Changing gear smoothly - driveline shunt?

[Neil VR6 0]

Not sure if this is an engine or drivetrain thing so feel free to move it to where it belongs!

 

Having just bought my VR I

[steveo29 0]

have you thought about the engine mounts?

[Neil VR6 0]

I did wonder that actually although I

[CazzaVR 0]

Mine's like this too! Thought it was engine mounts, so changed those, but still the same. As you say, happens mostly when changing up and down between 1st and second and also between 2nd and 3rd, but it's not so bad. I get a 'thunk' when I lift off the clutch. It's really irritating and takes the fun out of driving. It's fine if I change gear slowly/carefully.

[Neil VR6 0]

Ditto - almost glad someone else is suffering ;) The original VAG clutch slave cylinder is cast and machined steel which contaminates the fluid. The VAG replacement part is now made from plastic resin - progress eh? I'll post up the result. The car's going in on 20th March

[CazzaVR 0]

Nice one. Think I may change the slave cylinder and fluid anyway as a precaution. Keep us posted.

[Neil VR6 0]

The gearchange has got better and the clutch action a lot lighter (not that it was heavy before) but the driveline shunt remains. I reckon it

[Toad 0]

I'd check the gearbox mount. if you can move the engine at all by hand, it would indicate that that mount is knackered. £14 for a deisel Mk2 unit from GSF, hour to fit if you're slow... 1/2 hour if everything is good.

[Neil VR6 0]

The engine seemed pretty solid in the bay as I had it checked when I took it to JMR for a load of work. I guess it's worth a punt as they're cheap though. :shrug:

[nocrap 0]

I occasionally get this problem too....but not all the time, it only seems to happen on very cold days.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah that drivetrain shunt in the lower gears is quite common on the VR6. VW eventually erradicated it on the newer cars with a dual mass flywheel and 4 engine mounts.

 

How far are you planning on taking this car in terms of modifications?

 

What I've found works well on the VR6, which removes all drivetrain shunting and retains refinement is the following:-

 

Vibratechnics competition front mount

Fast road rear mount

Fast road gearbox mount

MK2 Golf front cross member bushes (stiffer than Corrado ones)

Powerflex steering rack bush

R32/TT rear wishbone bushes

Fresh top mounts

 

You may question the last two items, but anything connected to the subframe needs to be slack free in order to get the best shift quality.

[Toad 0]

R32/TT rear wishbone bushes

Fresh top mounts

 

Sounds like a good plan. I've got to investigate my wishbones and see if shot blasting them and respraying before fitting r32 bushes is going to be better than buying new wishbones.

[Neil VR6 0]

Cheers Kev. In terms of tuning I'm going to leave it be for a while. I'm getting married in November and moving house soon hopefully so Corrado expenditure will be limited to "essentials only" for the time being. The car car feels very tight apart from this problem. However, there is the occassional clonk through the steering under power if you're cornering on a bumpy road. Not sure if this is related to the shunt though. My VR's a very early one (dizzy not coil) so it certainly won't have any of the refinements you mentioned. It's the biggest single annoyance with the car really as apart foom that it's ace. So frustrating when you brake for a corner, feed the wheel nice and smoothly and bring the power on and there's this shunt through the whole car which makes your passenger think you're a clumsy oaf! :scratch:

[dr_mat 0]

I'd be surprised if it's possible to eliminate the old-car driveline shunt without a complete gearbox and diff refresh too. Though of course you can also learn to double declutch ..

[Neil VR6 0]

I actually learning that. It does help to match the revs although the problem is still present when shifting up. I dread to think what it'll feel like when my Mrs has a go in the car for the first time. She's quite brutal with the Puma's gearbox

[was8v 0]

Did you ever solve this?

 

You could feel a "shunt" as if there was play taking up drive on changing gear in my car. This also made a bit of a clunk noise.

 

You could feel a bit of play when rotating the O/S driveshaft by hand.

 

Changing my drivers side inner CV (grease had all dried up due to proximity to exhaust manifold) improved it no end.

 

At 120k yours is pretty simialr mileage to mine at 112k so your grease is likely to have dried up too if the driveshafts have never been off.

 

I should have inspected my passenger side CV too whilst I was there really, one for next weekend maybe.

[Neil VR6 0]

I had the clutch slave cylinder replaced which helped slightly. However, it’s still an issue although I guess I’m learning to live with it and adapt.

 

What I don’t want to do is spend a load more dosh on it and end up replacing the inner CV’s only to find the problem’s still there. It also needs new tyres soon, the ABS looking at and a knock sensor replacing. *sigh*

 

I read your other post thought which did get me thinking about getting them replaced. I reckon I’m looking at £250 minimum with using GSF parts and a local guy I know.

[was8v 0]

I had the clutch slave cylinder replaced which helped slightly. However, it’s still an issue although I guess I’m learning to live with it and adapt.

 

What I don’t want to do is spend a load more dosh on it and end up replacing the inner CV’s only to find the problem’s still there. It also needs new tyres soon, the ABS looking at and a knock sensor replacing. *sigh*

 

I read your other post thought which did get me thinking about getting them replaced. I reckon I’m looking at £250 minimum with using GSF parts and a local guy I know.

 

 

I'd get under the car (out of gear) and hold the driveshaft whilst trying to rotate the gearbox end of the inner cv / drive cup.

 

With my new inner CV there is no play, with the old there was a quite a bit of play - if theres a fair bit it might be worth doing them?

[boost monkey 0]

Changing my drivers side inner CV (grease had all dried up due to proximity to exhaust manifold) improved it no end.

 

Mate, do you have the inner CV headshield on your car? looks like an upside down J and covers the O/S inner CV from heat radiating out of the manifold.

 

IIRC it bolts to the rear of the block just above the sump pan?

[was8v 0]

Mate, do you have the inner CV headshield on your car? looks like an upside down J and covers the O/S inner CV from heat radiating out of the manifold.

 

IIRC it bolts to the rear of the block just above the sump pan?

 

 

Nope cos VR6's didnt get them apparently, wuppa.

[boost monkey 0]

What is wuppa and did VR6s get asbestos inner CVs or something? :scratch:

[was8v 0]

What is wuppa and did VR6s get asbestos inner CVs or something? :scratch:

 

 

wuppa = woohoo! my sarcastic way of celebrating a great decision by VW! I suppose its lasted 110k miles so that plenty really!

 

No they aren't asbestos - would be good if the boots were! There wasn't one on my last VR6's either.

 

8 I read on the Canadian Corrado Club website that the driver's inner (or passenger inner from their perspective, being left hand drive) on the VR6 suffers from heat from the exhaust which dries out the grease. This certainly seemed to be the case with me. ETKA lists a heat shield for non-VR6 models that appears to bolt on to the engine block, but I could not see a similar shield for the VR6. Perhaps such a shield would lengthen the life of this particular joint.

 

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