Crunching Into 2nd & 3rd Gear On Change Up

[Guest jtwonk]

Has anyone else had problems with selecting 2nd & 3rd gear when cold. This is on a 2000.75 TDi 115bhp with 6 speed 'box. the car has done 50,000 miles & after a few minutes driving the problem goes away. It only happens when changing up , but has been noticeably worse over the last couple of weeks when the weather has been really cold.

 

Thanks

Jonathan

[Guest rusty]

Hi Jt

 

I wouldn't describe mine as crunching but it seems a rough gear change when cold. If I hold it in the gate for a split second before selecting the higher gear it is better.

 

My passat was the same though. Same gearbox???

 

regards

 

Russell

[GSMGuy]

Sounds like the synchro on 2nd/3rd may be a bit slow spinning up when the oil is cold and thicker - check the oil level/grade. Can't see it being premature wear at that sort of mileage though. Shouldn't really get any worse as long as you are gentle with the lever when the box, and hence oil is cold..

 

Mike

[Ivor_E_Tower]

The VW 6-speed box is not the best in the world for shift quality. It doesn't seem to like being hustled between gears at the best of times. Whilst the box in my Gal is not obstructive, it is pretty "clunky" when changing gears. It's best to take it nice and easy. If you're getting clunks though, best to look at the advice/suggestions given above. Any signs of an oil leak from the box?

[Guest jtwonk]

I've checked around on other sites & this seems to be a very common problem on all VAG 6 speed 'boxes, apparently it occurs on new cars as well as high mileage. Some people have said that they have had gearbox replace or repaired under warranty but the problem still occurs when the weather is cold.

There have been some suggestions on the other sites to change the oil to fully synthetic, or use an additive. Does anyone have any experience of using either of these on a VAG 6 speed ? if so what oil/ additive was used & was it successful

 

Jonathan

 

 

:P :( :P

[Richmond]

I don't know if the box on the V6 is the same (broadly speaking) as that on the TDi, but I find mine a bit reluctant to change smoothly, especially when cold. As Ivor says, gently does it.

[Guest Andyb]

Mine also does the same went back to the ford dealer and he said he would not touch it unless it did it for him on thest whuch it did not ;)

[Jeff115]

Is'nt it good when your search gets a match on your symptoms.

 

any update on this, Jonathan?

 

I've a similar problem however mines only got 25k :rolleyes:

 

I get a clunk when going up into second and an occasional scrunch going into third. This happens only when the engine/box is warm and when revs are higher (approx. 2k) so I can avoid it.

 

However I'm anxious to get it sorted as car is approaching 3 yoa - there is a 3 year warranty on the gearbox, is'nt there? :(

 

Anyway, I'm going to refill with gear oil / check level when I can arrange it.

 

A mate has suggested ATF which would help with synchro / baluk ring wear but may invalidate warranty.

Regrds,

Jeff.

[GSMGuy]

IIRC, the box should be running atf and NOT Hypoid or traditional gear oil...

 

Mike

[Jeff115]

Hi Mike,

 

It's not an auto

 

Are you sure?

 

Must be the level so,

 

Thanks,

Jeff.

[GSMGuy]

Jeff, a lot of manual boxes run ATF nowadays, apparently it gives a smoother acton, and it is an oil after all.... The EP in gear oil stands for Extreme Pressure, an additive that gives a very high shearing and pressure resistance, but which can actuall damage some manual boxes..

 

Mike

[Guest jtwonk]

Just had the car into Ford dealer who said it might be caused by a sticky clutch (ha ha) or worn synchro on second & 3rd gear, Having a used car warranty by Daewoo believe it or not causes alsorts of problems.

I have looked on the internet at various other sites & this is a very common fault on VAG 6 speed 'boxes, with the same concern happening on almost brand new cars. Can anyone tell me if the gearbox oil is ATF & if so is it any particular type as i'm going to service the car soon & will change the gearbox oil. Also has anyone tried to use any additive that has cured or helped the problem.

 

Thanks

Jonathan

[Jeff115]

Hi Jonathan,

 

I do not think that ATF is the oil spec. per the manual and in my case I fear that replacement of the gear oil with ATF will invalidate the Ford warranty (which I think is 3 years?)

 

Otherwise i'd have no qualms about a refill with ATF as several reliable sources have recommended it.

 

Re

Just had the car into Ford dealer who said it might be caused by a sticky clutch (ha ha) or worn synchro on second & 3rd gear,

- in my case I get a clunk into second and scrunch into third ONLY on the way up though the gears.

 

I would have thought that worn synchro/baulk rings would be more apparent on the way down the gears?

 

have you actually checked that the level is correct?

Later,

Jeff.

[Guest jtwonk]

No I haven't checked the level myself ( lazyness & 4 kids) but as i'm planning on servicing the car I thought i might as well change the gearbox oil, that is why I was asking about oil type. One thing that might suggest low oil level is that I normally park my car on the drive which is quite steep with the front pointing down hill, this makes the crunching into gears , however the other day I reversed the car onto the drive & it didn't crunch at all. So my thoughts were that when the oil his hot it normally drain away from the synchro areas of 2nd gear overnight & the reason it only crunches when cold is that it takes those few minutes of driving to get the oil ( cold) to circulate around the 'box. As I have said before the change is as good as can be expected from a VAG 'box when warmed up .

Now it just seems the booster heater (or whatever that diesel heater under the car is called) isn't working oh bugger

 

 

Jonathan

[Ivor_E_Tower]

the reason it only crunches when cold is that it takes those few minutes of driving to get the oil ( cold) to circulate around the 'box.

Oil will circulate around a 'box in seconds, not minutes.