EV Repair project - fixing the reduction gear noise - Renault Zoe ZE40 gearbox repair

Fixing the final issue on the Zoe ZE40
If you're interested in more in-depth technical info and how-to guides for EV jobs, plus member only chat, consider joining my community:
/ @garycevrepairs
Please note - I am a qualified EV mechanic. Please do not replicate this type of work unless you have the necessary training and equipment!

[@lukyluke993]

Love your work. I hope I can do my ID.3 at some point in the future myself aswell

[@bertrandep]

Thanks for the whole series!

[@garycevrepairs]

You’re welcome, I’m glad people have enjoyed it!

[@MrWobling]

Really enjoyed the whole series - have learned a lot. Thank you.

[@garycevrepairs]

That’s great to hear, I’ve been blown away by the comments and responses. Cheers!

[@philip8742]

Your content is always edifying, I've really enjoyed your candid insight. The more this kind of info is disseminated, the smoother the transition to EV's becomes. Have you considered that you ought to be running a school for technicians of the future?

[@garycevrepairs]

Thanks for the feedback, that is very kind, I was in discussions about helping run some training at one point but it didn’t work out! I do spend a lot of time helping independent garages fix EV faults. Cheers

[@MrWobling]

@@garycevrepairs are you in touch with Ian at Attono in Guildford? He did a lot of work on my Zoe (multiple suspension repairs, AC compressor). I found him through Hevra. I'll be using him for maintenance on my MG ZS and Skoda Enyaq when the warranties are up. But it would give me extra peace of mind to know he can draw on your expertise :).

[@garycevrepairs]

Yes I know Ian, I work part time for the Hevra technical helpline and have chatted to him several times, he is very switched on. Cheers

[@EbenBransome]

That gear wear is interesting. A helical gear always has some sliding force but this looks excessive, as if the gear surface wasn't properly hardened. Making ground hardened helical gears is expensive especially when you need six of them, so it looks like they skimped on the metallurgy. I suspect they'd last quite a bit longer, just noisy, but it's the customer's call.

[@barrie2707]

I would be thinking maybe about using an up rated oil in the transmission. How many miles has this box done ?

[@garycevrepairs]

Hi the replacement one has done approx 20k miles. Always wary of changing something like oil spec as it’s not my area of expertise. Cheers

[@EbenBransome]

Especially with anything French, don't change the oil spec. If it says Total, use Total. You can't "uprate" a transmission oil because there are so many factors in choosing it. Long ago, the Royal Navy were having problems with helical gear wear (turbine gears are practically identical to electric motor gears.) In the end they discovered the problem was that the oil needed a lot more filtering than it was getting. They added a settling tank and a much finer filter and the wear problems went away without changing the oil spec. I believe this is what Tesla do one their one stage reduction gear, and it works. That box doesn't seem to have a filter or decent sump, and you can't fix that.