Hello everyone,
I would like to share my experience I had with my 2012 250 cdi coupe 722.9 plus gearbox. I had poor gear changes which were annoying, not smooth especially when cold and the car wasn’t as smooth as it should have been also when slowing down/braking quickly it would sometimes kind of bang into the low gears.
I hope this can help others because the solution turned out to be unexpected and had nothing to do with the gearbox.
First thing i did was change the gearbox oil (sump only) and filter twice. (this made no difference).
I tried putting cleaning additive in the fuel (this made no difference) .
I changed the engine and gearbox mounts (this made a difference, it made it a bit smooth, the engine mounts were shot probably because it was changing gear badly and it had worn them out).
I took it to a local garage and they said the propshaft bearing had play in it which was causing the bang into low gears and they changed that (made no difference)
I took it to an Indy specialist and they were very helpful but unfortunately couldn’t find a problem when plugged in (didn’t charge me anything for it). The specialist is very far from my house so the car was fully warmed up by then.
Anyway, after all that and a lot of searching online I was either going to try and have the software updated (if it needed it) or take the valve body off and clean the solenoid valves (glad I didn’t).
But from there I had convinced myself that the poor gear changes were normal and that’s just what they did.
A couple of months later the cold weather came to the UK and I noticed the temp would fairly quickly go up to about a quarter then take a long time to go up to above halfway (heat coming out of heaters as normal). I searched online and a lot of people were saying either it's normal or thermostat (I was thinking thermostat too just like an older style car).
I left it alone and shortly after did a long 700 mile drive, temp was over half as normal and no problems except when I came back, the next day the low water in the radiator light was on. I filled it up and left it. A week or so later it was back on.
I check for leaks and could see the coolant orangey marks were under the water pump where it had been leaking slightly also there was slight play in the bearing and it was a bit grimy when spun but not too bad.
Ordered a new water pump and changed it. When looking at the water pump I could see the gasket had perished between the 2 chambers as shown in the photos.
I have been driving it around now for a few weeks and it has smoothed out the gear changes even when cold, the power feels at the top of the pedal, the car feels much smoother in general and it feel faster. I surprised about the difference it has made to the car.
The only thing I can think of is the gasket leak between the chambers was affecting the thermostat which was probably causing other problems too. Anyway, I think I could have gotten away with just changing the gasket with is about 10 quid on ebay.
I would like to share my experience I had with my 2012 250 cdi coupe 722.9 plus gearbox. I had poor gear changes which were annoying, not smooth especially when cold and the car wasn’t as smooth as it should have been also when slowing down/braking quickly it would sometimes kind of bang into the low gears.
I hope this can help others because the solution turned out to be unexpected and had nothing to do with the gearbox.
First thing i did was change the gearbox oil (sump only) and filter twice. (this made no difference).
I tried putting cleaning additive in the fuel (this made no difference) .
I changed the engine and gearbox mounts (this made a difference, it made it a bit smooth, the engine mounts were shot probably because it was changing gear badly and it had worn them out).
I took it to a local garage and they said the propshaft bearing had play in it which was causing the bang into low gears and they changed that (made no difference)
I took it to an Indy specialist and they were very helpful but unfortunately couldn’t find a problem when plugged in (didn’t charge me anything for it). The specialist is very far from my house so the car was fully warmed up by then.
Anyway, after all that and a lot of searching online I was either going to try and have the software updated (if it needed it) or take the valve body off and clean the solenoid valves (glad I didn’t).
But from there I had convinced myself that the poor gear changes were normal and that’s just what they did.
A couple of months later the cold weather came to the UK and I noticed the temp would fairly quickly go up to about a quarter then take a long time to go up to above halfway (heat coming out of heaters as normal). I searched online and a lot of people were saying either it's normal or thermostat (I was thinking thermostat too just like an older style car).
I left it alone and shortly after did a long 700 mile drive, temp was over half as normal and no problems except when I came back, the next day the low water in the radiator light was on. I filled it up and left it. A week or so later it was back on.
I check for leaks and could see the coolant orangey marks were under the water pump where it had been leaking slightly also there was slight play in the bearing and it was a bit grimy when spun but not too bad.
Ordered a new water pump and changed it. When looking at the water pump I could see the gasket had perished between the 2 chambers as shown in the photos.
I have been driving it around now for a few weeks and it has smoothed out the gear changes even when cold, the power feels at the top of the pedal, the car feels much smoother in general and it feel faster. I surprised about the difference it has made to the car.
The only thing I can think of is the gasket leak between the chambers was affecting the thermostat which was probably causing other problems too. Anyway, I think I could have gotten away with just changing the gasket with is about 10 quid on ebay.
