Notchy gearbox 2000 TC

Peter B

Member
Hi all
I recently had the engine and box out of my 2000. Now back in but gearbox is really cranky and notchy. With engine off I can change the gears but can still feel the notchiness. However, when driving I can scarcely get her into 2nd gear, except by double de-clutching. Once she's in 3rd or 4th she zooms along but basically unable to change from 3rd to 2nd and almost impossible from 1st to 2nd. I have checked the clutch adjustment, which seems ok, overhauled the slave cylinder and did a fairly careful clutch bleed. I sort of assume that it is a clutch problem, eg not disengaging correctly but could it be worn syncro rings or something? Have also read somewhere that if the engine and box are not lined up dead straight this can cause problems. Any suggestions most welcome before I bite the bullet and hand her over to a 'professional' for repair......
 
Sounds like clutch grab to me. When you put it back together did you ensure the plate, flywheel, pressure plate, splines and spigot bush were all clean and undamaged?
 
If I remember correctly, having recently completed an engine rebuild on my car, the gearbox bell-housing bolts need to be fully tightened to the engine backplate and sump before the many sump setscrews are tightened. If the latter are tightened before the gearbox is bolted on, it's possible that the sump could be fractionally too far forward which pulls the gearbox out of line as the bell-housing bolts are tightened. Only a tiny bit out of line, but enough to cause the problems you describe which arise from the tip of the gearbox input shaft binding on the spigot bush. The solution is to remove the sump and refit as above. Just loosening the sump screws might not be enough given the grip of the jointing compound you presumably used on the sump-to-block join.

Hope that helps. Of course, if you haven't disturbed the sump, the problem might lie somewhere else. Good luck in finding the cure!

John
 
If I remember correctly, having recently completed an engine rebuild on my car, the gearbox bell-housing bolts need to be fully tightened to the engine backplate and sump before the many sump setscrews are tightened. If the latter are tightened before the gearbox is bolted on, it's possible that the sump could be fractionally too far forward which pulls the gearbox out of line as the bell-housing bolts are tightened.

That's more of a problem on the autos, I've never had problems with manual cars. The way to move the engine sump fully backwards is to slacken all the sump bolts, and then hammer a wide wooden taper into the space between the crossmember and the front of the sump. That forces the sump fully rearwards, then retighten all the bolts. I've never had the sumps leak after doing them either.
 
When you pulled the box how loose was the input shaft? I noticed I had similar problems before I replaced the input shaft bearing. In my case I think the box was actually a little low and caused an issue with alignment of the input and output shafts.

To second @harveyp6 question; is it a series one or two gearbox? If it’s SI box may need to align the aluminium frame under the gear lever gaiter. If the box and engine are over to one side the interlock wall of the frame can stop proper alignment of the 1-2 plane of the gearshift.

My guess is it’s the frame under the gaiter (assuming a series one box). Easy fix.

Quick edit: I see your car is a 68 series one. So that’s actually a good thing. Try this:

(1) Whip off the plastic center console,
(2) Loosen the three bolts holding the aluminium frame in place at the base of the gear lever (do not remove the bolts).
(3) Replace the reverse collar, spring, metal sleeve and knob on the gear lever,
(4) Put the car in 1st gear.
(5) Slide frame over to right so it’s only just touching the plastic sleeve, now move the frame back about 2mm to give some clearance.
(6) Tighten the three bolts without moving the frame
(7) Run through gears and make sure you can’t accidentally select reverse without lifting the plastic collar.
(8) Test the collar lifted allows you to select reverse.
(9) If all feels good put back together and enjoy.
I hope that works for you!
 
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Thanks everyone for the helpful suggestions. Sorry for late reply, new baby in house, going to work etc etc. There's a lot to reply to so I'll start at the top:
Harvey it is a series one gear linkage, ( as sdibbers said), so I guess more prone to getting out of line than the series 2. The reason for the box being pulled was that when I got the car it was stuck in 2 gears and couldn't be moved. Box was pulled and gearbox mechanic split it and showed me what was wrong. (Previous repair job a few years ago put the detente mechanism back incorrectly.) He checked the box and said it was all ok now.

Quattro - Before I put engine and box together the clutch was checked by a clutch person. It had been rebuilt a few years ago but I replaced the plate as it was a tad rusty from sitting around for 6 months. I did clean everything as best I could and am reasonably sure that the bits were in ok condition, especially as clutch was replaced a few years ago. However I certainly wouldn't rule out making a mistake putting it back together causing it to grab.

John I didn't really do much to the engine when it was out apart from cleaning it and doing some external things. So didn't have the sump off.

sdibbers: Thanks for the alignment suggestion as this was my thought also. (As the box was gone over by a manual gearbox mechanic / specialist, ((there are a lot of old cars around my area)), I think the bearings etc are all ok.) As the engine was out I replaced the original mounts with the VW ones but had a fairish amount of trouble getting the mount bolts back in. I think the engine / box is slightly out of alignment and the whole gear change mechanism is very sloppy, despite having a brass acorn, a brass insert on the aluminum frame and a brass tip on the selector lever. I have more or less gone through your step by step suggestion already although I did not have it in first gear when I adjusted it so might look at that again. Had to raise the frame slightly with washers so that the reverse collar was not accidentally riding over it.

Finally I did drive the little beast to the mechanic today as it needs a roadworthy certificate so I can register her. This is really the first time I have been able to drive a reasonable distance and I noticed that the gear changes, especially 2nd, did seem to get a bit easier. So I am wondering if when things such as gearboxes are pulled and fixed they actually have to be driven a bit to sort of wear in. I also noticed that after driving a bit the carbies were not as correctly adjusted as I thought they were so again I think some things need to be re-adjusted after a bit of driving.

Anyway sorry for the long post and thanks again everyone.
Pete
PS Does anyone have a cure for that annoying thing where the mouse makes the cursor move around while your trying to type?
 
There is something else also regarding the series 1 gearchange.
You have to align the selector finger correctly on its rod (it is secured by a pinch bolt that you can reach through a hole in the RH side of the tunnel).
The procedure is simple but it is described in detail within the factory manual. If you don't have access to the factory manual, let us know and we will try to describe the procedure.
Having the selector finger set up correctly makes a significant difference in the gearchange quality.
 
Thanks Demetris. I have a factory manual for a SC and I imagine procedure is the same. So reading the manual it seems to be basically saying that the selector lever should be set while it is in first gear, bolt loosened, gear lever then moved to the reverse position, bolt tightened. Also gearstick at 80 degrees. All these settings are obviously more important than I realised. When I get the car back, (hopefully registered) I'll look at it all again.
 
Thanks Demetris. I have a factory manual for a SC and I imagine procedure is the same. So reading the manual it seems to be basically saying that the selector lever should be set while it is in first gear, bolt loosened, gear lever then moved to the reverse position, bolt tightened. Also gearstick at 80 degrees. All these settings are obviously more important than I realised. When I get the car back, (hopefully registered) I'll look at it all again.
 
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