Transmission and driveline
Moving right along, the transmissions are very durable and can take years of abuse, though they tend to develop leaks with age. By far the most common
transmission problem with a 2002 is the shifter lever and mounting bushings. These wear out with time and are not always fun to replace due to their being
hidden in a dark and greasy area under the car. If the shifter lever flops around like a dead fish or scrapes the driveshaft, it's bushing time. If the
transmission itself moves around freely, the lone support bushing under the rear of the transmission has loosened up or become soft. A 320 or 318 part works well as a replacement.
The original four-speeds usually need some work by now. If they make noise and are difficult to shift into the lower gears, it's probably bearings and
synchronizers. The original 2002 close ratio five speeds are rare and hard to find. More likely, if you find a car with a five-speed, it will have come from a 320 and will have an overdrive fifth gear. This is really nice to have if you want to drive over 70 mph, get decent fuel economy, and carry on a conversation.
On high mileage cars worn driveshaft u-joints can
cause a number of different noises and vibrations. Connecting the driveshaft to the transmission is the flex joint, or guibo. When it starts to crack or
separate and cause vibration it needs to be replaced.
In the middle of the driveshaft is the center bearing,
which sometimes needs replacement. You'll know by the
howling or grinding noise it will make when the car is
moving.
Rear differential
Going all the way to the back, the rear differentials
come in three types: long, short and limited slip.
Long differentials were used in the early cars, mostly
the 1600s and the pre-1970 2002s. Parts can sometimes
be hard to obtain. The short differentials were used
in the rest of the 2002s. Factory 2002 limited slip
differentials are rare, and most of the limited slip
differentials found in 2002s today are from a 320is,
as the 320is is commonly found in junkyards. The
common problems with any differential in a 2002 are
usually seal leakage or whining noises, neither of
which seems to be cause for replacement or rebuilding.
On occasion, a gear will start to break, and the sound
of the teeth grinding themselves up will not be easy
to ignore if the car is still drivable. While a good
driveline or race shop can rebuild a differential, the
easiest way to solve the problem is to install another
differential from a different car. For performance or
track usage, lots of people prefer to use a limited
slip differential as it does a better job of
transferring the power to the ground, but a regular
differential is fine for normal street usage.
