Passat 2nd, 3rd gear syncro wear crunch?! which oil/what to do

[passat938]

Hi guys,

my passat 130 sport has 172,000 miles on it. Everything is fantastic apart from..

if I rush 1st to 2nd gear change it drops in 2nd like there is no gear actually there and makes a crunching noise.

When going from 2nd to 3rd and dropping down from 4th to 3rd - 3rd gear sometimes doesn't want to go in, no matter how gentle you are or how much pressure you use it won't select. Double declutching usually sorts it, OR tapping the revs a bit before pressing in the clutch and tapping the gear stick into neutral for a brief second then into 3rd (as opposed to one smooth movement from 2nd to 3rd where it feels like it doesn't want to go in the right direction sometimes)

Peculiarly when i'm sat at lights if I put my clutch down and run the gears through 1-2-3-4 and in reverse like i'm exercising the gearbox it improves the situation for the next several miles. Hmmmmmm.

My dilemna.

The car cost £3000. Vw quoted me £2000 on a new gearbox today, or £150 for a gear box oil change which they said wouldn't make a bit of difference, or £500 for a strip down to replace the 2nd and 3rd syncromesh.

I'm debating the oil change, i've read so much about hypoid oil VS factory specced oil and need a definitive answer on what to use if I go down this route.

The VW mechanic said if I replace the syncros it would be worth replacing the clutch while i'm at it (original clutch still) so thats nearly £1000 of work

[martin1810]

It will probably be simpler and maybe cheaper to source a lower mileage second hand gearbox and fit that. If the synchro is going, changing the oil is a waste of time.

[passat938]

i've priced some gearbox's up and with fitting i'm looking well over £500.

So getting the oil changed for £80 first, there are times when the gearbox is flawless when its hot outside and the car has been warmed up. So the new G052 oil should help hopefully, its a lot thinner viscosity at all temps