16v gearbox needed desperately....mines f*cked!

[Black16v]

Well it finally happened, the gearbox has gone!! Managed to limp the poor girl home after going to a mates garage. The mechanic said the gearbox's bearings have gone which sounds about right......the poor old girl sounds f*cking horrible!

Now where can i get a 1400 16v gearbox? does anyone know any good websites or any scrappies that might have one? Is anyone breaking their 16v for spares? Apparently 1400 16v gearboxes are as hard to find as rocking horse sh*t!

Cheers in advance

[Black16v]

On a tangent.........will a 1.6 16v polo engine fit in my car?

[mitty]

iv jus had to get my bearing sorted out

wot did the mechanic say when u took it in??

coz if it does sound "fcuked" as u say then u probebly need a reconditioned gearbox which will set u back bout 400-500 plus labour which is 200

a completely new gearbox will be about 1000.

"CymruPolo" gave me these two sites to go onto-
Try here http://www.gearboxesandclutches.co.uk/ and here http://www.acegearboxes.co.uk/

acegearboxes shud give u a good deal

the prices i gave u were prices for my 1996 1.6 glx
i think the gearbox u want mite be more expensive because its a 16v, but im not sure on that one

if u find a polo gearbox in good nick from a scrappy u'd be the luckiest bloke i kno, they are like golddust

hope this helps

[Black16v]

Cheers m8. Tried ace gearboxes before, theyve got a 1.4 8v box but not a 16v one. I may put the 1400 8v box in it for now coz i can get one cheap from my mate who works at a garage. Get the box and labour done at mates rates and find a 16v box in the meantime.

I hear that the 8v one kinda gets a bit chewed up by the 1.4 16v engine, but it will suffice for now........i need to get out and about! my goddamn bumper and side skirts are getting fitted in 3 weeks!!

[Black16v]

On the topic of putting an 8v 'box in my car...........

What kind of power loss am i looking at? i know top speed will be reduced, but its not like i go 120mph everywhere so im not bothered about that!

I know the 16v 'box has shorter ratios to keep on the power band so how is having an 8v box going to affect my car?

cheers

[mitty]

im no mechanic but im not sure putting a different gearbox in ur car will do it the world of good,lol, but if u can get one for cheap

im guessing if u put an 8v box in ur car that it will not be as nippy and accelaration will not be as good than if u had the normal 16v like it shud

but thats my guess tho, jus ask a mechanic or something

[Black16v]

Thats what im kinda worried about. The mechanic at my mates place ddnt seem to have any quarms about putting the 8v one in it for now tho, he said hed do it if he woz in my position!

Im not really sure about it all. I need to get back on the road asap and if im gonna get a 16v box i need to find one very soon!

I'd end up putting a 16v one in anyway, somewhere down the line. I just want to get moving again, its only been a day without a car and its driving me mad!

[mitty]

iv been without mine for nearly 2weeks now coz i had to get a reconditioned gearbox

my dads mate owns a garage and has been waiting to put the gearbox in but it neva came until yesterday evening...supose to come on friday! lol

but yeh get it sorted quick time

[Biddle]

Dunno if this is any good.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VW-POLO-MK-4-2-DO ... dZViewItem

[Black16v]

Just checked it out, cheers mate. Doesnt say wot litre the car is, so ive emailled the guy, just waiting for a response now. Got about 6 people on the go in my search to get a 16v 'box!

[neb]

my sub 96 1.0 polo has low ratios, not sure on the ratios in a 16v but my one does 2000 rpm @ 30mph in 4th

[Black16v]

Theres a few people who i think have 16v boxes for sale. Reconditioned ones which they deliver and then take your old box away to refurbish and sell on to someone else. I got a quote for a 1400cc polo gearbox for £365 plus VAT and trade in, only problem is they ddnt specify whether it woz 16v or 8v so im waiting to hear back from them!
Hassles!

[dragon_green]

On the topic of putting an 8v 'box in my car...........

What kind of power loss am i looking at? i know top speed will be reduced, but its not like i go 120mph everywhere so im not bothered about that!

I know the 16v 'box has shorter ratios to keep on the power band so how is having an 8v box going to affect my car?

cheers

right firstly how does putting a different gearbox on mean you're going to lose power? It'll have the same power, but the acceleration/top speed combination will be different.

you say that you think you'll lose top speed.... but you know the 16v box has shorter ratios..... so if the 8v box has longer gearing you should be able to get higher top speed. kind of contradicting yourself there mate.

the 16v box has has closer ratios - so as you move up through the gears your revs stay higher. it's why you're doing 3750rpm in 5th at 70, whereas an 8v engine is doing around 3250rpm. this is because the 16v engine is peaky, you don't want to change up and then have to wait for the engine speed to get into the torque band. this is probably what you'll get with an 8v box.

[Black16v]

Well the mechanic said i would lose top speed and he knows far more about cars than i do, thats y i mentioned that.......

And as for losing power i ddnt mean it in the sense of my car will have less horsepower but it wont accelerate the same.......will it?

I dont know anything about cars....thats y i asked!

[dragon_green]

well, you know what it's like to drive the 16v, all the power is at the top end of the revs.

with the longer ratios of the 8v box, when you change up, your engine speed will drop further than it would if you were using 16v ratios.

if it drops you far enough to be out of the torquey revs, you have to wait for the revs to pick up again before you get a kick. so in that sense yes it could well be more sluggish.

i'm not sure why you'd lose top speed though.

book speed on the 16v is 117 mph though, surely it won't make much difference to you if you lost a few mph's?