearbox, took a drive, checked for leaks, let it sit for a day, checked again. He said he did not see any oil escaping. He also checked the oil level and found it ok. So he cleared the car back without any repairs.
Weird, but good news I will keep an eye out for more oil leaking.

 

[CZero]

Argh! Bummer.
So the mechanic concluded all was dandy with the gearbox. I was suspicious because of the dark, greasy dirt only present in that area under the car.
So I thoroughly cleaned the gearbox and drove the car for a week.
Now when I wipe my finger across the bottom part of the gearbox it is definitely oily. I am 100% sure there is a leak.
So the car needs fixing after all... sighs...
Will keep you posted.

 

[CZero]

New update: So I took the car back to the shop and showed the oil film, but the mechanic suggested the small amount of oil was due to a leaking washer at the fill hole (they had that open to check the level the first time the car was in the shop).
He put in a new washer and now it seems the leak has stopped.
So that is something to consider if you see signs of a gearbox leak.