B6 Gearbox issue - cannot select 2nd - becoming dangerous

[Bybuys]

Hi All
I am new to this forum but have been onl loads of others over the years and find they are a brilliant source of help and information so here I am again hoping someone can give a bit of advice. I have had my 2005 B6 passat since new and it has been a great car and owes me nothing. It has covered 140K and been services by a personal VW mechanic friend so has been well looked after. When approaching a roundabout recently I slipped it down into 2nd and moved on to the roundabout at a safe distance only to find 2nd hadn't engaged and I was freewheeling into the traffic and very nearly had an accident. Over the following few days I found that I could change up from 1st to 2nd without problem unless I was accelerating hard when it just wouldn't go in. Similarly, at a slow trundle it would take 2nd from 3rd but if I remotely had and speed it simply wouldn't go in. My VW guy looked at it and felt it wasn't worth throwing a lot of money at it as stripping the box down would be time consuming and quite expensive for new parts so we agreed I would get a box from a breakers. I found exactly the right box from a 2008 passat which had done 89K and my mate put it in. I asked him to do the clutch if needed but he didn't as he said it was in good condition and still had another 50k at least in it and of course he could change it in an 70 minutes if it failed. Both he and I test drove it when done and whilst it was a bit better it didn't feel quite right to me. It didn't just slide in and it felt as if it wasn't fully home, as it has always been when it was fine. Anyway, I was giving it to my son so when he came to collect and I took him out in to find it had exactly the same problem as I have described and again, only with 2nd. My mate says he personally has not know a B6 box fail in this way and the chance of buying one with the exact same problem is extremely remote so... it has to be something else.. Don't think for a second that my mate doesn't know what he is doing..he's been a fully qualified VW mechanic for about 20 years and has done my servicing, cam belt etc etc for 140k without problem. He is going to run it past others tomorrow but has anyone got any bright ideas as to what is going wrong.

[DMitch16]

The fact that you've sourced a replacement box and for now ruling out that it may have the same issue which defies most odds, you are left with the mechanics of the selection from your gearstick through to the selector mechanism. Did the replacement box come with it's own selector and slave cylinder / release bearing etc. or did they have to be swapped over to the replacement box? Anything that did not come with the replacement box is a suspect and initially I would look at the cables from the gear shift to the gearbox selector as it would be my first hunch and something which my other halfs Suzuki has a problem with - all gears fine except 2 which is awkward (and I've had the box apart so know all the gears, syncro rings, bearings and selector forks are fine).

A lot of manual VW gear selector cables can be adjusted.

How to adjust your VW and Audi manual shifter cables | VW TDI forum, Audi, Porsche, and Chevy Cruze diesel forum

Hope this helps.

[UMEL]

The fact that you've sourced a replacement box and for now ruling out that it may have the same issue which defies most odds, you are left with the mechanics of the selection from your gearstick through to the selector mechanism. Did the replacement box come with it's own selector and slave cylinder / release bearing etc. or did they have to be swapped over to the replacement box? Anything that did not come with the replacement box is a suspect and initially I would look at the cables from the gear shift to the gearbox selector as it would be my first hunch and something which my other halfs Suzuki has a problem with - all gears fine except 2 which is awkward (and I've had the box apart so know all the gears, syncro rings, bearings and selector forks are fine).

A lot of manual VW gear selector cables can be adjusted.

How to adjust your VW and Audi manual shifter cables | VW TDI forum, Audi, Porsche, and Chevy Cruze diesel forum

Hope this helps.

Ref the Suzuki...which model...not by chance the last, now defunct, Grand Vitara with the **** about face Renault engine. Cos I had one and that 2/3 hard change was a know fault. I had mine replaced by Suzuki but still had to pay half the costs...bstards.

[Bybuys]

Hi Mad Mitch
Many thanks for coming back on this and I think you may have hit the nail on the head. My son is also fortunate enough to know a VW mechanic and they took it for another test drive on a 'kill or cure mission'! He gave it a ragging and had the same 2nd gear problem and when he examined it found that the cable that operated 2nd 4th and 6th had come out of the sheathing. He said he had never ever seen this problem with a B6 gearbox so it seems unusual. Not sure what exactly the 'cable' consists of as it is £90 or thereabouts and is now on order and will take a couple of hours to fit. Hopefully will be done in the next 5-7 days and will report back on whether it has resolved the issue. Just have to find out now whether my 'old' gearbox, which may have been fine, has been scrapped. Many thanks again for coming back to me.

[DMitch16]

Glad you seem to be getting somewhere.

The Suzuki I referred to was the little Splash model with a 5 speed Aisin type gearbox. First motion shaft bearing cage had disintegrated (these boxes have to have a fluid change every 3 years - it had been 5 years and the transmission oil was chocolate brown!) and all the spaced bearings ended up on one side of the race. Terrible noise and lucky it was recessed in the bell housing - anywhere else and it would have exploded spectacularly I'm sure. Whipped off the box, split it, removed the gears as a unit, changed the bearing, cleaned, reassembled, renewed gear oil and now quiet as a mouse! Cost apart from my time £25 for bearing and £15 for new oil.

[rowdy-999]

Hi Mad Mitch
Many thanks for coming back on this and I think you may have hit the nail on the head. My son is also fortunate enough to know a VW mechanic and they took it for another test drive on a 'kill or cure mission'! He gave it a ragging and had the same 2nd gear problem and when he examined it found that the cable that operated 2nd 4th and 6th had come out of the sheathing. He said he had never ever seen this problem with a B6 gearbox so it seems unusual. Not sure what exactly the 'cable' consists of as it is £90 or thereabouts and is now on order and will take a couple of hours to fit. Hopefully will be done in the next 5-7 days and will report back on whether it has resolved the issue. Just have to find out now whether my 'old' gearbox, which may have been fine, has been scrapped. Many thanks again for coming back to me.

Glad its getting sorted.
Out of interest is it a 1.9 5 speed? How did the gear stick feel without the engine running?

[Bybuys]

Good news..it's sorted. It was the cable which had somehow come out of its sheath. I cannot explain further as I have actually seen it but again, both VW mechanics have never seen this failure previously which, considering the B6 was released around 2005 is a surprise and I guess I am just lucky!! In reply to Rowdy 99 the gearbox was a 6 speed manual. When trying to select second at any sort of speed it would feel like it might be going into gear but it felt as if I was trying to force the gear lever again a spring tension or as if there was something in the way which stopped it engaging and then it would just pop back into the neutral position. Hope this helps. Thanks to all for reading and for feedback.

[Gazwould]

Excellent , rare for a B6 manual box to fail , not so the engine...

Treat it to some fresh gearbox oil .

[DMitch16]

Excellent , rare for a B6 manual box to fail , not so the engine...

Treat it to some fresh gearbox oil .

Anyone getting a used replacement gearbox with 80k+ on it as in this case would be silly not to change the oil methinks.

[Gazwould]

I suppose it's the usual bull of a 'life fliuid' ?