Lumpy gearshift, replacing box oil

[kangaroo 0]

The gear-shift feels like I'm moving the stick through a bag of stones. Its really notchy, lumpy and sometimes difficult to get into gear, especially second.

 

I've done a few searches and decided that draining and replacing the geabox oil could be worth a go, along with some slick 50. What do you reckon?

 

I'm still a bit unsure of where the drain and refill plugs are though.. From what I can see the refill is about halfway down the front-face of the gearbox. And the drain one is towards the back on the underneath. Am I correct?

[kangaroo 0]

Okay, I took a picture, because I love technology.

[VR6 0]

You really should colour code that VW badge.....

[kangaroo 0]

You really should colour code that VW badge.....

 

Its perfectly colour coded, Rusty Brown (RB7V).

[dinkus 10]

You really should colour code that VW badge.....

 

Yeah it made me laugh when I saw that today. What other obscure places did they put the logo?

[h100vw 0]

I would check that the linkages on the top of the box don't just need a bit of lube.

 

Also, check that the circlip on the side of the shifter hasn't broken. That often makes 2nd difficult to get, especially when coming down from 3rd.

 

gavin

[steveo29 0]

redline mt90 made mine nicer 8)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yep I second MT90. There is no better. Don't use Slick 50 in the gearbox. It's too slippery and reduces the oils 'drag' coefficient. In english that means the oil doesn't 'cling' to the gears properly. Basically the oil is 'dragged' up from the bottom of the casing onto the gears and layshafts/bearings etc and MT90 is specifically formulated to provide the correct clinginess and levels of 'grip' on the synchro cones. Slick 50 fecks that up.

 

K

[steveo29 0]

one more thing...is the weight mssing form the linkage???

[Kevin Bacon 5]

He's got a P reg VR so the counter weight will most definitelty be there. The Golf VR has a massive counter weight but it's too tall for the Corrado, which is a shame.

 

You might also want to adjust the linkages as per Mike Edward's instructions in an earlier post.

 

Filling the gearbox is fun due to the location of the filler and the MT90 bottles don't have extendable filler necks like other oils. I just run a length of hose from the top of the engine bay down into the filler hole. When the oil starts pouring out of the hole, it's full. It will only take 1.5 litres.

[kangaroo 0]

How about Castrol SMX-S? Its much cheaper and I remember someone saying its nearly as good. I'm kinda short on money you see...

 

The weight is definitely on the linkage, and the circlip is ok on the lever. Perhaps the cables need a bit of adjustment... I will grease them though. I dunno... it just feels notchy and grindy, like its coming deep from within...

 

Maybe I should just throw a handful of sawdust in the box :wink:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

LOL, save the sawdust for when you sell it, but then that was only ever done to Cortinas that had shagged rear diffs :wink:

 

Trust me mate, I've tried all the oils out there and Redline MT90 is by far the best. Save your pennies for a bit longer and use that instead. You won't regret it.

 

There is a tool for setting up the shift under the gearlever gaiter. If that doesn't help, or the oil, then you need to adjust the linkages at the box end and maybe even refresh the bushes. How many miles are you on? My VR is on 96K and the shift is superb. Snickety snick little finger job 8)

 

Maybe the previous owner rebushed it but I've yet to find another car (except the Type Rice Civic) that has a better shift.

 

K

[daves16v 1]

Where can we buy Redline MT90? I wanna do mine soon.

 

Cheers

 

edit, just seen it at Demon Tweeks £12.65

[Kevin Bacon 5]

http://www.redlineoil.co.uk/products/pr ... m#gearoils

 

Or C&R in Nottingham sell it too.

 

Both are excellent to mail order from.

 

Edit, £12.65 is a very good price. You need two quarts.

[daves16v 1]

Ah yes, keep forgetting about C&R.

 

Ta Kev

[Kevin Bacon 5]

C&R like to push Slick 50 with the oil, but tell them to stick it :wink:

[kangaroo 0]

Thats an excellent price for the MT-90 (demon-tweaks, here). I was under the impression it was about £20+ for a bottle.

 

Kev, when you mean two quarts you mean two bottles? A quart per bottle?

 

Mr car's only done 68k, so I'm rather confused as to why the gears feel the way they do. My fear is that the syncro's a bit buggered, but i'd rather pretend that scenario didn't exist. I don't think the clutch or hydraulic system is in great order either, but that's a problem to tackle at another time... Its already been a 'pasta-month', I can't stand another...

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah £12.65 is a damn good price! Go for that if I were you.

 

Yeah two bottles. Redline is American and thus they *still* measure in their imperial quart, which is about 900 ml IIRC.

 

If there's no crunching between gears (especially 2nd and 3rd) the synchro cones are fine. The 02A box is not the most refined of boxes but a good oil will reduce the cold baulking considerably, and when the MT90 is thoroughly warmed up, the shift quality is excellent.

 

All you need is the slippery red stuff and a check-over/ over-haul / adjustment of the linkage bushes and you'll be fine.

[Henny 0]

just 'cos no-one else has, I'll confirm that the 2 locations on that Photo are correct for the drain and refill/level points on the gearbox.... 8)

 

Oh, and there's also another VW badge on the very end of the gearbox too! :)

[kangaroo 0]

Cheers Henny. I assumed it was ok because nobody had said "nooo! don't undo that bolt, the car will explode" :)

 

I just need to find a gigantic allen key now.

[craigowl 0]

When my 1995 VR6 with 96k on the clock became useless due to being unable to select 3 of the gears (1st, reverse and 3rd. I think) - the AA engineer (ex-VW mechanic) I had called out located the problem right away as a broken plastic linkage visible under the bonnet and located near the gear box.

He temporarily repaired it with superglue and a plastic tie. (Best gearchange ever with that!! - even after the proper repair!)

I had forseen visions of gearbox meltdown, but at the end of the day a stealership bill of £61.49 cured the fault.

The part was called a carrier and is number 1J0711256 costing £7.33 plus VAT.

As is often the case, the plastic becomes brittle under the hot conditions near the engine.

Brilliant engineering once more by VW.

[daves16v 1]

What size is the Allen key? Doing mine soon so need to know.

 

Ta

 

D

[steveo29 0]

17mm

[daves16v 1]

steveo29, cheers mate

[kangaroo 0]

Two bottles of MT90 arrived today (£33 delivered from demon-tweeks). I'll probably get round to replacing the oil in the box over the weekend. One quick question before I do though:

 

Seeing as the drain plug is towards the back of the box should I leave the car jacked-up when draining the old stuff? I want to make sure I get as much of the old crap out as I can.

 

Cheers.