jimny,good or bad !!!!

no no mot history with the car,but the valve gear as seen through the oil filler cap,and the engine oil itself is very clean,engine is fine now the pulley issue is sorted,its just the slight,bearing type noise coming from the gearbox area,coupled with the commoc problems with the vvt gearbox,causes me to wonder if this is the sign of forthcoming gearbox trouble,the noise seems slightly worse in 5th gear,lessens in 4th gear,and dissapears if the clutch is pressed while driving,then comes back as the clutch engages again,have changed the gearbox oil for a slightly thicker grade 80w minearal oil,as someone suggested,as in his opinion,the semi synthetic oil specified,is too thin,but if anything,the noise seems louder now then with the original oil,so may change it again for the specified 75w 30.looks like I have bought a bad one.Have been provisionally offered 3,700 for it buy we buy any car,but have been told,thats just to get you you go,then they knock the price down as much as they can,but as I cant get to work without a car,seems like thats my best option,while the car still has 11 months mot.

All Jimnys make a bit of transmission noise. I would guess from the tone of your posts that your worrying makes it seem worse than it is. And other than a slight transmission noise, there is nothing else wrong with it is there? So why so keen to sell it again? It seems foolish to me. You will only lose more money buy selling it on and then have to buy another vehicle with unknown issues.

other then the noise,there are no problems,gear selection is fine,I think you may be right,and I am maybe worrying without cause,its just beacause it sounds like a dry bearing,though as yet its not actually making grinding or grating noises,but relying on the car for work,often in the early hours of the morning,I am worried that it may fail without any warning,and having had to pay £55 for a taxi to work,(3.30 am) when the crankshaft pulley came apart,maybe you can understand why I am so concerned.Having said that,I do like the car,and would like to keep it,but there seems to be a lack of information about rebuilding the gearbox,I had thought of buying a used box from a breakers,and rebuilding it with new bearings,that way I would still have the car available for work,but apparently the post 2005 gearbox used on the vvt engined cars is hard to come by,even secondhand,and I only have limited experience of gearbox work,and that was years ago,when the needle roller input shaft bearing failed on an old escort. Does anyone know the gearbox identification code for the vvt engine cars?.I understand the earlier gearbox was more reliable,but some people say it wont bolt up to the vvt engine,while others say it will, but the propshaft and mountings are different,so it seems even fitting an earlier box is not straightforward,even if it will bolt up to the engine.In the meantime,I will find out as much as I can about the different gearboxes and fitting options,I have seen a bearing kit on e bay,for rebuilding the vvt box,but dont know if that woud cure the noise or not,but at £135, it would seem to be worth trying.

When i bought my 2008 vvt 18 months ago it had done 24000 miles and shortly after the gearbox developed a noise in 3rd , 4th , and 5th but only under power and only between 30 and 45 mph. It has now done 35000 miles and the noise is no worse, gear selection is fine. I must admit though that i am thinking of changing the gearbox oil and putting additive in as well. Like you i was worried when it first occurred but now it doesn't bother me

thanks,that makes me feel a bit better, assuming mine stays the same,it will at least give me time to get some money saved up just in case the gearbox does eventually fail,I have been looking for additves,but have not seen any for gearboxes,but am sure slick 50 used to do a gearbox one.Have tried changing the oil to a thicker 80w mineral oil as someone suggested,but the noise seemed to be louder then it was with the original oil in,so will change it back the specified oil.

i'm on my second jimny. the first one was a 2005 ddis that went to the junkyard after a head on colision, and the current one is a 2000 twincam, both bought used.
the diesel one had 35k on it when i got it...good ridance, that engine was a cancer. everything on the car was great apart from that engine. and it wasn't cheap to repair either. as for the current one...had a sensor changed, sparkplug cables, new spark plugs and oils when i got it, and a few months later i replaced the steering bars tie ends and a u-joint. i think i might have a slightly off-balance prop shaft or a shot transfercase mount, but i'm not worried. the car as shown itself cheap and easy to mend, so when it goes i'll deal with it.
i dont go easy on the car and so far the engine has proved quite strong.
all cars have their caracteristic niggles, and 4x4 have a few extra ones. but as far as 4x4's go, the jimny is probably the cheapest to run and mend.
when i got the first one the first impression was that is was noisy and rattly. but none of that had anything to do with the problems it did suffer from (injection system, egr valve, turbo)
i think you might be suffering from a case of "just-changed-from-a-regular-family-car-to-a-bare-bones-off-roader-and-it-sucks-to-drive". that might mean you didn´t do your homework and didn´t know what you were buying. also, that idea that a used car has to come home in mint condition from the dealer is just laughable to me. i never buy a used car that i don't know what problems the model tends to suffer from and how much they cost to repair, without having the extra money to repair a wort case scenario, and to give it a serious seeing to at the mechanic.