My car is a Golf GT TDI @ 35k.
My gearbox is very notchy and clunky (never audibly crunches though) in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears, particularly when cold. I struggle every morning with it on my way into work (when car is cold and been stood overnight). All other gears are silky smooth even in sub-zero temps, it's only 1-3 that are bad, and only on up-shifts, never down-shifts.
What I've got used to doing is double de-clutching for the first 10 mins of driving to allow the gear oil to warm-up; this is hardly ideal on a car of this age, mileage and marque! The gear synchros were changed by VW 6 weeks ago but I'm still getting the same problems. This indicates to me that it's not due to worn synchromesh. Problem is I, or anyone else for that matter, don't seem to know what is causing this, or how to fix it, and just put it down to a characteristic of the car!
Problem is greatly reduced when ambient temp and, thus, oil temp is higher; however, the up-shifts to 2nd and 3rd are still very clunky when I change gear whilst turning a corner! What is that about? Centrifugal force on the oil making it move away from the meshing surfaces of the gears?
This might seem minor to most people but the poor gear-shifting completely ruins the driving experience and overall ownership of this car for me. It's a shame really as I can't say another bad thing about it..........yet........touch wood!
I'd be interested in any comments regarding technical advice/info or similar experiences.
Thanks for reading.
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replace the gearbox oil and make its at the correct level!
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Thanks for the reply, although it seems you never read what I explained in my post.
VW replaced the gear synchros and REFILLED with fresh gear oil 6 weeks ago.
Anyone else care to divulge?
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The garage may have filled the gearbox with the wrong oil. most garages haven't a clue what to use, including VW garages.
The correct oil is - G052162A2 which is a fully synthetic VW oil. It cost me £7.80 per litre.
I changed my Passat's oil for this and the gear change has improved.
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Thanks quizman.
Before it went back to VW I changed the fluid to G052 171 A1/A2, from Fuchs. If anything, the gear shift was worse after the fluid change, but certainly no improvement.
It went in to a main VW dealer so I'm pretty confident they put the correct spec oil back in, but I can't guarantee this unfortunately...
The spec you mentioned is an ATF.... That's probably the correct spec for a DSG though.
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Sorry d-e, I am mistaken. The spec I posted above was on the invoice, but I have looked at a bottle and the spec is (definitely) G052911A2.
I went into this VW gearbox oil specs very carefully and knew the G052911 was the correct oil. At the VW parts place they wanted to sell me some semi synthetic stuff with a different number. I insisted that this was wrong, they looked on the computer for quite a while before deciding that I was right.
So what I'm saying is that the mechanic might have used the wrong oil, as it is so complicated.
Sorry again that I posted incorrectly, you would think that they would put the proper number on the receipt. I thought that it was cheap when I paid.
So for my Passat 5 speed manual gearbox G052911. The A1/2 bit is the size of the bottle.
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Thanks again for your reply.
I've looked again on the Fuchs website and the Sintofluid 75w80, the stuff I tried before to no avail, meets the spec you've mentioned (G 052 911 as well as several others).
I'm considering trying Redline MTL as I've heard good things about it. The amount I've spent on gear oil over the last year is ridiculous! So far I've had Millers fully synth 75w90, Fuchs Titan Sintofluid 75w80 and the stuff the VW dealer used. I haven't noticed any difference between any of them.
The next thing is to get rid of the car!
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Surely the oil is a red herring?, it would affect all gears and all changes.
There must be a mechanical problem that needs fixing unless a simple adjustment on the remote levers, presumably they have been checked for tightness, bent etc?
Otherwise it is a nasty job stripping a box, very strange that you needed synchos?, that speaks of problems . i would think a GB should last the life of a car- they have outlived all mine?
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I agree, a gearbox should last the lifetime of a vehicle. At least longer than mine anyway! When I got the car at 17k, 2 years ago, it was the same then!
I have a 40 year old air-cooled VW and the gearbox on that is better than the one on my Golf!
I really am at my wit's end with this now! I've put-up with the problem for 2 years and I paid a lot of money for this car!
I don't think I have many options left, seeing as VW have already stripped and rebuilt the box, other than selling the car!
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