The dreaded 2nd gear crunch

[JOE19TOURAN]

Ez all. My 2006 1.9tdi has started to crunch going from 1st to 2nd 😢 It only happens when the car has been running for a while(30+ min journey) not cold or shorter trips.
After reading this is a common problem with these boxes what would be my next step? Is its imminent death soon or could it be a change of fluid fix? Obviously it would be silly to get an old box that would just go again? New boxes from a dealer are out of my league. 😢😢😢

[WillUK]

mine does it as well. if i slowly go into the 2nd gear then its all good. Bottom line is 2nd gear syncro needs replacing, or second hand gearbox. Dont waste money on fluid changes.

[Crasher]

Depending on the box series, changing to Red Line MT90 can have an amazing affect on a worn synchro cone, it is something I have been doing and had excellent results from for 30 years, initially with MTL.

[JOE19TOURAN]

Thanks fellas.
My box is a GQN. How much fluid does it need for replacing? I haven't got the tools for this, so I'd be getting my local mechanic to do this, I'll buy the oil tho.

[WillUK]

2.1L for GQN.

[Crasher]

And don’t laugh because I know it makes no sense, adding gearbox Slick 50 works wonders. A few years ago I had a modified TT from a competitor turn up as he was going nuts trying to stop the 02M crunching into second and he did this using Red Line MT-90 Manual Transmission Synth Gearbox Oil MT | eBay (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Red-Line-MT-90-Manual-Transmission-Synth-Gearbox-Oil-MT-/140890096157?hash=item20cdb4421d) and Slick 50 as he “ had nothing to lose”...... he was incredulous with disbelief when it worked.

as an interesting aside, Red Line are bringing out a ZDDP additive which could be useful in flat tappet and chain drive cam engines, as long as the oil consumption is very low and by that I mean virtually nil.

[WillUK]

Well if it works, why not. I've changed mine 02S with genuine fluid and made no difference. Fluid came out black, like engine oil. My 2nd gear only crunches if i go into it fast.36065

[Crasher]

The only one I remember it spectacularly failing on was an odd one. A customer bought a 10k mile 1993 Golf cabrio about 10 years ago as an investment. Even at this mileage the 020 was crunching into 2nd when cold and we did the usual and it got a lot better. A year or so later he realised it was getting in his way and we brokered it to another customer in Ireland and then did loads of subtle mods to it and it went over there but within a short time 2nd was so bad it had to come back and have the box rebuilt. My rebuild chap said it looked as if the gear was badly made from new as a new cone still sat too tight.

[JOE19TOURAN]

Thanks again fellas 👊

[JOE19TOURAN]

Would it be best to get a VW dealer or specialist to do this? Or would they laugh and suggest a new box/rebuild? Obvs I'll need a few bottles of the Mt 90 and is the slick essential as well?

[Crasher]

You need three MT90’s due to their odd 0.946 Litre sizing as the Slick 50 doesn't make up the difference. I poor a bottle into a pump dispenser, add the Slick 50, give it a shake, rinse the bottle out with some oil and pump it in, then add the rest of the oil to the bottle to make sure the Slick is washed out. It is important to drive the car quite soon or at least run the engine in gear on the lift for 15 minutes. It takes around two days to make a difference.