Gearbox problems please help

[alanscottgraham]

Hi, just limped home with some sort of gearbox problem. I was driving along in 5th on motorway and hit traffic so needed to slow down, I could not change gear. It seemed stuck in gear. Had to come to standstill and then it released letting me go back to first, gears really hard to change now, all sorts of rattling coming from gearbox area.
it will go up gears sort of ok if I change quick but won't go back down really, It won't select any so need to stop and start again from first. It also jumped out of 5th a few times on way back but was ok if I held it in place firmly. Clutch feels spongy. Sounds a bit whiney when driving.
Any ideas anyone.

It's a passat b6 1.9 tdi with 180k on it but runs perfectly till now.....
Alan.

[Cave_Dweller]

When was the last time you checked your gearbox oil? Same symptoms as an old V reg Bora 2.0l petrol I had. It was hard to change gear, clutch started to feel funny and a weird high pitched whine like a rally cars gearbox...safe to say the gearbox soon went bang. The diff disintegrated smashing a hole in the casing throwing shrapnel into the rest of the box. Wasn't a cheap fix.

Is it manual or auto?

First port of call would be to empty your gearbox of any oil. I'm not sure if that engine has a separate sump for the gearbox oil but if it does take it off. Check for metal shavings when the oil is emptying because they should have been caught by magnets. Excessive metal shavings could mean a lot of wear, a few is normal due to the gears mashing together when changing but if your oil is full of them then it's time for a new box. Someone might come along and say different though. Since my Bora incident I change my gearbox oil on every service now lol.

If you don't feel happy trying that then take it to a garage as close as you can and maybe even try to get it taken on a trailer. Yes it might cost more but even driving a mile could be the difference between a big repair bill or a not so big one if something was to happen.

I could be completely wrong but just my 2p worth

Paul.

[alanscottgraham]

When was the last time you checked your gearbox oil? Same symptoms as an old V reg Bora 2.0l petrol I had. It was hard to change gear, clutch started to feel funny and a weird high pitched whine like a rally cars gearbox...safe to say the gearbox soon went bang. The diff disintegrated smashing a hole in the casing throwing shrapnel into the rest of the box. Wasn't a cheap fix.

Is it manual or auto?

First port of call would be to empty your gearbox of any oil. I'm not sure if that engine has a separate sump for the gearbox oil but if it does take it off. Check for metal shavings when the oil is emptying because they should have been caught by magnets. Excessive metal shavings could mean a lot of wear, a few is normal due to the gears mashing together when changing but if your oil is full of them then it's time for a new box. Someone might come along and say different though. Since my Bora incident I change my gearbox oil on every service now lol.

If you don't feel happy trying that then take it to a garage as close as you can and maybe even try to get it taken on a trailer. Yes it might cost more but even driving a mile could be the difference between a big repair bill or a not so big one if something was to happen.

I could be completely wrong but just my 2p worth

Paul.

Thanks Paul, it's a manual. Must be honest I am not aware of gearbox being changed in my two years of ownership.

Did yours make much noise, in idle my noise seems to come and go, a quite high pitched noise. yes it does whine like a rally car.

[Cave_Dweller]

To start with no it didn't make a lot of noise. I was driving home from Inverness to Aviemore which is only about 30miles and it sounded fine when I left Inveness. When I got half way it started whining really loud but I just wanted to get home so I carried on. Got home ok but I went to head out later that night and within 5mintues the diff shattered and sent bits flying around the gearbox. It would rev in every gear and not even move.

I'm not saying yours is going to do it, but i'd certainly get it checked out but that's just from my experience.

[DMitch16]

Sounds terminal as Cave Dweller states. If you are lucky and there's not too much internal damage a good shop can rebuild the box which would be one of the cheaper options along with exchanging for a reconditioned or lower mileage second hand unit. A new box is going to be very pricy and possibly not worth the money at your mileage (depending on how long you think the car will last or how long you'll want to throw more money in for.

I agree also on the drive it and it will go bang synopsis so I'd get it looked at pronto.

[alanscottgraham]

ok, update.
decided to drive it to garage early this morning. went in reverse to get off drive, cluncked and had to rev high to move it then it was stuck in reverse gear. turned it off and came out with a clunk drove off 1st no second, stopped again and then it drove normaly all the way to garage,no rattle/noise, nothing but a bit of a whine in 5th.. so weird. i tried to explain to the mechanic that it was bad but now drivable and wasnt making it up, he decided to check gearbox oil to begin with and let me know what he finds in it, he has just phoned and it has hardly any oil in it at all ?? so he's topped it up and ill give it a go?
as i said it has no history of ever being changed but it must have gone somewhere surley? he has mentioned when he had it for an mot that the gears are really stiff but i guess i have got used to it.
could it be that simple?

[vespa]

ANECDOTE HERE....

When I got my first car, a Ford Anglia deluxe heap, I had a whiny hard to change gearbox. Being keen I checked the oil level and it was empty. I bought oil for it at 3/9d a pint (x4 about 18p or 72p for 4, in new money and bear in mind that £5 was a weeks wage) and filled it up. It ran really smooth and quiet after that for about 50 miles when it went noisy again. There was just enough oil to "wet" the cogs in the bottom of the box as most had been spewed out through the rear seal. I was hard up for cash so it got one more pint of oil and that was it. I went to Rhyl and back in it (about 140 miles) and made several other journeys again without topping it up. To be fair it never let me down.
I do hope that your box has not suffered too much and the refill sorts out the noise and gear changes. Get it fully checked as the oil is going somewhere.

[Teflon]

ANECDOTE HERE....

When I got my first car, a Ford Anglia deluxe heap, I had a whiny hard to change gearbox. Being keen I checked the oil level and it was empty. I bought oil for it at 3/9d a pint (x4 about 18p or 72p for 4, in new money and bear in mind that £5 was a weeks wage) and filled it up. It ran really smooth and quiet after that for about 50 miles when it went noisy again. There was just enough oil to "wet" the cogs in the bottom of the box as most had been spewed out through the rear seal. I was hard up for cash so it got one more pint of oil and that was it. I went to Rhyl and back in it (about 140 miles) and made several other journeys again without topping it up. To be fair it never let me down.
I do hope that your box has not suffered too much and the refill sorts out the noise and gear changes. Get it fully checked as the oil is going somewhere.

You should 'a put some STP in with the oil. It would have given maybe an extra 10 miles. I always had a half open can in the corner of the garage. Still have some EP80 on the shelf as well, it must be 35 years old.