Hi

My brother has a 2000 reg Long Wheelbase HiAce with (I think) a 2.4 engine.

He was driving it recently in 4th, changing down into 3rd as he approached a junction - and when he took his foot off the clutch and started to accelerate - then engine raced. Thinking he was accidentally in neutral, he tried again - and then tried all gears, with the same behaviour; he had to coast the van into the side of the road - and then get it towed.

So there is no through connection between the engine and the wheels. You can select any gear but you can't go anywhere.

Has anyone heard of this happening before? It sounds like a clutch failure. Is this a common or uncommon type of event on the HiAce?

The next question is - what is the remedy? If it is the clutch - then I guess that likely means replacement; is that an expensive job in terms of parts and time? (Anyone have actual figures from a simiiar job?)

Thanks for any input on this..!

Doug

A clutch plate on its way out will tend to slip and your brother should have noticed this unless he drives ultra
nicely?
Is the hiace four wheel drive? My import Hilux did this to me the other day cos i knocked the high/low selector into neutral while changing down... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grin.gif)

Strange - as Cameron says, a clutch normally starts slipping before it lets go completely.

There is a possibility that the input shaft to the gearbox has snapped (rare but it can happen) or one of the drive gears in the box has dropped.

Either way it's a 'transmission out' job to locate the source of the problem.

My van has the same problem as yours what did it turn out to be

He got the clutch replaced.

Got it done by Mr Clutch in Dublin - we think around 400 notes.

Looks like a strange place (behind a house) but it was done in the day as promised and still working.