Major tranny work at 30k! 6MT

[OttoBahn1]

A 40k service consists of:

Engine oil and filter change (full synthetic)
Replace engine air filter
Replace pollen filter
Replace spark plugs
Tire rotation
DSG filter and fluid (if equipped)
Scan car for fault codes
Check belt, hoses, brakes
Top off all fluids
Test drive car

 

[x_paradoxal_x]

I shift very gently, and when the gearbox is warmed up that is great. Quick shifting can feel a bit grindy at times, but I rarely do that. Even under hard acceleration I try to keep the shifts smooth.

On the note of the gearbox being warmed up: It doesn't take long at warmer temperatures, but in the winter it can be a bit**, especially in my TDI, good lord it is like trying to control nature when shifting below optimum temperatures.

 

[stuck24]

^ ... he got it! Give the box some time to warm up. Just like we go easy on the motor for the first 10 minutes, we need to give the gears/ syncros 15 minutes to get hot n lubed. Anything less than that, then I can't imagine the syncros lasting very long and I think that long term wear will be accelerated...

I got 6k on mine, and although I feel mild notchiness, it isn't abnormal, and I consider it to be designed in that way. I consider it overengineering.... LOL

How did you all break-in the car? Remember, break-in is for the whole car(incl tranny), not just the motor.... In fact, the motor is already sort of broken in from the factory.

Either way, make sure your tire pressures are at 38.... you might see some decrease in shifting resistance. It works for me...

 

[stuck24]

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

Yep... sort of what I thought... and also the fact that properly inflated tires, may, in theory, cause less "push" on the tranny mounts, which in turn, cause less movement in the shifter mechanism????

pumping air to at least 37-38 psi always works to reduce notchiness... EVERY TIME.... for me anyway...:w00t:

 

[zecpull1]

I would Love to know More about the Outcome here.? You say it was out of Warranty but you also say 30k miles.. I am under the belief that we have full Power train to 50K. Mine shifts perfectly.. but still would like to know more..

 

[amorphousplasma]

How did you all break-in the car? Remember, break-in is for the whole car(incl tranny), not just the motor.... In fact, the motor is already sort of broken in from the factory.

I followed the manufacturer's specified break-in. I forget exactly how it went but it was something like no more than 2/3 engine speed before 600 miles, and from 600-1000 miles slowly increase engine speed to maximum.

 

[Simmsled]

Get a BSH insert... notchyness goes away.

 

[mylesw42]

The notchiness is a good thing, I'm not sure what you guys are complaining about. It's nice feedback knowing you've "clicked" in to the gear you're selecting. People actually replace the stock rubber bushings for firmer ones to provide even more feedback. The DG Short Shift kit provides the same feel. The result of wear and tear is reduction in notchiness. Smooth as butter isn't a good thing.

 

[McQueen77]

Ive got 12500 on my transmission and its very smooth. Can be a little notchy when the car is cold, as others have stated. The only time I have noticed a little resistance from say, 2nd to 3rd is when I am really getting on it and putting a lot of load on it at full throttle, the transition can have a little resistance but all in all, very positive action.

 

[zecpull1]

The Trans, in my GTI has to be the smoothest shifting transmission I have ever used. I had a 2008 Rabbit and it was good.. But the GTI is Perfect. I have never " Missed" a shift., and I have taught a couple people to drive Manual in my car and they did fine.
I hope there are not problems that show up later?

 

[fatty@golfmk6.com]

The Trans, in my GTI has to be the smoothest shifting transmission I have ever used. I had a 2008 Rabbit and it was good.. But the GTI is Perfect. I have never " Missed" a shift., and I have taught a couple people to drive Manual in my car and they did fine.
I hope there are not problems that show up later?

seriously? mine is only smooth shifting into 4th, 5th, and 6th gear. 2nd gear is smooth 5% of the time 3rd gear is smooth 60% of the time. maybe we're doing something different?

 

[Meetshield]

Okay, I've driven manual transmissions for 10-15 years now.

I'd say that the Transmission on this car is about the same as the transmission on my Acura TL. Before that I had a Honda Civic, and I believe that it did have an easier transmission to engage, but it was also easier to grind.

I hardly ever ground my TL, and haven't yet ground my Golf. I used to grind my Civic about once a day. But I was trying to eek out every horse on that under-powered economy car. Never the less it lived to 280k miles with the original clutch and tranny with no issues. Where I sold it to some guy at a garage sale for 1500 dollars.

Anyway, you guys need to use the Gas Pedal to assist in your shifting. When you go to shift make sure you exit the gear by letting off the gas, and pulling the stick out of gear as you engage the clutch and push into the next gear. The shift begins with a transition in the car from pulling to floating, and the shifting happens smoothly. You can do this without losing much in forward momentum, just go from full throttle to half or half of whatever you are currently pulling with and the car will back off enough to release the stick to you to move into whatever gear you need where you can use the clutch to "Open the gate", and then slam on the gas again

 

[McQueen77]

I agree that the action is smooth and the clutch is a cream puff, but it takes some getting used to when shifting from 1st to 2nd under a heavy load. If you're getting on it and shifting close to redline from 1st to 2nd, you can't force it and in order to get the smoothest shift, you've gotta let it out easy into 2nd instead of trying to speed shift from 1st to 2nd. It doesn't seem to like it if you do that. No grinding gears yet for me, guess I've been lucky.

 

[DD89]

Just found this thread and is the general consensus that this notchyness is caused by the car just being cold? I do notice this something (no grinding noise, just the synchros engaging) in 2nd sometimes, and rarely is third. I have my 10k mile inspection on friday, is this something I should bring up? It's warmer out now so I don't really know if I notice this anymore, I'll play with it on my drive home.

EDIT - Just drove around a bit grabbing some coffee, felt pretty fine, I felt a little notchy behavior for maybe 1st gear one or twice but for the most part it smooth. I'm inclined to think it is the gears and synchros just warming up (my car warmed up fast and it's 70 out today). I did lot's of upshifting and downshifting, didn't really notice anything.

Is it possible some of the notchy-ness is caused by the oil? I'm headed for my first 10k (12 month) oil change on friday.

The one thing that still does bother me is the amount of play for 3rd gear, when I shift to third (maybe I need to change my style) it sometimes wobbles to the right. I always get it in gear fine, no notchy-ness at all but it's just something that's bugged me for a while. Anyone else?

 

[stuck24]

notchiness = toughness.

at least that's what I like to think