Loko

Chris, Apologies for not getting back to you sooner, my broadband is being swapped over to bulldog from ntl (£20 for 4mb line!) and have been unable to get online - work's mad too. The best way I can describe it, the gearbox feels much more mechanical. You can feel things working down there, 3rd and 5th feel superb. Also 2nd has always been good in my Golf, I fortunately haven't suffered from the infamous 1st to 2nd slop & struggle to engage. I certainly recommend you have the guy rebuild your selector, it has made my box feel great. I'm back to enjoying driving her again! A KR inlet cam is due next I think! :-P Laters, Loko 8)

Hey guys, Just reporting how the gearbox rebuild went for your info and to add some more knowledge to the forum. :lol: Well I am one happy bunny. My box feels better than new. Clearly the MT90 does it magic but also good old Ruben worked his magic with the gearbox. The problem was that the selector pin segments had worn (maybe from someone driving with their hand laid on gearstick when in 5th??) and that was making the synchro not quite engage which caused that to wear and fail. Gearbox oil was a little low and perhaps agravated things. Well the box feels superb now. Partly the oil of course and partly the new bits / rebuild. The good news is that just so you know Chris, it was 2 hours labour and I had £150 worth of VW gearbox parts, I needed: 5th gear synchro ring at £25. 5th gear hub at £102. Selector pin segments and bracketry ~£25 In addition and unrelated to the gearbox they investigated my car pulling to the left and found the aft front wishbone bushes to have collapsed on both sides - it was never spotted at the MOT 3 months ago! Anyway, those were replaced too and the steering is beautiful now! It didn't feel that bad considering the state those bushed were in! So for an overall 317 squid my car is driving tip top! It's the happiest visit to a mechanic ever! And I've had plenty... :wink: So, if you need a box looking into I recommend you give Karl & Ruben a call from Wheeldon and Mitchell in Loughborough. They aren't VW specialists but Ruben worked for a company 6 years on gearboxes alone. He really does know his stuff in there. He did the job quick and faultless first time! You might wanna add that to the supplier spot Henny, I dare say he could challenge Vince at Stealth... :lol: By the way Chris, does your gear shift feel ok? My selector was the main culprit that caused the damage, so check that. Also, if you need new pin segments for it...I had the last one from the VW factory and the local stealer sourced the 2nd one I needed from a stealer in Cumbria! :roll: Hope all that jiberish helps someone too. Thanks lads. :-P

Gents, Thanks for your answers and input. Chris, I'll let you know how I get on. I'm getting my box opened up tomorrow - I'll report on the damage to the box and the wallet! To be fair, 5th has never felt right in the car. I've had two GTi's before this one and my 16v Corrado with the same 02A box and none felt like this one. I wonder if a badly adjusted 5th gear selector has made what was an already weak 5th gear synchro ring worse, leading to failure. It's strange how they give up the ghost all of a sudden - that's boxes for you. :roll: By the way, it's a 95 car on 108k miles for your info. My Corrado had 150k miles when I sold her and the box was sweet as a nut!! :wink: The mechanic that's looking at her tomorrow said that 5th gear synchro is common on Golf's as they are lined instead of coated as the rest (or the other way around, can't recall!). Well, I'd never heard of it before, sods law it happend to me! I'll let you guys know what happens. I did wonder whether to just swap the oil for MT90 and adjust the linkage/selector as a first pass; but as Kev said when I struggled to get it in at 60mph I reckoned opening the box up was the best bet. Went to the stealer, a synchro ring is 24squid for 5th and the change gear is a whopping £98!! I have a nasty feeling those dog teeth grinding have ate it away... :( We'll see how much damage 10 days of grinding has done! I'm gonna miss it now, I've got good at getting it in with no trouble... :D no funny remarks... :)

