Gear selection probs

[Scott]

Anyone ever had gear selection problems in an 8V Gti?
Mine has suddenly become very 'notchy' and real tricky to get into gear in traffic after long journeys. Has anyone had this kind of thing before? Is it a linkage problem or bushes or am I about to have my gearbox curl up and die on me?

Cheers!

P.S. Still having high-speed cutting out probs, not the 'stalling on slowing down prob'. Anyone got any further with this???

[vr6ed]

I'm having a similar kinda problem with my VR6, can be a bit woolly between 1st and 3rd

Lets see if anyone has any ideas

[golfvr6]

Could be worn cables, or cables out of adjustment.
I think its difficult to do the adjustment without a jig. There may be a basic adjustment you can do.
Have to do some digging  

[Grovit]

Mine's not "notchy" but there is a definate resistance to changing gear - feels like the bushes may be slightly worn. Not too bad to be a major concern though.

[Scott]

OK, went to local VW specialist after work yesterday so he could have a drive and give me an idea of what might be wrong....
He rekons its the diff in the gearbox, apparently mk3 gearboxes are not as bullet-proof as people like to think (mk4's even less so!). The diff gets tiny hairline cracks all over the inside of it over time which allows the diff to expand when warm (hence mine got tricker to change gear the warmer the car got).
Long story short, he reckons I would need a new gearbox to sort it out - ?400 all in: not what I wanted to hear!!! Car is only just coming up to 95,000'ish miles, but he said thay have changed gearboxes on mk3's that have done less, and mk4's.
My faith in VW's has really been tested with this car, been nothing but trouble with electrical glitches and parts breaking and dieing before their time, might just go and look for a tidy mk2!
Go and get your gearbox checked out if in doubt, you might not like what you hear though!

[Scott]

Been thinking about this. The car is booked in for the gearbox change but before I part with my hard-earned.....has anyone actually heard of this problem before?
They seem very trustworthy types and have been fine on previous dealings - although thses have been much smaller things.

Can hairline cracks on the diff cause difficulty in changing gear? Am I being taken for a mug?
I would take it to a main stealer for a 2nd opinion but they would charge me ?92 per hour for the privellidge!!! Damn their eyes!

[golfvr6]

Whats the diff got to do with gearchange?  
I'm not a gearbox expert but i thought the diff is only there so both wheels can rotate at different speeds, ie. cornering.

[mk3tdi]

mine feels the same. my friend is a parts manager for VW he suggested changing the oil first as at 100k mine would be on the original stuff... with the cold weather and all, though i must admit that seems less likely if it happens on long journeys. I've bought the best fully synthetic transmission lube I could find (by Castrol ideal for VWs it says on the bottle) which was only ?6. Worth a shot me thinks!

Will let you know if it helps when I've had it changed...

[tianaroja]

got to say in my experience mk3s are not as well made as they seem i to have had loads of little electrical glitches ,i thrashed my mk2 16v and i couldnt break it this 8v is not half the car that was,
however i to am not a gearbox expert but i dont see how the diff is anything at all to do with the selecting a gear definetly check the oil first or the linkages
good luck!