mk2 gearbox removal?

steveo3002 · Post by **steveo3002** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 12:24 pm

i was speaking with another polo owner and he thought that its not possible to remove the gearbox with the engine still in??

can i leave the engine in or no?

any tips/advice ...its a 4speed to 5 speed swap on a 88 1300

steveo3002 · Post by **steveo3002** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 5:38 pm

no one

i have searched

will i need to totaly remove the drive shafts or just disconect

polokris · Post by **polokris** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:43 pm

yes you can take the box off with out takin out the engine... u need to support the engine tho as 2 of the 3 mounts are on the box...

you can do it... its fidly... but can be dun... iv dun it twice! haha!

any help, just holla!!

steveo3002 · Post by **steveo3002** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 4:32 pm

oh well almost done it now...spent 6hrs today and all ive got left is to bolt up the driveshafts and gearlinkage

things id mention to anyone thinking of doing it....get a helper, i struggled for ages and prob wasted 1.5hrs trying to lift it up on my own....then i got my dad to lift it on a rope while i pushed it up, went in on seconds

and i didnt realise the coolant hose would need to come off to access the top front bolt...so thats a chore

the 160k orig clutch still looks plent good enough

but i replaced it anyway

looking forward to 5 speed motoring..

Tahrey1043 · Post by **Tahrey1043** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 3:30 pm

you did it in one day, first time, with no help? f**king legend, mate!

mine was a complete pain in the plums, took like 3 days with plenty of advice and guidance (and trips to get more socket bits from halfords!) - and that was on the mk3 which is supposedly more built for the 5spd (& should therefore be easier to get the 4 out of)

enjoy! just don't try to get too much speed (hi or lo) out of 5th if its an 8P and you're a 1.0, as it will actually hurt the economy (quieter and easier on the engine tho).. 40 to 65 is best... v frugal then

steveo3002 · Post by **steveo3002** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 3:41 pm

mines a 1300.....ive already noticed it doesnt like under 40mph in 5th

all the ratios seem differant too

i imagined it was same as 4 speed with a 5th stuck on

Tahrey1043 · Post by **Tahrey1043** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 11:50 am

hm, perhaps you had a 3+E or something... or one of the wierd boxes beforehand. then again maybe you've got a diesel or G40 box (really tall ratios)... do you know it's origin/code at all? and how fast will it go in 1st before hitting the limiter (if you have one?)

i could try to ID it for you if you can estimate the mph/1000 figs for each gear

still if it doesnt like it below 40 that's a nice cruising box you have there

i was thinking more like 35 but decided to be conservative for the recco

steveo3002 · Post by **steveo3002** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 4:17 pm

it came from a 88 1300 coupe S that had the same MH engine as mine , its good enough for me i only paid Â£10 for the box and linkage , and i got a cheap clutch from ebay so im happy enough

still need to tniker with the linkage some more...its not quiet right

Tahrey1043 · Post by **Tahrey1043** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 4:43 pm

yeah, it's a pain that

Â£10? you lucky bugger. I think i ended up paying about Â£70 in the end, and that's because the guy selling it to me was a diamond. Just hope it's better than the one fitted to my brother's escort (SILLY BOY!) when he bought it; 100 miles later and he's lost third gear. Â£200 to sort. Ouch.

Fraid i can't offer much more advice, p'raps your original one came with a motorsports type 4 speed but the other was a bogstandard 5-speed (with a different final drive to boot)... or the other way round, even... though i can't see why it'd be very slow under 40 in top if it's a GT-style box (1st is the same, 5th is like 4th-and-a-half, and 2nd-3rd-4th are compressed down to give lower/tighter ratios) unless you were lacking torque at the low end. (still around 2100rpm vs maybe 2300-2400 previously - 8P giving a significantly lower 1900)