I have a mk2 16v with a strange problem with the gearbox. When selecting 5th the revs stay the same as they are in 4th, its as if the box has 2 4th's. The gear leaver goes into the 5th position and when looking in the engine bay at the gearbox it looks to be working fine. The box is a recon and was fitted by the previous owner over 4k ago. What could be the problem or is it a case of stripping the box to see what gears are there.
This sounds like the recon box has had a similar ratio of 4th and 5th gears fitted. This can happen if the box is from a 4+E type vehicle which has a 0.90 4th, but a 5th gear from a GTI box has been used as that has a ratio of 0.89.
Could be a plan. Now as your box has been recond in the past it may not be a straight forward swap depending on what code the box is, and what gears it has had fitted. It could be easy and a straight swap. If not it is still possible to fit the 0.75 5th gear. Have a read of this thread to see how it can been done.
