Hi guy's
I have just purchased a 2004 Bentley Gt, 69K miles, full main dealer service history and low owners.
I have had a few Niggles but nothing I couldn't sort out however I am after some information about acceptable backlash from the transfer box. If I jack the car up I can rotate each wheel about 45mm back and forth to take up the backlash to the gearbox. I checked because I can occasionally feel it when on very light throttle, and at low speed in car parks you can hear it. I am concerned that this is excessive wear in the transmission. Does anyone have experience or knowledge on this they can share

Regards

 

Mine 116k miles, i can't really feel while parking, but when cruising release throttle not feel anything, apply throttle can feel it. Went to service, checked all over, said it's normal wear. i just live with it.

 

Hi Kes,
Thanks for the reply, asking around the dealers they don't seem to know but i am experiencing the same as you. I have also noticed now that the car hangs onto 5th gear and only changes up at over 65mph unless you manually shift. Is this consistent with your car
Thanks in advance

 

if i travel through average speed cams 55 it still sits in 5th, but rpm is still low, if i shift to 6th manually seems fine too. Did not check when it shifts into 6th automatically, but i think it depends of load at the time. I can check that when i drive next time. Gearbox seems to be fine, shifts nice, sometimes i when driving really smooth i can feel it kicks slightly gear but my X5 does the same. They both have ZF gearboxes.

 

Hi Kes,
Thanks again for the reply, it seems to be difficult getting this sort of info. I look forward to your post when you next drive the car

Regards

Chiaroblue

 

Hi, i checked, it goes into sixth around 60-65mph. I think it's normal. That was on smooth driving.

 

Hi Kes,

Thanks for the info, I have done some more mileage in mine now and it seems to change between 63-75mph depending on load.
Thanks again

 

Remember these transmissions are adaptive and will adapt to your driving style. Any adaptive transmission is prone to irregular shifts and non smooth gear changes if never driven through the full drive cycle for extended periods. By which I mean go out and kick its big but from time to time using the full rev band. If your trans is too uncomfortable to drive due to many miles of " Driving Miss Daisy" then it is possible to manually reset the adaptive memory and start from fresh. 911tt Tiptronic transmissions were terrible for this and would rattle the propshaft and clunk if never driven with "spirit" from time to time.

 

Thanks for the insight, the backlash was most noticeable on light throttle and when coming to a stop (changing back to 1st) the general upshifts and downshifts were ok. However I have now driven over 1000miles city driving, country lanes and motorways and it does seem to have improved especially as I have had chance to use the car's performance more.
Thanks again
Chiaroblue

 

This makes sense as the transmission control module adapts to your changed driving style.
Some times it can take a really long time to adapt but you can reset them manually if it really bothers you. Just drive it hard some times