Major tranny work at 30k! 6MT

[VEGASVWGTI]

You should be fine, avoid hard and jerky shifts and don't get on it too much until fully engaged in gear. Keep you foot off the clutch as much as possible. At worse you might lose a bit of life off the clutch due to mistakes in the first few thousand miles. Don't worry about it too much, these things are tougher than most people think. Just drive and enjoy while trying to take care of it.

 

[Buck268]

...But in reality, I find that the gears engage much easier when there is a full 38 psi in the tires...

Please explain to me the relationship between tire pressure and transmission gearmesh.

 

[stuck24]

Please explain to me the relationship between tire pressure and transmission gearmesh.

I can't. All the more reason why I fnd it incredibly odd that when I pump up my tires to where they should be, the shifting from 1st to 2nd gets noticeably LESS STICKIER. (from 33-34 psi to 38 psi)

Try it. Maybe it's just my car. Maybe there's less pressure/ movement on the tranny mount when I shift??? Merely a theory.

 

[TwinSpin]

I can't. All the more reason why I fnd it incredibly odd that when I pump up my tires to where they should be, the shifting from 1st to 2nd gets noticeably LESS STICKIER. (from 33-34 psi to 38 psi)

Try it. Maybe it's just my car. Maybe there's less pressure/ movement on the tranny mount when I shift??? Merely a theory.

Could be because the car is rolling smoother, with less loss of momentum/speed between shifts?

 

[norsairius]

All right, so while we're on the topic of transmission work, I just gotta ask, how does the shifter feel in your cars?

In my friend's car, it feels like moving a hot knife through butter. I mean COMPLETELY SMOOTH, with no notchiness whatsoever. His car is stock as is mine.

I bought my car used, had 19k miles on it, has about 28.5k miles on it now. The shifter feels notchy. When moving the shifter into any gear, it feels like I hit a notch before the shifter seems to literally spring or move into gear the rest of the way on its own. This is especially noticeable when the car is stopped and I move the shifter around using "eggshell" pressure, or very little force. The notchiness however is noticeable in all driving conditions. The gears don't grind or anything though.

I mentioned this to the dealer and they had a couple different people try it out and they said it felt stock. They said they even checked the linkage and made sure things were lubricated properly.

I don't drive like a maniac. 95% of this car's driving is done commuting to work in suburban conditions (40 MPH speed limits, not too many stops), running errands, and driving on the interstate. I very rarely try to shift quickly in this car.

Is this just something that happens with age or what? The car is going in for its 30k service this weekend so I might try and ask them about it again or at least ask to sit in a new GTI on their lot to compare... but even then, they could just blame it on the wear and tear, but that's why I'm asking you guys if you have any input.

 

[gunmetal5]

All right, so while we're on the topic of transmission work, I just gotta ask, how does the shifter feel in your cars?

In my friend's car, it feels like moving a hot knife through butter. I mean COMPLETELY SMOOTH, with no notchiness whatsoever. His car is stock as is mine.

I bought my car used, had 19k miles on it, has about 28.5k miles on it now. The shifter feels notchy. When moving the shifter into any gear, it feels like I hit a notch before the shifter seems to literally spring or move into gear the rest of the way on its own. This is especially noticeable when the car is stopped and I move the shifter around using "eggshell" pressure, or very little force. The notchiness however is noticeable in all driving conditions. The gears don't grind or anything though.

I mentioned this to the dealer and they had a couple different people try it out and they said it felt stock. They said they even checked the linkage and made sure things were lubricated properly.

I don't drive like a maniac. 95% of this car's driving is done commuting to work in suburban conditions (40 MPH speed limits, not too many stops), running errands, and driving on the interstate. I very rarely try to shift quickly in this car.

Is this just something that happens with age or what? The car is going in for its 30k service this weekend so I might try and ask them about it again or at least ask to sit in a new GTI on their lot to compare... but even then, they could just blame it on the wear and tear, but that's why I'm asking you guys if you have any input.

I'm at almost 16k and I have similar "issues." I feel like the syncros should provide smoother engaging. Sometimes I feel like I hit a "wall" and I drive like a grandpa! I'm 65 to 70 on the freeway. I dont drive hard at all, the only time i'll do a fast acceleration is on the freeway on ramps. I'm thinking about dumping my car and getting another s2000 because I do not want long term issues with the car.

