gearbox

[daimo]

looked in the garage/maintanance section but to no avail............... basically sometimes struggles to go from nuetral to first and every now and again if i go for 2nd or 3rd i end up in 4th or 5th respectively,major pain in the ass,got it booked in to do a gearbox oil change on it on fri,anyone got any other ideas as to why,ive heard about syncros but not sure what they are  :embarassed:,so really need a bit of help please
also what g/box oil is best to use

[Mikester]

It could also be the gear linkage between the stick and the box.

Could also be your clutch not being down far enough.

Oil change is worth doing anyway.

[Wayne]

Clutch cable might be at the end of its adjusment.

[jonnyb]

I have the same issue, not with 2nd and 4th but my 5th gear often likes to choose 3rd instead.  Damn annoying. Think its due a checkup

[daimo]

clutch is all the way down when changing and the bite point is about half way if that helps

[rubjonny]

have a read of the linkage faq in the mk2 section, mk3 setup is a little different in terms of rod lengths but bushes etc mostly the same

[thai-wronghorse]

Speaking from experience of a couple of mk3 golfs id say definitely change the aged gearbox oil, preferably to a synthetic type. Then change the crappy linkages and bushes. The kits only cost about £18 for most of the parts worth changing and the few that don't come included can be purchased from a VW main dealer for a few quid.
Also worth considering and often overlooked is the gear selector rod detent bolt on top of the gearbox. These cost about £7 from VW and really improve the feel and positivity of the gear selection. Do all these cheap and easy changes and i'm certain you'll have a massively slick and improved gear change.

[thai-wronghorse]

Part number 7 in this etka image is what i mention above as the selector detent bolt. This M20 bolt is screwed into the top of the gearbox just above where the main selector rod goes in. Inside the bolt is a spring with a ball bearing on the end which applies pressure onto the rod giving it that 'into gear' notchy feeling with each change. These ball bearings can wear out and disintegrate therefore exaggerating the sloppiness of the changes. Like i mention above, if you're doing the linkages then you may as well change this part whilst you're at it.

[daimo]

cheers mate

[thai-wronghorse]

p.s. these part numbers are for a 96 AGG 8v GTI so might be worth double checking numbers etc on your own before buying if your car isn't exactly that.