Can nobody help? :(

Hello there, Long time no post! I had a 16valver Corrado but I sold it as I couldn't justify keeping it (being away for work, etc.). Anyway, I have since returned and bought a Mk3 Golf GTi 16v - don't worry I haven't turned to the darkside just accumulating another year's no claims before I get a VR6 rado! Anyway my Golf's 02A box and 16v engine are essentially the same as where in my old Rado so I turned to you wizards for help. Well, my Golf has been running great with no trouble at all for 9 months...but about 2 weeks ago my gearbox started giving me trouble. All gears are fine except for 5th. It feels like the synchro has finally died a horrible death. I'd just like to share the symptons and see if you agree, though I can't see what else it could be. It's just hard work to get in 5th when driving say at 50 - 60mph. If you double clutch her she goes in a lot better. Also curiously, changing up in 4th at say 100mph (on a track of course :lol: ) it goes in no problemo without even waiting. At slower speeds I have to wait a 2 or 3 secs to allow the gears to synchronize. You can hear the dog teeth grind - well I think it's them :!: I just find it curious that at the high speeds it goes in no trouble. The engine mounts are good and the linkage feels ok (couldn't know for sure though). You get a positive clink clink (you know what I mean!) when you change gears so I guess so. Not sure about what the oil level in the box is but would I be right in saying that although 5th is at the top of the box, you'd expect the other gears that share the same shaft to struggle getting in too :?: This is not the case, it's only 5th so I can't see it's the oil. Anyway, the good news is my local mechanic I take the car to is knows his gearboxes - he says he can access 5th without taking the box out and quoted me a couple of hours labour to do the job. A synchro ring for 5th is £24 from the local stealer. I reckon I might as well put some MT90 in there whilst we are at it. :roll: Does all that sound reasonable :?: Also, whilst he is in there tinkering, are there any other parts he should change for good measure or that could of been damaged/worn during my 2weeks of trying to get 5th in? the grinding sounds horrible when I get the double clutching wrong!! The gear has never popped out once in, so no need for a selector right :?: Thanks a lot for your help! 8)

Hello there, Long time no post! I had a 16valver Corrado but I sold it as I couldn't justify keeping it (being away for work, etc.). Anyway, I have since returned and bought a Mk3 Golf GTi 16v - don't worry I haven't turned to the darkside just accumulating another year's no claims before I get a VR6 rado! Anyway my Golf's 02A box and 16v engine are essentially the same as where in my old Rado so I turned to you wizards for help. Well, my Golf has been running great with no trouble at all for 9 months...but about 2 weeks ago my gearbox started giving me trouble. All gears are fine except for 5th. It feels like the synchro has finally died a horrible death. I'd just like to share the symptons and see if you agree, though I can't see what else it could be. It's just hard work to get in 5th when driving say at 50 - 60mph. If you double clutch her she goes in a lot better. Also curiously, changing up in 4th at say 100mph (on a track of course :lol: ) it goes in no problemo without even waiting. At slower speeds I have to wait a 2 or 3 secs to allow the gears to synchronize. You can hear the dog teeth grind - well I think it's them :!: I just find it curious that at the high speeds it goes in no trouble. The engine mounts are good and the linkage feels ok (couldn't know for sure though). You get a positive clink clink (you know what I mean!) when you change gears so I guess so. Not sure about what the oil level in the box is but would I be right in saying that although 5th is at the top of the box, you'd expect the other gears that share the same shaft to struggle getting in too :?: This is not the case, it's only 5th so I can't see it's the oil. Anyway, the good news is my local mechanic I take the car to is knows his gearboxes - he says he can access 5th without taking the box out and quoted me a couple of hours labour to do the job. A synchro ring for 5th is £24 from the local stealer. I reckon I might as well put some MT90 in there whilst we are at it. :roll: Does all that sound reasonable :?: Also, whilst he is in there tinkering, are there any other parts he should change for good measure or that could of been damaged/worn during my 2weeks of trying to get 5th in? the grinding sounds horrible when I get the double clutching wrong!! The gear has never popped out once in, so no need for a selector right :?: Thanks a lot for your help! 8)

Well on a private road 8) ... I rolled my 2.0 litre 16v up to 135mph on the speedo, 6k rpm in 5th. She wouldn't do anymore. Still not bad cuz she had 147k miles on the clock at that point. It's quite amazing how she starts pulling from 90 up to 120. The last 15 take a wee longer. I usually cruised at 95 and still got 33mpg out of her. :D :D :D