 

[amorphousplasma]

I'm at almost 16k and I have similar "issues." I feel like the syncros should provide smoother engaging. Sometimes I feel like I hit a "wall" and I drive like a grandpa! I'm 65 to 70 on the freeway. I dont drive hard at all, the only time i'll do a fast acceleration is on the freeway on ramps. I'm thinking about dumping my car and getting another s2000 because I do not want long term issues with the car.

Bought mine new in December and even when it had 24 miles on the odo it beheaved exactly as both of you have described. Now has 5k miles and i've gotten used to it, probably because my last car was a '96 Cherokee and it had the gearbox and clutch out of an M1 Abrams tank... With the GTI at a stop, and with the clutch depressed, if you push slightly on the gear lever it will hit a resistance, and then flop into gear by itself.

 

[gunmetal5]

Bought mine new in December and even when it had 24 miles on the odo it beheaved exactly as both of you have described. Now has 5k miles and i've gotten used to it, probably because my last car was a '96 Cherokee and it had the gearbox and clutch out of an M1 Abrams tank... With the GTI at a stop, and with the clutch depressed, if you push slightly on the gear lever it will hit a resistance, and then flop into gear by itself.

It could just be a floppy gearbox then huh? oh well.

 

[Gunkata]

although I must say, the tranny doesn't like super cold starts... takes a while for those triple syncros on the first 3 gears to heat up and lube a bit...

That's pretty much most MT cars - they take a bit to warm up.

I'm at almost 16k and I have similar "issues." I feel like the syncros should provide smoother engaging. Sometimes I feel like I hit a "wall" and I drive like a grandpa! I'm 65 to 70 on the freeway. I dont drive hard at all, the only time i'll do a fast acceleration is on the freeway on ramps. I'm thinking about dumping my car and getting another s2000 because I do not want long term issues with the car.

Smoother? I dont know many cars that have smoother shifters than we do in the GTI/VW/VAG cars. Try driving an American car or even a WRX or STI, huge difference...

 

[norsairius]

Smoother? I dont know many cars that have smoother shifters than we do in the GTI/VW/VAG cars. Try driving an American car or even a WRX or STI, huge difference...

Having driven a 2009 WRX, I can confirm that from the factory, the shifter feels like moving a stick through a bucket full of rocks.

Unfortunately, the GTI's shifter is starting to mirror that feeling with what seems to be caused by regular age and wear and tear . At the very least, it doesn't seem to be getting any worse. I'm sure flushing out the transmission fluid and getting some new fluid in there might help, but I'm not in any rush to do that. Speaking of, is that service anywhere in the GTI's maintenance schedule? 40k maybe?

 

[Gunkata]

how many mi on your trans?

 

[gunmetal5]

.....
Speaking of, is that service anywhere in the GTI's maintenance schedule? 40k maybe?

Probably 36,001 miles is where all the major maintenance is scheduled

 

[northfb52]

most vw manual trans dont have maintence on the schedule at all in there eyes if it aint broke dont fix it

 

[norsairius]

how many mi on your trans?

If you're asking me, my car has about 28.5k miles on it. It's going in for its 30k service tomorrow morning because the MFD is displaying the "SERVICE NOW" message every time I turn the car on.

Probably 36,001 miles is where all the major maintenance is scheduled

Hahahaha, very good guess. I was told by the service technician at the dealership that 40k is the first major maintenance interval. he mentioned it would cost 400-500 bucks or something. I haven't looked up the line-item detail as to what they do though. I'll try and look it up and post it if I find it.

 

[McQueen77]

I was told by the service technician at the dealership that 40k is the first major maintenance interval. he mentioned it would cost 400-500 bucks or something. I haven't looked up the line-item detail as to what they do though. I'll try and look it up and post it if I find it.

Could probably shave a little off of the cost of the 40k service at an independent shop vs. the dealer and get a little more tlc in the process but I guess that's fairly obvious. This place, near me, has a great reputation. Probably going to go there for an oil change at 15k to get a feel for the place as far as it being a good dealer alternative later down the line.

http://www.independentaudi.com/