Fluid and oil changes

[scarr89]

Yoooooo,

Is there any benefits from changing gearbox oil and coolant. I have a week off soon which is when I will be changing the engine oil, I don't think my car (150PD) has ever had the gear box oil changed so was thinking of doing while underneath the beast. Also I don't know when my coolant was last changed, would it be a good idea to renew this at the same time.

IF so how tough a job we talking? 

Thanks as always

[AlexMozza]

Would Not hurt.
I think many people never change the gearbox oil or coolant....
Gear box oil is HORRIBLE stuff 

[Luke1981]

If the coolant looks in good condition I would prob leave it to be honest. If it looks very diluted or dirty then use a cleaning flush and refill again with vw coolant. Not to sure about the gearbox oil as I have never done one before  

[Jasikasisback]

i changed the gearbox oil just recently...in an automatic..

You should do it...the filter in mine was black as coal..gummed up...

the filter will cost you about 15-20 quid depending on your model..by the way what kind of golf do you have?

Do not buy from Europarts as they sell the filter and the rubber gasket separately. Only europarts would sell it seperately-i bought it thinking the gasket would come with the filter...there I just threw away 15 pounds//

the gearbox oil is variable in price...i had to buy it for an automatic..so damn expensive at 30 plus pounds

the manuals have cheap gearbox oil...probably under 20 pounds easy for 5 litres

yes it is worth doing as my car is shifting very well now....and i am happy...

it is not difficult to do ..but read up on how to do it on the net...

here's a link to the video


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXtWJvHp0pg

and here's some reading material..

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?1064342-Heads-up-VW-Lifetime-auto-transmission-fluid-(baloney!!!)

my car had almost 100000miles on it and probably the owner sold it as the transmission jerked like hell and i bet the dealer told her to replace the entire box...which costs a lot of moolah...by the way the dealer was puzzled when i asked how much it costs to change the oil in the auto transmission...said these things last forever...don't you believe them...16 year old oil don't last forever...it was really broken down and pure gunk...along with a black filter..wish I had taken pictures now to prove how bad it can get..
the filter was the one that they put in at the factory...

anyways...good luck...remember to get the right tranny oil

by the way a dealer will do it for £200, but you better watch them do it so they dont just top it up and leave the filter unchanged!



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[Seanl]

There is a reason the dealers recommend changing Coolant every 2 years. Would you think about not bothering with changing your cambelt when its due??
Ok so it may not absolutely kill your engine like a snapped cambelt, but it will have a detrimental affect. Coolant doesnt just help cool the engine, it has anti-corrosion additives too. This will help keep your block, radiator, heater matrix, hoses, and thermostat in good condition and free from blockages etc for far longer than old grey contaminated coolant.  If you have no history of when it was last changed, (should have been done at every major service), then get it done. Will only cost you about £18 iirc for G12++ from the dealer, and its easy!.

Gear oil as said hardly ever gets done! Some manufacturers recommend it, however most seem to think it will last the lifetime of the car/gearbox anyway. Redline MT gear oil is very highly recommended. Its quite expensive compared to others, but there is NO comparison when it comes to quality. Should cost you around £30 for 2 bottles which will fill most boxes. Again its actually a very simple procedure. Hope this helps.

[lukeyyyyyyy21]

sealed unit so won't have to be done. never any change on  service sked. Unless you have any probs with the box i wouldn't bother IMO. However on a3s we had a problem in colder months where it would be hard to get into gear from cold. So we then put in VW/audi synthetic diff oil.
I did this on my mk4 and did make a big dfference when cold.

[scarr89]

sealed unit so won't have to be done. never any change on  service sked. Unless you have any probs with the box i wouldn't bother IMO. However on a3s we had a problem in colder months where it would be hard to get into gear from cold. So we then put in VW/audi synthetic diff oil.
I did this on my mk4 and did make a big dfference when cold.

So it isn't normally done but you would recommend it? When its cold there is a bit of a struggle clunking it into 1st/2nd! I'll see how much the oil will cost then deicde 

Anyone got any good guides for either of these?

With the coolant flush do you just pour in the flushing agent and leave it, then drain and re fil with new? Where do you drain it from? 

[AudiA8Quattro]

sealed unit so won't have to be done. never any change on  service sked. Unless you have any probs with the box i wouldn't bother IMO. However on a3s we had a problem in colder months where it would be hard to get into gear from cold. So we then put in VW/audi synthetic diff oil.
I did this on my mk4 and did make a big dfference when cold.

Alot of car manufacturers say that gearboxes are sealed for life, including auto boxes.
It also seems the people that design and make gearboxes don't agree.
Giving an example, Audi, BMW and i think Mercedes using ZF auto boxes claimed the fluid never needed to be changed. ZF engineers disagreed with this.
Changing the oil and filter is more important on an auto box, but i would still recommend doing a fluid change on a manual box too, i would say it's likely it will prolong the life of the box.

[danny_p]

filled for life auto boxes are a joke.  atf get a hell of a lot of stick and degrades.  is service life is longer than the cars warrantee but it dosent least forever.

IMO manual boxes want an oil change at 80K auto boxes more like 60K

[AudiA8Quattro]

filled for life auto boxes are a joke.  atf get a hell of a lot of stick and degrades.  is service life is longer than the cars warrantee but it dosent least forever.

IMO manual boxes want an oil change at 80K auto boxes more like 60K

This.