vw Caddy SDI - Caddy SDI Gearboxes

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Sun 3 Mar 2019 21:15
vw Caddy SDI - Caddy SDI Gearboxes - anyname

Hi, im considering buying a used caddy 2.0 SDI. I have a question thou about the gearbox reliability on these vans. I read that the engines are bulletproof if treated well, but what about the gearboxes ? Ive seen a few ads out there mentioning theve had a replacement gearbox, although most ads don't. Are these gearboxes prone to failure after a certain mileage ? Im looking at a few ads that have around 150K on the clock. All the ads say they drive very well, but im worried about the boxes, do they last as long as the engines ?? Thanks

Edited by anyname on 03/03/2019 at 21:17

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Sun 3 Mar 2019 21:23
vw Caddy SDI - Caddy SDI Gearboxes - badbusdriver

Hi, im considering buying a used caddy 2.0 SDI. I have a question thou about the gearbox reliability on these vans. I read that the engines are bulletproof if treated well, but what about the gearboxes ? Ive seen a few ads out there mentioning theve had a replacement gearbox, although most ds don't. Are these gearboxes prone to failure after a certain mileage ? Im looking at a few ads that have around 150K on the clock. All the ads say they drive very well, but im worried about the boxes !

Impossible to say without knowing how they have been driven. This goes back to what i said in your previous post about vans leading very hard lives. If the van has been owned by someone self employed from new (unlikely), the driver will probably have driven it with a bit of care. But if it has been a company van, there is a good chance it will have been utterly ragged by unsympathetic drivers who wished they had more than 70bhp to play with!. I'm not aware of the Caddy's gearbox being particularly weak (apart from examples with DSG), and given the lack of power, i'm not sure it would be likely outwith the scenario i described. Check for clutch judder from cold though, as a new clutch will probably mean a new DMF too, which will be costly. Also watch out for uneven idle as this points to the DMF breaking up. Mine is starting to show signs of this, but, fortunately, seems to have gotten no worse in the last 6 months (!).

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Sun 3 Mar 2019 21:39
vw Caddy SDI - Caddy SDI Gearboxes - anyname

Okay thanks for the response that makes sense, just needed someone to confirm there were no known issues with the sdi box. Another question while im here, do all the caddy SDI's come without a DPF, or if not do you know what year they were introduced ? I think someone attempted to answer this question in my previous post but there was some confusion, I will have another look.

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Sun 3 Mar 2019 22:11
vw Caddy SDI - Caddy SDI Gearboxes - SLO76
The SDi gearbox is a known weak point I’m afraid. Don’t get it mixed up with the stronger box fitted to the more powerful TDi’s.

From memory the usual reason for the failure is that vw fitted riverts in the crown wheel and pinion drive to reduce costs instead of high tensile bolts. It’s fairly common to see riverts working free and dropping into the revolving gear's, chipping teeth off the gears. Or the crown wheel has bust through the casing. The TDI is more robust.

I had an SDi Caddy for many years and it was an excellent little van but it didn’t cover a huge mileage with me and was sold with 56k on it and it did suffer from another common failure which is clutch plate oil contamination thanks to a leaking input shaft seal. In my case VW replaced the clutch and seal for free as it was still (just) under warranty.

I’d have another Caddy but not an SDi with big miles. Buying a used van is a nightmare. Most owners are businesses and vans tend only to be offloaded when they’re too troublesome or no longer economically viable. They’re not traded in just because the owner fancies a change, they’re usually harbouring a major fault or ten.

The exceptions are ex fleet stock like NHS, BT or other utility firms who move them on when they reach a certain age but these are newer and dearer than I suspect you’re looking at here but I wouldn’t bother buying a van if you can’t afford to move up to this level. They’re almost always a nightmare and a good well looked after family owned Estate car will make much more sense if it’s big enough for you.

Another thing to consider is that van sales are classed as business to business so you’ve fewer rights if something goes wrong.

Edited by SLO76 on 03/03/2019 at 22:19

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Mon 4 Mar 2019 10:17
vw Caddy SDI - Caddy SDI Gearboxes - badbusdriver

The SDi gearbox is a known weak point I’m afraid. Don’t get it mixed up with the stronger box fitted to the more powerful TDi’s.

From memory the usual reason for the failure is that vw fitted riverts in the crown wheel and pinion drive to reduce costs instead of high tensile bolts. It’s fairly common to see riverts working free and dropping into the revolving gear's, chipping teeth off the gears. Or the crown wheel has bust through the casing. The TDI is more robust.

Sorry anyname, this is news to me. When i asked on this very forum about the Caddy SDI all i was warned about was the clutch. I did do some other looking, but the only thing i could find was folk complaining about the lack of power!. Mine had done 80k when i bought it in Dec '17, now just under 90k, and the gearbox is absolutely fine.

Not sure what else to say other than recon gearboxes are on Ebay from £600 (12 month warranty)

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Mon 4 Mar 2019 11:11
vw Caddy SDI - Caddy SDI Gearboxes - SLO76
It’s not a big worry bbd but it’s a known issue particularly among higher mileage users, it was a regular problem on normally aspirated diesel Octavia taxis but mostly beyond 150k while the TDi boxes were going strong at twice the mileage.

The OP was talking about examples with big six figure mileages and It is a concern at this age and mileage. The box used in the equivalent TDi’s is stronger. Unless a van is absolutely necessary I’d buy a good used estate at this end of the market instead. Used vans are a nightmare unless you can afford a good example.

Edited by SLO76 on 04/03/2019 at 11:12

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