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Author Topic: V6 Espace, six speed box? is it possible !!!  (Read 6226 times)
BrianM
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« on: January 04, 2010, 09:08:00 pm »

Hi all.
A possible new years project?
My 2001 V6 Initiale bit the dust at the end of November. It decided to spew all the gearbox oil over the exhaust. I was not driving the car at the time it was on loan. We managed to get a litre of autobox fluid in it through the vent (very slowly) & it drove for around 10 miles. Then as it climbed a long hill it dumped the fluid again. So we towed it home. I know you should not do that but we did!
I have been looking around for a cheap second hand unit before I attempt to remove it but they are not easy to come by, well not cheap.
I have however been offered a complete v6 engine & box from a 2001 laguna, this is the six speed box. I was wondering if fitting this has been done before. I am a mechanic by the way. Obviously it can go in, if need be some fabrication to the mountings. The ecu, wiring etc would come with it.
But what about drive shafts? I know that the gear ratios may not be quite right for the weight.
I had read somewhere that my box should do 250k no probs!!!! Well for the record it is 125k short Sad
Any & all thoughts welcome.
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Anders Dinsen
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« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2010, 07:29:22 pm »

Hi Brian

I'm sorry to hear about your auto box failure! It sounds like the torque converter has failed, or the seal to it.

About your question of conversion - well of course it can be done. But I don't think it has been done before.

I would think that this is the same engine and gearbox which was fitted to the Avantime. Since the Avantime is built on almost the same chassis as the Espace JE, I would think that the driveshafts from an Avantime would fit straight on. You might also be able to use the engine mounts from the Avantime. You could run into problems with the BII electronic box wanting to 'talk' to the Espace ECU so the water temperature might not show, but I'm sure the engine would run ok. How about throttle, is that by cable or by wire on the Laguna?

That said, however, I think you'll be happier with a repaired gearbox. Here in Denmark (where stuff like that is extremely expensive) it can be done for 2500£. I know the car is not worth that much in the UK, but I'm sure you can find a cheaper way in your country.

Good luck
Anders
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1982 Talbot Matra Murena 2.2 prep 142
2017 BMW i3 "Charged Professional" 94Ah

Used to own:
2001 Renault Matra Grand Espace "The Race" V6 24v
1997 Renault Matra Espace 2.0 8V
1987 Renault Matra Espace J11 2.2
BrianM
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Posts: 325


« Reply #2 on: January 13, 2010, 11:53:39 pm »

Thanks for your reply Anders,
I am very tempted to give this a go. I can buy the engine, box, driveshafts, gearchange, gearbox ecu & wiring for about £500 delivered. It has done 90k which is 30k less than mine. Has also had timing belt, tensioners, Plugs & coilpack done. These have not been done on mine. The timing kit is £220 on its own. So it is well priced. I think it may be a spring project & if all goes well I will transfer it to my family espace that we intend to keep (another V6).
I'm not sure I understand the temp. issue you mention. The engine would be connected as before. I hope that the gearbox info can be accessed via the canbus.
Just reading documents in the archive it states that you can tow this car. So towing may not have caused any damage but i'm concerned that it has been driven until it stopped!! TWICE!!!! I did put half a litre of oil in it the other day so I could move it & afterwards noticed a noise that was concerned with had gone.
You are well aware or the work involved in repairing the leak, but then to find that the box is a duffer!! I only want to do this once. Smiley The clip did have fault codes for band problems before this happened. Can't remember what codes though.
Should I, shouldn't I  Undecided
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hrmarmg
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Posts: 3


« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2015, 01:08:58 am »

'Should I, shouldn't I?'  Four years on, and I'm a very similar situation, so my question now is: Did you, didn't you?
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roy4matra
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« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2015, 09:40:54 am »

Hi all.
A possible new years project?
My 2001 V6 Initiale bit the dust at the end of November. It decided to spew all the gearbox oil over the exhaust. I was not driving the car at the time it was on loan. We managed to get a litre of autobox fluid in it through the vent (very slowly) & it drove for around 10 miles. Then as it climbed a long hill it dumped the fluid again. So we towed it home. I know you should not do that but we did!

I'm not so sure about that 'not towing it', Brian.  Usually you can tow an automatic but it is best to keep the speed down and the distance small.  It is all about lubrication.  When the auto is running the oil is fed to and lubricating everything that needs to be lubricated.  When you are towing, most modern autos no longer have an output driven pump as we did with the early Borg-Warner autos.  So the recommended way was to overfill if possible before towing, but to keep the speed and distance down, if not possible.  Also, even when an auto has lost some oil, there is usually some left inside that will still give some lubrication.  It is almost impossible to completely empty an auto box without stripping it.

Quote
I have however been offered a complete v6 engine & box from a 2001 laguna, this is the six speed box. I was wondering if fitting this has been done before. I am a mechanic by the way. Obviously it can go in, if need be some fabrication to the mountings. The ecu, wiring etc would come with it.
But what about drive shafts? I know that the gear ratios may not be quite right for the weight.
I had read somewhere that my box should do 250k no probs!!!! Well for the record it is 125k short Sad
Any & all thoughts welcome.

If the only major concern is driveshafts then I would seriously consider doing the swap Brian.  Drive shafts are a relatively easy thing to modify if necessary especially compared to what you may need to do with the electronics! :-)

Roy
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