Loss Of Gear Oil And Floppy Gear Stick

[seanwhu]

Just been to Cornwall and back in my 2001 2.3 mk11 and it went like a dream.

 

Got home, popped to the shops to get milk and gearstick went floppy in second and i think it has shed gearbox oil all over the place.

 

I have read posts on the gear linkage but wanted your thoughts before I start to strip the car down to investigate.

 

Thanks

[SilverBeast]

Take off engine undershield and see if there is gearbox oil in there. Might give an idea where it has come from too.

 

Inspect gearbox housing to see if you can see where it has come from.  As you have read posts you probably know worst case is bolt has sheared/dropped from selector mechanism and caused something to punch a hole through casing, which is the only reason I can think of for the symptoms you describe.  I fhope for your sake this is not the case.  I assume gear lever is completely floppy and you can't select any gears.

[seanwhu]

Thanks

 

Yes stuck in second gear and the gearstick is completely floppy.

 

Oh well lets recover from a long drive today as I know what I will be doing tomorrow.

[seanwhu]

Update, had the under-tray off and found the answer that I really didn't want to see, one mangled bolt, two pieces of shrapnel and a hole in the gearbox housing. 

 

Now need to find and fit a replacement box 

 

 

[seanwhu]

As I'm replacing the gearbox does anyone know if a six speed box will simply bolt on ? The old one was a five speed

[niall1001]

iv asked this question a few times as i have a mk2 2.3,havnt been able to find an answer tho,however sum1 on another forum said the 6 speed box from a st170 focus is similar to that of ours,but at this time am not able to confirm that it is,cud try 1 from a sharan/alhambra 1.8t,but wud vw box fit a ford????????????

[insanitybeard]

Unfortunately if you've got a 5 speed manual (VXT75 which is a Ford 'box) then I don't think you can do a simple swap for the VW sourced 6 speed manual, for a start the driveshaft arrangement is different so you would probably need to change the driveshafts as well, then there's a good chance the gearbox won't line up with the locating dowels on the engine block, plus the clutch protrusion into the bell housing may well be different, and you'd need to swap the selector mechanism in the cabin, probably the mount as well....The thing is the 5 speed manual was a Ford 'box used with a Ford engine in the Mk2 Galaxy (the 2.3 petrol), the VW 6 speed manual was only ever fitted to VW engines- the TDI and V6.

 

Somebody may be able to prove me wrong but there's far too much potential for things to be different between the two units for my liking.

[niall1001]

i was daft to mention it really,was thinkin about it afetr i wrote it,shame ford never came up with a 6-speed for this engine!!!

[sparky Paul]

insanitybeard's right, the 2.3 continued with the 5 speed when the VW engines swapped to 6 speed.

 

Swapping for a 6 speed is a no go, the only good news is that there's plenty of good 5 speed boxes about.

[seanwhu]

Ok ready to swap gearbox but old one stuck in 2nd gear. Does anyone know if this will cause problems getting it out.

[chromedome]

I would be more worried why it is stuck in second gear.

[seanwhu]

It was in second gear when the bolt came off the selector and went through the gearbox, hence a replacement gearbox ?

 

The replacement box hasn't gone in yet, wondering if I will have problems getting the old box off.

 

Thanks

[sparky Paul]

Can't see why it should be a problem.

 

Even if the box is locked solid, you should be able to wangle it off.

[chromedome]

Sorry misread the post. Your old box not the replacement. :blush: