Polo woes (gearbox whine, advice would be appreciated)

[2MB]

Can I just start by saying that Volkswagens are shit. This perception of supreme reliability that the public steadfastly continue to believe is the result of very effective advertising and, I suspect, undercover gobshites in pubs paid by VAG to spread good word about them. In my experience the 3 I've owned have been by far the least reliable cars I've had, and I've had some right heaps.

 

Anyway, moaning isn't going to alter the fact that my girlfriend's car (chosen because she likes green things and the insurance was bearable for a new driver) has developed a proper nasty gearbox whine. Symptoms:

Sounds like a straight cut Mini in 1st, 2nd and 3rd. 4th is ok, 5th has disappeared

Some difficulty selecting gears at a standstill/slow speed

Tries to run on (like an auto in drive) in neutral, this stops if you depress the clutch

Fucking stinks of burning gear oil

Even less sprightly than before, suggesting bearing failure

 

Now, I think these symptoms shout borked gearbox pretty loudly, but is there any possibility that the clutch release bearing could be causing all these issues?

TIA

 

(ps to add insult to injury it looks like the only way to avoid dry bumming by my insurance company is to buy another of these heaps, which is excellent)

 

[dave21478]

Sounds like the box is failing internally to me.

 

How is the oil level?

[Uncle Jimmy]

In short- no. That's normally a mild rumble which stops when you put the clutch in. I think plain old neglect is the cause, no doubt the gbox oil has never been changed or allowed to run low.

VW are dull but OK, certainly nothing to get excited over.

[fordperv]

It's showing it's displeasure that it hasn't been treated to a pineapple

[spike60]

What engine is it? I had a 1.9D and it developed a ticking on the overrun in 5th, I got a box for £75 + post +vat, pretty easy to fit, a mornings work. . Parcelforce were not amused when the seller sent the gearbox by regular mail though!

[Taff]

goosed g/box mate.

 

good used one should be less than £100 sheets, for added amusement make the g/f fit it

[2MB]

Sorry, should have said, its a 1.4 petrol. There was evidence of oil weeping from the box but I checked the level and it wasn't massively under. Put some more in but stable door, horse etc. I have seen some gearboxes around the £100 mark, but I need to weigh up fitting an unknown box vs just fucking the car off for a bit more than bridge money and getting another polo: there isn't much in it money wise. I do like the suggestion of getting her to fit it.... I guess the box can be got out without dropping the engine?

Thanks for reassuring me it is indeed goosed

[Bren]

If the box is borked (sounds like it) things may be getting so hot that that clutch release bearing is starting to melt - the plastic part of it anyway.

 

You will see when everything is stripped down.

[spike60]

Box comes off the 1.9 easily with engine in so the 1.4 should be fine. Box pretty light, if a little heavy for Parcelforce.

[Stanky]

Yeah as others have said, a 2nd hand 'box should be under £100 delivered and you can do a full oil change on the bench before fitting it for added peace of mind. I got one done on a Mk3 golf and it was only £120 labour so can't* be that much of a bastard of a job on a Polo.

 

Do the clutch while you are at it, its a doddle to do once the box is off, especially if this one looks anything less than brand new. In the unlikely event this one is brand new, just return the clutch kit to whichever reputable company you bought it from.

 

When my gearbox showed up via courier, it had slopped most of its oil out in transit and the packaging, courier and presumably everything in the back of their van was covered in stinky, old gearbox oil. He looked somewhat displeased about this when he dropped it off.

[2MB]

Can I ask where you sourced a s/h box for that price from? Having trouble finding one on ebay that isn't a lot more money. Best go through breakers?

[spike60]

I Googled it, came up with a Kent breaker with website. You'll probably need the 3 letter engine code to be sure you get the right box.

