UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

I've read the above 'sticky' but I'm in a bit of trouble at the moment.

Some part of my Gearbox was replaced under the previous owner under the warrenty but the problem has now returned. The car is now 9 months out of warrenty and I've just bought a house and can't afford to send the car in to VW!

cyhliu - Seems like the gears are still moving and that I am forcing it into reverse...with some grating of gears and a final thump...

This was happening to mine every so often, now, all of a sudden its almost impossible to get it in reverse!

SilvaGTI - I havent noticed any problems getting into reverse but I've noticed that 1st gear often requires more force than the rest of the gears to get it to engage. It's not everytime but on some occasions it will stick part of the way an needs an extra 'shove' to get it into gear.

1st and 2nd gear now requires more than a shove to get it in.

cyhliu - I collected my motor last night, they didn't charge for the gearbox, apparently it was a simple mis-alignment of the linkages and so it just needed adjusting. It feels fine now.

Also, they sorted out the problem of the gear lever 'jumping' forward when accelerating although I didn't ask for this to be done, may be a consequence of having the linkages tightened?

and

cyhliu - On the receipt it says that I've had my gear linkage and clutch cable adjusted, nothing else. If it helps the lady told me that it was a simple job, they lift the car up, look underneath and use a template to ensure that the linkages are in the right place, if not, even by a bit it will cause the gears the grind. I think they said it was a half day job and they did complete within a day.

Does any body have any basic instructions and/or pictures and/or advice on this work so that I can persuade somebody to fix this problem for me on the cheap.

Anything at all would be a big help. It's only been doing it this badly since Friday but it's driving me crazy now!

Please help!!!

Hi J.T.!

I have just joined this forum because I am in a very similar situation to you. My warranty is over and VW want to skin me just to have a look.

I just want to add a question to your appeal, if I may?

I have a very good performance tuning specialist near me. They charge less than VW and supply the performance parts aswell. If I get them to replace my clutch with a black diamond or sachs unit, and get them to allign the gear linkages will this cure the reverse crunching problem and 1st gear problem?

I am desperate not to go to VW for this. They have been nothing but rude and unhelpful since I got the car and they charge an arm and a leg to add insult to injury.

Any help or advice will be greatly apprciated!

Chris

I've had an idea, basically it's got worse since yesterday and I've noticed a few more things.

* When the engine is switched off it slides in to gear easily, even reverse.

* When I manage to force it into 1st gear the car very slowly creeps forward even with the clutch fully depressed.

Do you rekon this is just the clutch that has gone?

I haven't smelled the clutch burning or anything just that it is damn near impossible to get it in gear.

Thanks for your help!

Hi chaps, I can understand both your frustrations, this is a common VW fault on the Polo GTi i reckon. Some part of my gearbox was replaced under warranty too but it doesnt seem right still now! Im not going to go through the hassle either of taking it in VW to sort due to the costs they charge (even for diagnosis!), like you say - adding insult to injuy!
Mine was crunching badly when selecting reverse gear too, it got better but its still there. I was told by VW that you should have the clutch depressed for a few seconds prior to selecting reverse gear anyway - this does solve the problem in most cases! I mentioned to them about re-aligning my gears but they said that it wouldnt necessarily solve it - not prepared to fork out money to them if its not certain in solving something.

Im prettty much convinced that this is just the way these Polo's are, we have to live with the fact that they have really awkward clutch and gearbox setups.

I've done this job on a 6N. I've also had my mothers GTi back in at the dealers (under warranty) to get her pedal box braket replaced.
From what I have gathered the clutch is the root of the problem - something that wasn't changed when the bracket was replaced! I'm sure the same thing will happen again - It's just a matter of time.
The gears become difficult to select due to the bracket bending, or in my case actually splitting almost in half! The clutch cable then has a bend in it making the clutch operation even more difficult. To cure the problem properly the bracket needs replacing and a new clutch fitting to the car. This is what I have done on my 6N and it's beautiful now
The bracket is a SOB to change as there's about 12 bolts around the bracket and the steering column, clocks and most of the drivers side of the dash needs to come out. When the dealers replaced the bracket in the GTi they had further trouble with the engine "racing" when the car was put back together! This was due to the GTi being drive-by-wire and the idiots had knoked the throttle potentiometer!!!
I also have a friend who just replaced his GTi with a MK4 Golf TDi because of the same fault. VW quoted him £250 +VAT to replace the bracket

Blk6N wrote:The bracket is a SOB to change as there's about 12 bolts around the bracket and the steering column, clocks and most of the drivers side of the dash needs to come out.

I've got the parts, do you rekon with a bit of patience it is something I could do myself or should I book it in somewhere and just stump up the bill???

Help is appreciated!

PoloGTi wrote: I've got the parts, do you rekon with a bit of patience it is something I could do myself or should I book it in somewhere and just stump up the bill???

Help is appreciated!

Up to you mate

All down to how much time and patience you've got. I payed a local garage to help with mine

Cheers mate, in the end I paid £100 fully fitted and it drives a dream now!

Ta anyway!