What's up with my gearbox and what £ to fix?

[fucthest8]

Hello mechanically minded people of this fine community.

I'll try and keep it brief. About a year ago, gearbox stopped springing back to central position, everything still worked though. This was after a couple of weeks of not using it (airport parking). Then most recently it's been a pig to get in first or second after I've been driving it for a while - say an hour or so. Short journeys no worries. Pumping the clutch seemed to help.

Now I have a new car, haven't driven the old one for a couple of weeks. Went to take it for a short spin prior to listing it for sale, now I can barely get it into reverse without a real physical struggle and first and second are a total bastard. Reverse is on that same side iyswim.

Clutch was done back in October.

Suggestions as to what might be the problem and vague ideas of cost please. Trying to work out if I just sell it for spares or what. Engine is still sounds as fuck (1.9 tdi Skoda, 2007) starts first time every time.

 

[BoatieBird]

Does the gearbox oil need topping up/changing?

 

[kalidarkone]

A transmission fluid or gearbox oil issue?
I'm talking off the top of my head....but also vaguely remember having an issue with my gears- not as pronounced as yours by the sound of it- but it need some fluid/ oil replacing.

 

[kalidarkone]

Does the gearbox oil need topping up/changing?

Said so much more succinctly then me!

 

[WouldBe]

If you'd not had the clutch changed I'd have said clutch problem particularly with reverse. First/second could be a synchro problem which means stripping the gearbox which is going to cost.

 

[kalidarkone]

If you'd not had the clutch changed I'd have said clutch problem particularly with reverse. First/second could be a synchro problem which means stripping the gearbox which is going to cost.

The clutch was done in October.....that's what he said.....

 

[A380]

Fill it full of sawdust and sell it.


Actually that was for another gearbox problem...

 

[WouldBe]

The clutch was done in October.....that's what he said.....

That's what I said.

 

[StoneRoad]

Could also be a problem with whatever that model uses as a gear selector plate / gate.

But almost anything to do with a gearbox is a PITA and therefore expensive.

 

[Sasaferrato]

Fill it full of sawdust and sell it.


Actually that was for another gearbox problem...

You bad bad man! Tights work as well.

 

[not henry]

If you are pumping the clutch, then make sure the clutch fluid is topped up. There will be a reservoir in the engine bay. It is a dot fluid and is the Same as brake fluid

 

[The39thStep]

I had a problem with my old BMW getting it into gear , particularly reverse, which got increasingly worse. It turned out to be a leaking clutch cylinder

 

[kalidarkone]

That's what I said.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

might be worth seeing if there's an owners forum for that make / model - some varieties of car have common problems.

if it won't go in to first / reverse from stationary, then it sounds more drastic than the synchro being tired, and if it gets worse when it's been running for a while that suggests it may be an oil related thing.

the synchro on my previous car (1993 peugeot) was a bit unpredictable so i tended to assume it wouldn't, but it didn't really bother me. (I could occasionally do a gear change without using the clutch, but only if i didn't think about it too much.)

on the other paw it could be something as simple as a bit of linkage isn't doing what it should.

 

[WouldBe]

If you are pumping the clutch, then make sure the clutch fluid is topped up. There will be a reservoir in the engine bay. It is a dot fluid and is the Same as brake fluid

Or the clutch needs adjusting.

 

[WouldBe]

Could also be a problem with whatever that model uses as a gear selector plate / gate.

But almost anything to do with a gearbox is a PITA and therefore expensive.

I changed a synchro in my car. Cost £48 for a new synchro but that was in the early 80's

 

[T & P]

I can offer no advice and apologise for this brief derail, but on this subject I feel like I should pay homage to my work’s Suzuki Carry van. We’ve had it for 19 years now and has been driven regularly by four of us, and occasionally by probably 5-6 other employees throughout- some of which aren’t very good drivers.

The gearbox started showing signs of severe wear about eight years ago, and sometimes it takes up to three attempts to engage the reverse gear, but the little bastard just soldiers on. It literally hasn’t had a single mechanical breakdown in 19 years. Astonishing engineering

 

[weltweit]

Definitely worth taking it to a garage. Could be something simple and or could be something that might not cost you too much.

If you don't ask you don't get!

 

[weltweit]

For example, the mechanical linkage between your gearstick and the gearbox is quite complicated and if any of it has come loose it may be causing the symptoms you are experiencing yet a quick tightening of the bolts involved could fix it for perhaps a tenners worth of cost.

 

[DownwardDog]

Need to know what car it is. As the clutch has been done it's probably shift cables/linkage (fixable) or selector forks (burn it out in the woods, say it was nicked and claim insurance).

 

[fucthest8]

... 1.9 tdi Skoda, 2007

Octavia, Elegance in answer to DownwardDog

So, I should fill it with sawdust, wrap it in tights, check the clutch fluid, do the oil, tighten all the linkage bolts, do the synchromesh, burn it in the woods.

So, spares then yeah?

 

[StoneRoad]

Nah, take it to a garage, in case it's fixable, then sell it on.

 

[8ball]

Octavia, Elegance in answer to DownwardDog

So, I should fill it with sawdust, wrap it in tights, check the clutch fluid, do the oil, tighten all the linkage bolts, do the synchromesh, burn it in the woods.

So, spares then yeah?

I assume soaking it in vinegar hasn’t helped.

 

[spitfire]

Have you tried turning it off and on again?

 

[StoneRoad]

Have you tried turning it off and on again?

or threaten it with a very large lump hammer !

 

[spitfire]

or threaten it with a very large lump hammer !

If in doubt hit it with a hammer.

Always a good strategy.

 

[bellaozzydog]

Spray it with WD40, hit it with a hammer and consider cable ties

 

[Duncan2]

i recently bought an astra for cheap,scrap value in fact,and it was great until i had a long journey to make with aged parent on board on Christmas Eve.Had to be towed back from Cambridge .The gearbox final drive had given up.I like the car and the novelty of cycling had faded quite a bit after a year or so.Changing a gearbox on some cars isnt necessarily much more of a PITA than replacing a clutch which is eighty per cent the same job.So i got a gearbox with a warranty from breaker-yard and got a free-lance mechanic, (charges thirty pounds per hour not one hundred) to fit the box.He put on a clutch with the box and the whole thing came in at less than five hundred.
in my own case there was no doubt at all that gearbox was finished because apart from the racket it stunk of hot transmission fluid.

 

[not-bono-ever]

the focus and its kin have a habit of snapping the spring that returns the gearstick to the neutral position, so it goes all slack. its a half hour job and a scores worth of ford bits. the other symptions suggest its linkage or something tho

 

[DownwardDog]

Octavia, Elegance in answer to DownwardDog

So, I should fill it with sawdust, wrap it in tights, check the clutch fluid, do the oil, tighten all the linkage bolts, do the synchromesh, burn it in the woods.

So, spares then yeah?

Mk.4 Golf platform with cable actuated linkage. First step is take the centre console out and have a look at how the mechanism moves when you (attempt to) change gear. See if it is sloppy or broken.