Jump to content

Gear linkage lubrication?


Recommended Posts

Hello chaps,

 

The VRS has always had a little bit of "resistance" now and again in its gearchanges, its not bad, not overly notchy or stiff and certainly not as bad as some horror stories I've read of where the lever wont move back to neutral of its own accord etc. however every now and again you can feel that you need to put a little bit of effort into the lever, particularly noticeable when block shifting. Most of the time its a lovely light gearchange though and would like to iron the problem out.

 

I've recently had the gearbox oil changed as the car is 10yr old now and couldn't see any record in the history of it having been done in the past, this doesnt seem to have done anything much for the issue however. I decided to try resetting the linkage and have done so now about three or four times, all this seems to do is "move" the resistance around from one gear to another i.e. after one adjustment fourth seemed to be the only problematic gear, after another first, after the next fifth etc etc.

 

For info, the car is still on its original clutch but i havent had any issues with slippage etc, clutch/brake fluid was changes less than 12 months ago and is in order, has had a powerflex diesel dogbone insert fitted about 6 months ago however that hasnt affected anything

 

I've been doing a bit of digging on ukmkiv's, tdiclub etc and have seen a lot of similar threads where people have been told to lubricate the linkages with lithium grease. I'm a bit new to all this gear linkage lark and was wondering if anyone could give direction as to where i should be spraying the grease?

 

Cheers guys!

Edited by BigJakk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mine sounds exactly the same as yours. A notchy gearchange no issues with clutch slip. Ive also done several alignments but no better and an oil change. The only difference is im still on the original dog bone bush so after 120k thats probably due a change. Hopefully someone can help with this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was worried that it had come about as the result of doing a gear linkage adjustment, however I think its always been there, I'm just noticing it more.

I took the shift boot up today and all around the lever was a bit hacky and filthy, cleaned it up with some WD40 then went mad with the lithium grease, however it's made no difference.

The stickiness or resistance in the gearchange feels to me more like it's an issue at the lever itself rather than elsewhere, I'm pretty certain it's not a clutch issue as it feels the same even if you just sit in the car parked up and play through the gearbox.

I have found several threads on Vortex recommending changing the gear lever bearing/bushing can improve the gear change a lot, don't know if you can fo similar on the octy?

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5334474-Drivetrain-Bushing-Mount-Compendium

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very interesting reading. The shift assembly bearing/bush might be worth doing. Im presuming the part no he gives 1KO 711 699 is the same for the octavia? I did try the draft shifter bushes but tbh I didnt like them. Because they give more feel through the lever it just made my rough gearchange feel even worse! I ended up giving them to a mate with a fabia vrs and he loves them. If I get serious about sorting this, I think I'll try a new dogbone bush and a new shift assembly bearing. Its nice to know there is still things that can be done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've had a bit of a Google on 1KO 711 699, the only references I can find seem to relate to the Golf MKIV, seems to crop up a lot on R32 forums. I can't see anything relating to skoda, seat etc. With that said, I be had a look under the shift boot and it certainly appears similar to what's in there at the minute.

It looks like Awesome GTi sell it for about three quid, but again it's listed as a Golf IV part, at that price though I'm half inclined to just order one anyway

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've had a bit of a Google on 1KO 711 699, the only references I can find seem to relate to the Golf MKIV, seems to crop up a lot on R32 forums. I can't see anything relating to skoda, seat etc. With that said, I be had a look under the shift boot and it certainly appears similar to what's in there at the minute.

It looks like Awesome GTi sell it for about three quid, but again it's listed as a Golf IV part, at that price though I'm half inclined to just order one anyway

its a good chance its the same part for the octavia and the mk4 golf. For 3 quid I agree its worth a go. Does anyone know what the part number is for the octavia one?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You could try a creation Motorsports short shifter and see if that makes a difference... Mines not particularly notchy and I have one but I have also copper greased my gear linkages

Whereabouts have you greased the linkages at? I've given the are around the cable ends/shifter a blast with white grease bit doesn't seem to have achieved much

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It must be the same part carried over as its listed for the mk4 on awesome gti's website. Ive ordered it anyway just to see if it improves things along with a red powerflex dogbone bush. Ive heard good and bad things about them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

anyone know of a place that will sell this part without the excessive postage charge ? :(

It's a VW part no so any VW dealer or TPS should be able to get it.

White grease is lithium grease, I think in the above guide they mentioned using silicon grease. Nothing can be got for a couple of quid from halfords etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

anyone know of a place that will sell this part without the excessive postage charge ? :(

yeah thats a fair point tbf. I think postage was £4.95. That was ok for me as I ordered the dogbone bush as well but if I'd just got the shifter bush that part was only £2.95.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a VW part no so any VW dealer or TPS should be able to get it.

