Toyota Corolla Altis Gearbox Overhaul: A Full Rebuild Plus a CV Joint and an Oil Leak Repair

The owner got in touch about a Toyota Corolla Altis that, on early mornings, would not move when the accelerator was pressed. It felt as if the car was in neutral. After a check we confirmed it needed a gearbox overhaul. The owner was honest with us: the car has about two years left before it is scrapped, so the work had to be sensible and priced fairly.

The ask was clear. Fix the gearbox at a fair price so the car could see out those two years. While it was with us, two other issues needed attention.

We confirmed the gearbox fault first. The gearbox needed a full overhaul.

On the front right driveshaft, the inner CV joint boot had split, letting the grease out, which means the joint runs dry and wears. There was also an engine oil leak, which the owner asked us to repair. For that we quoted a new valve cover gasket with plug seals, a VVT-i valve with its O-ring, and a new oil sump with its drain nut. None of these fix themselves, and a split CV boot in particular only gets worse the longer it runs.

We sent the owner photos and videos of what we found and quoted each item before starting. The owner chose to do the gearbox overhaul, the CV joint and the oil leak together in one visit.

We did the work properly and in one visit.

• Removed the gearbox, stripped it down and overhauled it with all the internal consumables.
• Replaced the torn front driveshaft boot and the CV joint.
• Replaced the valve cover gasket and plug seals, the VVT-i valve with its O-ring, and the oil sump with its drain nut, for the engine oil leak.

We kept the owner updated through the job. Because the gearbox had to come out and be overhauled, the work took the time it needed. The full gearbox overhaul carries a 2 year / 40,000km warranty.

On this Corolla Altis the gearbox overhaul came to around $2,180 before GST with a 2 year / 40,000km warranty. The owner also chose to replace the torn CV joint boot, around $280 before GST with the CV joint, and to have the oil leak repaired in the same visit, bringing the visit to around $3,400 including GST.

What moves the price is what we find once the gearbox is open, and whether extra jobs like the CV joint are done together. Doing related repairs in one visit saves a second round of labour. We check first, then quote each item clearly so the owner decides what to do.

This Toyota Corolla Altis (Gearbox overhaul) was handled at 1 Car Service, an independent workshop in Sin Ming AutoCity, Singapore. The work is backed by our 2-year, 40,000km warranty. We hold a 4.9★ rating from 1,836+ Google reviews.