MK3 8V Gearbox - Options?? (+ Brakes)

[wombar]

Hi All,

It would appear my golf has decided to smite me big time this month with a whole host of problems foremost being the gear box.

A few weeks ago my water pump decided to stop working, thus overheating my engine which appears to have knackered the gearbox somehow. I've tried changing the gearbox oil but that hasn't improved matters. Now I have to force it into gears(mostly 2nd and 3rd) and sometimes the gear stick becomes stuck and I have to wiggle it around to get it moving again.

Before I pay for a new gearbox has anyone got any clever suggestions how I might make it last a little longer?

How much should I be paying for recon box to be fitted? I've been quoted £800 but if anyone knows of a really good garage around Watford I'd really appreciate some suggestions.

#2 Also needs new discs and pads all round which I'll probably be undertaking myself. Anyone got any suggestions for brake kits or should I just stick with the standard ones? I figure if there's very little price difference I might as well stick some slightly uprated ones on there.

If anyone fancies point me towards some decent online shops I'd be eternally grateful. My car is a 97 8V GTI with ABS btw.

Cheers to all..

[yellowconcept]

a little suggestion for you, if you think its worth a run to stoke on trent ( i know its far) you can pick up a 2nd hand gearbox for around £200 also i had mine re-conditioned by vw them selves which was covered under warranty but i had 2 gears replaced 2nd and reverse and sinq which cost the warranty £170 to do that was by vw main dealers in stoke on trent :-)

[charri42]

It sounds more like a gear linkage problem to me - or synch at worst??? surely there would be some pretty horrible noises if the actual box was shot.

Be very careful of these so called re-condition boxes and engines. They are just lifted from written off cars and usually NOT reconditioned - just tested to see if they work.

If I were looking at a £800 + bill (incl your brakes) I'd take the car to your nearest auction. Of course this depends on your moral viewpoint. You have no legal obligations when selling via auction - and your car's problems will probably not be apparent to bidders, thus take the dosh and buy another GTi!

and one unhappy trader / private buyer who realises they haven't got a bargain!

Buyer Beware!

[mowgli]

This link might help with local garages:

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?board=21.0

As for brakes, personally I would go with std stuff preferably from Euro Car Parts or might be worth a try at your local dealer, they replaced my rears for the same price as I was quoted by my local independant.

[mr wong]

That seems like an astranomical price for a new gearbox!!!!

Shop around or get one from a breakers. 

[wombar]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I'm inclined to think it's not the box itself having talked to a few other people. The gears usually go in quietly, it's like something isn't lined up properly etc so the linkage guess if probably a pretty good one.

Somebody said it might be worth getting a "GEAR LEVER REPAIR KIT" from GSF which is basically the plastic ball that sits at the bottom of your gear stick. I'll give that a try as it was only £5 and if that doesn't work I'll put some effort into other fixes.

I agree that £800 does seem excessive and I'm not really inclined to pay that kind of price, however, the car is in really good condition and has only done 60K I'd rather not sell it as everything else seems to be in good working order at the moment(touch wood).

Regarding the brakes, I'll probably just go standard I've already got a quote from Stu at Euro Car Parts in leeds, totalling about £120, it's considerably less than the £500 that same garage quoted me. I only take my car to that garage in emercencies, anything else I can do myslf or take elsewhere I do.

I'll let you all know how I get on.

Cheers guys

[gavcradd]

if it's any consolation, my gearbox is doing exactly the same thng at the mo... sometimes it gets stuck in first, and only after 30 seconds of battling and furious grinding do I manage to get it into 2nd. I think the gearbox is knackered anyway, when I bought it, the guy insisted on reversing out of his path for me, now I realise it was because it alway jumps out of reverse gear!!

Someone mentioned Stoke...I live in Hanley, up the Vale! 

[wombar]

Right, I've just spent most of the morning trying to fit this stupid little plastic ball I got from GSF and am having an absolute nightmare.

If anyone has any advice for getting the rod the gear knob attaches to out of the car I would really appreciate it. I figure it's either got to unscrew or I need to get under the car and lower the gear stick out that way which seems a bit excessive.

Anyway, I now can't find reverse at all which is less than funny.