Holden Colorado Gearbox & Transmission Problems

That the shudder only occurs in fifth gear is, perhaps, the big clue here. If the problem was an engine mount or drive-shaft or suspension problem, the shudder would appear at those same engine revs or road speed, regardless of what gear the car had selected. So maybe you need to dig a bit deeper into the transmission to see if there’s a problem with the torque converter, the way the converter lock-up is working or even a problem with the gearset itself that offers up fifth gear. This is, of course, if the vehicle is an automatic (which you haven’t disclosed).

If it’s a manual, then fifth gear is the overdrive ratio for that gearbox and some Colorados were fitted with five-speed manuals that had a problem with the thrust washer on fifth gear. This washer could fracture if the vehicle was used for towing heavy loads. When the washer finally failed, the vehicle could jump out of fifth gear and actually lock up the rear wheels. Back in the day, Holden was actually replacing the entire gearbox if the vehicle was one of the affected ones. It would be worth checking with a Holden service centre to see if your vehicle is from that batch.

The biggest issue owners have experienced with this car is a tendency for the engine to consume oil and require a top-up between oil changes. Holden addressed this by changing the specification of the oil from a 5W30 to a 5W40 oil and released a new oil cap design. You’ll know if the new-design oil cap is fitted to your car as the owner’s manual will have been altered by a Holden dealer to reflect the new oil specification.

Beyond that, the biggest driveline complaint seems to be the noise generated by the engine. However, this seems to be a natural by-product of the 2.8-llitre turbo-diesel fitted to the Colorado 7 and is not a fault per se.

It would be worth talking tom Consumer Affairs over this one, as well as asking the auto specialist who made the diagnosis whether they thought the problem was a pre-existing condition or not. I know that in most states and territories, second-hand commercial vehicles don't carry a statutory warranty even when bought from a licensed dealer. But the reality is not as simple as no-warranty-bad-luck.

If the vehicle was not fit for purpose (as the legislation quaintly puts it) and the gearbox fault was not disclosed when the purchase was made (if indeed it existed back then) then you may have some recourse in terms of getting the problem fixed or some compensation.

These disputes are looked at strictly on a case-by-case basis, but if the car was already damaged and you were not told about it, nor the price-tag reflected it, then you may have a leg to stand on.

Even if the two cars were from the same production month and year, you’ve got some serious mis-matches there; enough to make the job far more time, effort and money than it’s worth. For a start, the two-wheel-drive Colorado won’t have the extra differential and drive-shafts to mate with the twin drive-shafts that the all-wheel-drive gearbox will have. So you’d have to somehow blank that front driveshaft off. Or, add the front differential and axle which will also probably require different front suspension. Prop-shaft lengths are likely to be different between a manual and an automatic version of the same car, too.

Then there’s all the other things that can suddenly catch you out. In many cases, the manual and automatic versions of a particular car will have different transmission tunnels and different holes in the floor for the shifter to poke through. Even the centre consoles can be non-interchangeable. The dashboard of an automatic car with its PRNDL display will also be different to the manual one. Then there’s the question of wiring looms which can also be vastly different to suit the specific requirements of each driveline layout (a modern automatic needs lots of electrical inputs). In fact, the on-board computer is very likely to be different between the two transmissions on that basis as well.

Following on from that, what about the sensors to control the all-wheel-drive system? Or even the rotary dial inside the car to select the different four-wheel-drive modes? A two-wheel-drive car just won’t have them nor even possibly the access points to add them. And what about the real basics? Things like the automatic car not having a clutch pedal. That requires a full pedal change inside the car. None of this stuff is simple, easy or cheap.

To be honest, the engines themselves are very possibly interchangeable, but even if that’s all you swapped (and not the transmission) you’d still need to change the flywheel and plenty of little details.

By far the best advice is to simply buy the version of the Colorado you want.

This model Colorado doesn't have a completely clean rap sheet in terms of its long-term reliability, so I'd definitely want to see a complete service history with no gaps or skipped maintenance. Beyond that, manual-transmission versions of this car didn't like towing and had a small gearbox component that could fail requiring a new gearbox.

But even an automatic version was known to have (in some examples) oil consumption problems (Holden's fix was to fit a different dip-stick to alter owners' perception of the consumption). Other problems included leaking coolant plugs, electrical wiring issues and even water leaks into the cabin.

All that said, the Holden was actually an Isuzu D-Max under the skin; a vehicle that has a better than average record for reliability among its peers.

You’re on the right track by asking about the gear-stick and its linkages; either of those two things is almost certain to be the cause of your problem. The gearstick itself needs to pivot in two planes, so there’s always scope for wear to develop in those joints and create the sloppy shift action you’re experiencing. In fact, because the shifter on your car bolts directly on to the gearbox – with no external linkages – wear in the shifter pivots is a very good bet as the cause.

You can remove the shift lever, take it apart and replace the bushes that allow the shifter to move and select each gear. That should tighten up the shift action and give you much better feel for what’s going on. The other possibility is that the shifter has become loose where it bolts on to the gearbox, or the rubber gasket that sits between the shifter and the transmission has perished or failed, allowing movement to occur.

Water shouldn’t get into the diff by merely driving in the rain; the seals should be good enough to keep water from getting into the diff even when driving through creeks and water crossings. Something more than a dud seal is at play here. Have the dealer make a more thorough check of the diff, and don’t pay for a replacement until the cause of the leakage is established.

You're getting into the Colorado at about the right time, when they've done around 100,000 km. If you're going manual check the clutch, that's a bit of a weak point, but other than that go for the best car you can find. One thing to focus on is wear and tear from use as a work vehicle. Look at damage in the bed, dents and scrapes on the body from being worked hard on the job site. Overall they're a pretty good thing.

On the surface it would seem that there is a problem with the clutch, it could be that the pressure plate has collapsed or something similar. Pulling the gearbox out should enable the mechanics to find the cause of the problem.

It would appear that the vibration is coming from the driveline, and the clutch being part of the driveline could well be source of the problem. It's worth getting it checked.