[Stanky]

Yes it was a breaker, I *think* it was these guys, but it was about 6 years ago now so my memory is a bit hazy:

 

http://www.stevensvwspares.com/

 

but it could have been these people:

 

http://centralmotorssalvage.co.uk/

 

I am not associated with either, so pay your money and take your choice. Mine was £75 delivered but turned out to be a slightly different code so had shorter final drive. Still fitted, but took the top speed down to about 105mph as it ran out of revs. Still, it improved acceleration quite a bit. worth checking the code on the one you remove, from memory it is 3 letters stamped on the casing somewhere, I'll look in my HBOL tomorrow which will tell me exactly where to look.

 

*edit* - yeah get engine code too, that will help a lot. I'd lean towards it being AEX (1.4 8v 60bhp), if its the 16v one just bin it off, it'll only explode in the long run.

[Parky]

Didn't a load of these boxes have some issue with rivets breaking off the final drive and chewing up the internals?

[spike60]

Didn't a load of these boxes have some issue with rivets breaking off the final drive and chewing up the internals?

Think they were a bit later, saw an ad on Ebay offering to replace rivets with allen bolts before they fell out

[Vince70]

I had the same thing happen on a golf mk1 GTI Cabriolet in the end the whine got worse and I had problems engaging gears.

 

Mine needed a second hand box but it shouldn't cost much, in my case I bought a high mileage mk2 GTI for £150 (it ran better than my low mileage expensive cabriolet) and the box out of that fitted a treat.

 

I didn't have the time or inclination or skill to fit it myself but I believe it was only about £70 to a guy down the road who took my one out of the scrap car and fitted it in my cabriolet and refitted the crap one in the scrap motor to keep it drivable and in one piece.

[barefoot]

I concur, replacement box in my Scirocco. Chap asked me if I wanted the same 'Penny Lancaster' box or if I wanted one with shorter legs, apparently they will all* fit perfectly.

[Asimo]

It's a nice colour, well worth fixing.

[Cavcraft]

Can I just start by saying that Volkswagens are shit. This perception of supreme reliability that the public steadfastly continue to believe is the result of very effective advertising and, I suspect, undercover gobshites in pubs paid by VAG to spread good word about them. In my experience the 3 I've owned have been by far the least reliable cars I've had, and I've had some right heaps.

 

 

 

Hallelujah.

[Sigmund Fraud]

TADTS, I'm afraid. Second hand box is the only solution. Buy carefully as the replacement box may not be much better than the existing one.

 

Keep a very close eye on gear oil levels in the future. It's what seems to kill most of them, combined with VW's idiotic "sealed for life" policy.

[2MB]

It's looking like a box swap is the best option, it's just a worry that the replacement will be no better. Then again a replacement car could be a world of shit as well. Thanks for all the advice, i'll get underneath and find the code letters when this pissing rain slows down a bit

[Pillock]

Didn't a load of these boxes have some issue with rivets breaking off the final drive and chewing up the internals?

 

Later boxes - 020 in Mk3 Golf as example, the one with the release bearing on the wrong (sensible) end.

They chew up the internals, and as a bonus the internals become external when it punches a hole in the casing.

 

That manifests itself as a whirring noise at low speed to start with, quietens down as you go into second. Sounds a bit like rubbing something on your bike tyre, if that makes sense. No issues selecting gears though.

[4wheeledstool]

It's looking like a box swap is the best option, it's just a worry that the replacement will be no better. Then again a replacement car could be a world of shit as well. Thanks for all the advice, i'll get underneath and find the code letters when this pissing rain slows down a bit

Gearbox code should be on the top of the bell housing probably hiding under the stat housing IIRC.

[Barry Cade]

Later boxes - 020 in Mk3 Golf as example, the one with the release bearing on the wrong (sensible) end.

They chew up the internals, and as a bonus the internals become external when it punches a hole in the casing.

 

That manifests itself as a whirring noise at low speed to start with, quietens down as you go into second. Sounds a bit like rubbing something on your bike tyre, if that makes sense. No issues selecting gears though.

Not always- the 020 DWW bix in THAT 1.4 Golf just started to slip its clutch after 5 or 6 miles. Hole in the bellhousing due to a rivet escaping.Drove perfectly otherwise. Older Polo box diff bearings would collapse,causing the diff to tilt and chew everything up. Bang a Montego box in it and it'll be fine...