Slightly sticky gears when cold...

[aclwalker 3]

Hi,

 

I have noticed that my gears are decidedly harder to engage (but by no means impossible) on these cold days when the engine/gearbox are cold and it gets easier as the car warms up.

 

I'm wondering if the gearbox oil drains out when the clutch is renewed and perhaps it hasn't been filled up properly when this was done before I bought the car. Does a clutch replacement necessitate draining the gearbox?

 

I had this problem with my old Golf and I solved it by topping up the gear oil via the top 17 mm hex plug. The cause was that the mechanic who fitted my replacement engine (water pump seizure, stripping every tooth off the timing belt at 70 mph (belt never snapped though!)), must have let some of the gear oil drain away while doing this, and/or never refilled it properly.

 

My dad was skeptical at the time but I did it anyway and confirmed that there was a good 1 cm or so drop in the level (about half a litre of gear oil perhaps). I filled this back up and the problem immediately went away.

 

Do any of you VR6 gearbox experts think I'm onto something? Is it worth my while investigating further? Is it easy enough to check the level and top up if necessary? (I already have the 17 mm hex key from the Golf days).

 

Thanks

 

Alan

[dr_mat 0]

You top up till it spills out of the filler hole, that's all you can do.

Presumably your 10 year old car just has a slightly worn gearbox, it's not unusual. Hell even brand new gearboxes can complain when shoved into 2nd gear at 2 degrees C. Unless it's badly whining, vibrating, or crunching all the time, just put it down to "old car syndrome".

[Kevin Bacon 5]

020 (Golf MK2) and 02A (Corrado/Golf MK3) boxes are a bit sticky when cold as the oil is thicker. Get some temperature into the oil and the synchro cones work a lot better. So long as the oil level is correct and the linkages are adjusted properly and the box doesn't crunch, it's normal for them to be reluctant for the first few miles. 02As don't like to be hurried when cold either, so allow it to heat up fully before slam dunking those changes home.

 

The gearbox is a sealed unit, so a clutch change does not have any involvement with the gear oil.

 

To check the level, undo the 17mm nut on level ground and the oil should pour out, that is the correct level. If it doesn't pour out, there's not enough in there.

 

Try some Redline MT 90, it does wonders for these old boxes.

[Skimask 0]

The gearbox is a sealed unit, so a clutch change does not have any involvement with the gear oil.quote]

 

It can do Kev. Some guys'll drop the gear box to change the clutch, and that entails disconnecting one of the driveshafts, with a loss of gear oil.

[Supercharged 2]

It can do Kev. Some guys'll drop the gear box to change the clutch, and that entails disconnecting one of the driveshafts, with a loss of gear oil.

 

You need to drop the box to change the clutch - you won't loose gear oil thru disconecting driveshafts, just a bit of grease...

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah as Steve says, you don't touch the box at all when doing a clutch. There is no need to take the drive flanges out when removing driveshafts.

[pablo_vr6 0]

mine sticks the odd time too. most cars seem to lol :)

[kangaroo 0]

Second gear is nasty when cold, sometimes mine won't even go in, I usually skip it and go straight to third. As Kev said, MT90 can be helpful. It won't solve the problem, but can go some way to relieving it.

[aclwalker 3]

Cheers guys. Sounds like exactly the same process I did on the old Golf. Made a big difference. I hope I don't snap a spanner this time trying to undo the plug. Had a sore elbow for ages after that...

[brian g60 corrado 0]

is better to fit thinner oil and whats the thinest avalable