I lost an 'off the lights race to 50mph this morning to a new Audi TT coupe, no huge suprise there, and it really wasnt by much, but I lost a huge amount of time to the bloody gear changes in the mk3, which can be described as 'naff' at best... seriously takes about 1.5secs per change and I had a job getting 3rd quickly at all! Its fine if I make a slow change, nice and smooth, not notchy at all, but the moment I want to make a 'GTI gear change' - forget it!! So what gives with this o2A gear box/linkage?! The Mk2 o2o box has a lovely feel, very precise, fast gear changes, anything I can do to sharpen it up!?
Ive been testing my gearbox all week on my drive to work since putting in Redline MT90 last weekend, and I have to say, its made the gear change pretty bloody horrible. Its more notchy than before, 1st and 3rd gear have always been a bit of a bugger to engage. 1st is nigh on impossible unless the car is almost at a standstill, 3rd is just a bit notchy, especially if trying to do it quickly. This now feels worse with the addition of Redline. It does get a bit better when war/hot, but not by much I dont know what gives, the general consensus for the 02a box seemed to be redline mt90, but I used Redline MTL on my 020 box and it was lush. Should I have used MTL?! What could be causing the naff 1st/3rd gearchanges?! Its almost like it hits a restriction as its going in (something that is moving, obviously the gears) and then it slides in
nah, MTL only for 020. 02a should have MT90 as for ytour crap changes, have you tried shifter bush rebuild as per my link? Also, try this:
I havent tried any of it yet... was hoping for an easy fix! I shall try to make headway with what you've posted then... got any pictures!? It does feel like something is not working right/aligned or even broken, seems to go from right to left ok and sits in between 3rd/4th ok, but when going over and up for 1st and up to 3rd its not very nice at all... come to think of it, 2nd aint great either.. Its not a deal breaker, but would be perfect with the gear change sorted! Cheers John
theyre not a great gearchange from what ive seen ive tinkered with a few bits on mine and got it reasonble now have you got the weight on yours ? might need the cables messing with a bit and greasing the selector up happy to discuss it on msn sometime if you want
02a's - pants. they can't be rushed. you can do what you like, but all you'd do is wreck the syncro rings in the long term.
I'll check that circlip, cheers Riley.. would that maybe cause said problems then?! I should email this to VW and ask them why on earth they would design a gearbox for use in a GTI that cant handle fast gear changes GAY
Phat is basically correct, the 02A cable shift system is 5h1te... But your car is old (no offence meant, it's younger than all mine) and the system is unlikely to have received any attention since it was installed! If you follow the suggestions the guys have come up with for sure it will feel/shift a bit better, don't be tempted to cut corners or leave things off (like the weight) though, it works best when it's 'factory fresh' If, after changing/repairing everything it's still not to your liking your could always try the MK4/02J shifter & shifter tower, it's a lot nicer. The other thing is engine mounts, I noticed when I fitted stiffer mounts the shift 'quality' seemed to improve.
i mentioned in another thread that i have these fitted pretty happy with the improvement and theyre only $20 posted http://shop.verdictmotorsports.com/product.sc?productId=110&categoryId=13
have to say that i put in a cable set up when i did my g60 conversion and it spoils the whole car. AWFUL!! Rod change in my other mk2 is old and sloppy but still better! Just about to order a mk4 02J set up. I hope its as good as people claim as 2nd to 3rd change is so slooow at the moment, hate it, horrible, rubbish, crap!! That feels better just moaning about it!
ok chaps, a bit of an update and some more advice needed - I had a good tinker over xmas using the above guide John posted, and Im pretty sure the problem is not related to gear linkage/cables. The gear stick is centralised and I had a good go adjusting the top cable which controls forward/back movement on the gearbox. If anything the difference is absolutely minimal - but it is still crunching (worse when cold, not great when warm) in almost every gear now From doing a fair bit of searching/research on here I think Ive narrowed down my possible problem - maybe the hydraulic fluid needs bleeding (its the same reservoir as the brake fluid no? the level reads halfway, but I guess it could be a possible cause) Ive also read it could be the slave cylinder attached to the box? (am I right in saying it has a bleed nipple on the back end of it pointing towards the bulkhead) Should this be my first port of call? After that, from various other posts it seems to be the common theme that the clutch could be on its way out... [:^(] Ive got receipts for the clutch last being done at 85k miles and its on 125k now, so I would like to hope it isnt that, but it all seems to be pointing in that horrible direction. GRRR! What do you guys think? I have no experience of hydraulic clutches before so I dont know if clutch failure symptoms are the same, but Im not getting any burning or slipping or anything like that, but I suppose if it isnt the clutch actually worn it might be something like the return springs?! (excuse my sparse knowledge)
sounds more like wear in the gearbox/tower or gearstick have you replaced any of the parts thats been suggested to you already
I havent changed any parts yet mr. pig... I guess I was half heartedly thinking maybe if it was the clutch it would be my excuse to stick in a VR clutch kit and a lightened flywheel.. but only an idiot wishes for a busted clutch! I'm going to buy those washers bits now, if you say they made a good difference, its worth $20 I guess... thing is, having had a good look at the tower, I cant see anything thats busted on it.. Im tempted to buy that metal selector thing from gruvenparts, but its $80.. how is hotgolf getting on with his fabricated part do you know? Im going to need to sort something out really soon as the gear change is really poor, but would rather not part with 50 for a lump of metal if I can help it
those bushes and the gruven part will deffo help it along i cant help thinking something else is badly worn, just poke n pull on everypart of the linkage and look for slop ...the gearstick parts arent expensive to replace helps if its all taken apart and cleaned up and greased too
Rightio, I've purchased those bushes, how long did they take to get to you? I'm 99% certain its nothing to do with the gearstick end, had a very good look under there, adjusted the bolt mechanism to centralise it and there is very little play in anything, circlip is present too. So as you say its probably to do with the gear selector tower, will give these a go before the gruven part... any news on the fabricated part you chaps were working on? Any chance of knocking me one up on the cheap?
