2nd Gear Crunching

**ritchie** · 27-08-2009,08:23 AM

Just back froma 650 round mile trip in my 2.0 Passat 140 Bhp, i did notice on a couple of occasions when changing down for a junction that when selecting 2nd it grinded slightly, this is even with the clutch peddle fully pressed down. No problems going up through the box, just coming down, grand if going form 3rd to 2nd at under 30mph or so, but above this and it seemed to grind slightly.
Any ideas

**the surfer** · 27-08-2009,11:45 AM

What's the mileage?

Does it do it only when it's cold or all the time?

My last car, a Mk.5 Golf 140 TDI, used to do this, but instead of it grinding coming down the gears it grinded going up the gears (1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd). The mileage was only 17k! This used to be far worse when the engine wasn't up to temp and eased off as the oil warmed up. One VW dealer told me this was normal. Another dealer told me the synchros were worn out and they stripped the gearbox and rebuilt it! It still didn't fix the problem even after it had been rebuilt with new synchros and filled with fresh oil... I got rid of it in the end.

My current Passat (at 50k now) is much smoother through the gears than the Golf, although when it's cold it's a little notchy. This seems to be a quirk of the VAG 6-speed box throughout the entire range.

I would take a guess that your 2nd gear synchro is on the way out or maybe your clutch or flywheel is playing up. I'm sure someone with more technical knowledge will come along and be more helpful.

**ritchie** · 27-08-2009,12:06 PM

seems to be only when the car is warmed up, which is leading me to opt for an oil change in the box and see does that make any difference before i shell out for any expensive work to be done.
Is there any adjustment on the clutch, having only had the car for a short while, i checked for a clutch fluid reservoir under the bonnet lastnight and couldnt find one (so i presume it is a cable opertaed clutch).
How difficult is a gearbox oil change

**martin1810** · 27-08-2009,02:16 PM

Probably second gear synchro failing. Any good gearbox specialist should be able to fix it.
Oil change can only be done by draining box and filling with exact amount of new oil. You can't top it up or check the level. If it is a clutch problem reverse will be more of a problem than the other gears.

**ritchie** · 27-08-2009,03:00 PM

Thanks for that martin, think i will get my mechanic to do an oil change and we'll take it from there, Reverse dosn't seem to be a problem so hopefully clutch and flywheel ok

gizmoy2k · 07-09-2009,09:39 PM

Hi

how old is the car, i first had this problem on my 56 plate a year ago and took it to vw and they did an oil change, they called me a few months later to say this was now an official recall but i had already had mine done, the problem dissapeared until last month then came back with avengence! Put it in last week and vw stripped the gearbox and replaced flywheel/synco as part of warranty, no cost. They now seem to admit that this is a problem with this year and model, mine has been great since
I originally posted my fault here.
https://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/s...ad.php?t=20787

**Pit Dweller** · 07-09-2009,11:01 PM

2nd gear syncro has given up. Box will need stripping to replace it.

**damabates** · 08-09-2009,03:05 PM

Originally Posted by ritchie

seems to be only when the car is warmed up, which is leading me to opt for an oil change in the box and see does that make any difference before i shell out for any expensive work to be done.
Is there any adjustment on the clutch, having only had the car for a short while, i checked for a clutch fluid reservoir under the bonnet lastnight and couldnt find one (so i presume it is a cable opertaed clutch).
How difficult is a gearbox oil change

Cold clash is a problem on most modern manual gearboxes. I did considerable development while at Rover ( as in Rover not Austin) Comes from using common sized synrcro on 1st-2nd and 3rd- 4th. It is not a fault. Rover SD1 was improved by using auto fluid (Donax 11 TF) My Passat exhibits the perfect example. Goes when warm.

**mikecb1** · 08-09-2009,05:00 PM

Damabates

Your comments are very interesting. Can you explain a bit more about "cold clash", and what the symptoms are? I ask because the gearchange on my 2.0Tdi was notchy, and there was some kickback through the stick when changing up, but this was only really noticeable when the car was cold. It was just as if the clutch was not fully depressed. When fully warmed up the effect was less noticeable. At my last service I complained, but with the car warm the dealer couldn't find a fault. However he kept the car in overnight, and checked again when cold. He then agreed there was a problem, and replaced the gearbox oil and lubricated the gear linkage. Unfortunately I was not able to find out the details of the change i.e. what oil was used. Whatever they did helped a lot, and the gearchange is now much better when cold. The work was all done under warranty.

Mike

'56 2.0 TDi Sport 170 28kmiles

**dazzer07** · 08-09-2009,07:10 PM

Originally Posted by ritchie

seems to be only when the car is warmed up, which is leading me to opt for an oil change in the box and see does that make any difference before i shell out for any expensive work to be done.
Is there any adjustment on the clutch, having only had the car for a short while, i checked for a clutch fluid reservoir under the bonnet lastnight and couldnt find one (so i presume it is a cable opertaed clutch).
How difficult is a gearbox oil change

common problem mine had to have a new gearbox becouse of the same thing hope you still have warranty