White grease is lithium grease, I think in the above guide they mentioned using silicon grease. Nothing can be got for a couple of quid from halfords etc.

Ah if silicone grease can be used I have some from doing all the electrical connectors to the maf/coil packs etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mine sounds exactly the same as yours. A notchy gearchange no issues with clutch slip. Ive also done several alignments but no better and an oil change. The only difference is im still on the original dog bone bush so after 120k thats probably due a change. Hopefully someone can help with this.

I would suggest your alignment has not been done perfect. These alignment's do work and make a huge difference. They can also make it worse if you don't do it right. You really have to lock the gear level in place. I did mine 4 times once and only the 4th attempt worked.

Mine won't centre and gets a bit stiff when it gets really hot - Ie town centre driving

I would say this is in need of alignment

You could try a creation Motorsports short shifter and see if that makes a difference... Mines not particularly notchy and I have one but I have also copper greased my gear linkages

Copper grease is a no no . that stuff is not for cable and springs .

The linkages should not need anything really and are just self adjusting.

If you do feel like greasing them use a water proof grease or silicon not copper.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I cant see where ive went wrong doing the alignment tbh. Linkage at gearbox locked down drill bit through the gear lever I could hardly pull that back out it was so tight. Ive done it a few times as well. I will be doing another one after fitting these new parts. Slightly off topic, does anyone know the part numbers for the bolts I'll need to replace when I do the dogbone rear bush?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The white grease I mentioned will be for the plastic shifter bush underneath the gaitor.

Have you replaced the plastic shifters/springs. those 2 parts can wear also.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you replaced the plastic shifters/springs. those 2 parts can wear also.

I havnt replaced anything yet Bowders. Are those parts you mentioned also underneath the gaitor? I did fit new cable ends at the gearbox. I did try the draft ones but it just made it feel worse tbh!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Popped into TPS yesterday, they sell that gear lever bushing 1KO 711 699 for a couple of quid, but would have to order in so didn't bother as don't know when I'll be back in.

Reset the linkage a couple more times which seems to have made things a bit smoother, still notchy once in a while.

When resetting the linkage I noticed there is quite a bit of play in the plastic end's so might look into those aluminum bushings, heard wildly contrasting opinions about them.

Also,a couple of times when locking the springs back on the cable's, the upper cable (which I think is for vertical movement) the cable seems to "drop" like it's gone slack and the cable springs won't unlock properly without having to physically lift the cable. Don't know if this is indicative of something wrong.

The way I got around this in the end was to lock the springs open first , then lock the shifter on the gearbox and gearstick, unlock the springs and then unlock the rest. Seemed to work best that way. Also, the diesel geek video tells you to "pull out all the slack" in the cable and then unlock the spring, on mine this caused nothing but problems and missing gears. Worked MUCH better just unlocking them as they fell (so to speak), again don't know if this indicates a problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah I did exact same pushing back on the cables ( like the video recommends ) just felt awful. I just let the cable sit where it wanted with the cable ends open and it felt a bit better. You mentioned it sticking a little mine also did this the first time I released them. I sprayed them with wd40 it may just be due to the fact they never get touched. I really didnt like those 42 bushings. No not for me. My fabia vrs owning mate who ended up getting them for free absolutely loves them!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I havnt replaced anything yet Bowders. Are those parts you mentioned also underneath the gaitor? I did fit new cable ends at the gearbox. I did try the draft ones but it just made it feel worse tbh!

I was on about the cable ends on gearbox side so looks like you have replaces them already.

Yeah I did exact same pushing back on the cables ( like the video recommends ) just felt awful. I just let the cable sit where it wanted with the cable ends open and it felt a bit better. You mentioned it sticking a little mine also did this the first time I released them. I sprayed them with wd40 it may just be due to the fact they never get touched. I really didnt like those 42 bushings. No not for me. My fabia vrs owning mate who ended up getting them for free absolutely loves them!!

What I will say is fitting the 42 bushings and or the verdict bushes to a box or linkage that is already notchy is as you mentioned not going to make gear change any better. In fact yes more likely to make or exaggerate the problem more because on effect you have taken out the play and will amplify the notchyness. ( if a word exists lol).

So definitely worth sorting linkage out first.

Also when I did my linkage I first locked the gearbox with the plastic angled pin. Although that pin looked like it was not locking properly so I had someone hold the geararm down to keep it in place. Then I pulled back cable end springs to open them and lock them open. I then locked gear lever / gator in place. I could hear the cables move which told me they were slightly out. I then carefully undid the cable end springs to lock back on cables to there cable ends and then unlocked gearbox pin. Then unlocked the gear lever/gator and this worked ok for me.

I also have a forge short shifter on mine

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Community Partner

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to BRISKODA. Please note the following important links Terms of Use. We have a comprehensive Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.