1st AND REVERSE STICKING!!

[ALAN820269]

Hey Guys. I would appreciate any ideas with regards to the following: In July 2009 I bought a 2006 Passat 2.0 tdi sport (140). I noticed that 1st and reverse gears were difficult to engage now and again. All others were fine. At Xmas though one of the gear linkage cables frayed so badly the cable would not insert back into the gearbox, leaving me unable to select any gears and the smell of burning clutch!! A visit to the dealership resulted in 2 new linkage cables, a new clutch, free-ing of the gears and the gear oil being changed. Whilst the car is now up and running again I seem to be back to square 1 as 1st and reverse are sticky again. I would take the car back to the dealership but the garage that "fixed" my car is nearer my in-laws - some 400 miles away! If anyone out there has any input or similar experience I would be grateful to hear from you. Thanks!! :1zhelp:

[Quatrelle]

Sounds expensive. Despite the distance I'd take it back and suggest they fix it properly this time.

[martin1810]

First and reverse problems usually mean a faulty clutch. If they changed the clutch and the flywheel it suggests that you have a gearbox fault. Did they really change both cables and the complete clutch assembly. Clutch assembly is £700 to £1200 fitted depending on who does it.

[Stuart W]

Alan, have a read of this thread and in particular the post by Simon Hedges near the end:

"I have just had exactly the same problem fixed on my 55 Passat TDI 140 by my local VW dealer after 10 months of head scratching. It turned out to be the bearing on the end of the input shaft in the gearbox causing float on the shaft. They replaced the bearing and the end casing of the gearbox and the problem is fixed. The new part was different than the original so maybe VW found a problem. They replaced the clutch, slave and master cylinders and flywheel before they found this."

http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=88523

It would also be interesting to read Martin's views on what Simon said ;)

Incidentally, my own one-off instance of not being able to select gear hasn't recurred (or at least it hasn't been so obvious) and I don't think the other problem of the clutch biting suddenly rather than progressively is quite so obvious now either - perhaps the really cold weather at that time was a factor? As I said then the problem seemed more obvious when the car was cold.

[ALAN820269]

Many thanks for your input guys. Simon's symptoms sounds uncannily like mine. I'll check with my own mechanic to see if he could check this before I go back to dealership. (Incidentally, he's a Merc specialist) I'll post with an update as soon as possible. Many thanks again!!

[martin1810]

The input shaft is supported by bearings at each end. If either of these became very worn you would get excessive end float of the shaft. This would mean that the input and output shafts no longer aligned properly so gear selection might be difficult. BUT I would have expected this to affect most gears. You can't check this without taking the gearbox off and giving the input shaft a good push & pull. End float should be so small it is virtually undetectable. Hope this helps.

[ronan g]

clutch cable adjustment needed

[ALAN820269]

The input shaft is supported by bearings at each end. If either of these became very worn you would get excessive end float of the shaft. This would mean that the input and output shafts no longer aligned properly so gear selection might be difficult. BUT I would have expected this to affect most gears. You can't check this without taking the gearbox off and giving the input shaft a good push & pull. End float should be so small it is virtually undetectable. Hope this helps.
Thanks for your help Martin. Definitely got a new clutch and the 2 cables look brand new. One of the old ones was badly frayed, probably from all the previous forcing into these 2 gears. Got charged £770 for the whole lot. It's certainly just 1st and reverse that give problems so that would maybe eliminate shaft bearings? The car comes out of 1st gear much much easier if I'm moving even slightly forward. Problem seems worse when car is completely stationary. I don't know too much about the workings of a car but could the synchro seize in any way as to just affect these gears?

[ronan g]

synchros damaged perhaps, i remember having a mk 3 diesel golf93 and the prob got worse and not better. 2 and 3 gears were affected, always seems to be in pairs! crunching to change up and down. a fendt vario tractor made ***** of it when he drove over my car with a slurry tanker back in july 04. there was no possible way in checking it out after that, the whole car was crumpleb up tin foil. you'll need to bring it to a biest honourable mechanic martin.

[martin1810]

Alan...If I had to take a guess I would say that the selector mechanism inside the gearbox is faulty. Each gear has it's own synchro so it is not likely that two different ones have failed. It looks as if you really have an internal gearbox fault. The two cables should be adjusted after fitting. So perhaps you should get someone to check the adjustment before considering a gearbox fault.

[ALAN820269]

Latest news guys. VW customer care advised me to get diagnosis at my local VW dealer. Verdict? Faulty clutch release bearing. Hull VW fitted clutch but didn't replace bearing!! Gonna cost £470 to get job done at dealership. Hmmm, let me think!! Nah, don't think so. By the way, VW customer care offered to pay 10% of the £470. Very generous!! Considering it was one of their "approved" garages that did the original "repair" I would have thought I should only have to make a token payment? I'm obviously living in cloud cuckoo land! There's plenty of decent non dealership garages up in Aberdeen who will do a better job at half the price. By the way, VW customer care? Complete waste of time. You'd be as well writing to the tooth fairy!!

[martin1810]

It is insane to change a clutch and DMF and reuse the original release bearing.

[ALAN820269]

Even if the original bearing was ok, they should still have replaced it. Shoddy workmanship, to say the least. It's the sort of service you'd expect from dodgy back street garage, not a major dealership. I'm getting on to Trading Standards to see if they can do anything. Not getting my hopes up though. I'll post with an update if and when I get one.

[ALAN820269]

Hot off the press guys! Credit where credit's due. General Manager at Hull VW has very kindly offered to fit bearing F.O.C. He's been extremely courteous and helpful. Wish I'd gone straight to him in the first place. He's a credit to his company (JCT600). All's well that ends well!! ( Fingers crossed that a new bearing cures my troubles!!)