Oil change in 6 speed Manual Gearbox

[psycholist]

Has anyone changed the oil in their 6 speed manual gearbox. As far as I know the official VAG policy is that the box is sealed for life, but a lot can happen oil in 100,000 plus miles and given the OEM oil seems to be pretty cheap, it looks like something that probably should be done just in case since I plan to hold on to the car until I have an extremely good reason to change.

 

Has anyone changed oil and noticed an improvement? Given the DSGs need oil every 40k miles it seems weird that the manuals don't have a recommended interval at all.

[Phil-E]

Their "sealed for life" is total nonsense in my opinion.

 

I changed the oil on my previous car (Seat Cordoba PD130 6 speed manual) at about 90k miles and it was horrible. Thick, full of bits, dark brown.

 

I noticed a HUGE improvement in the gear changes and I've heard the same said by many others.

 

I would recommend getting the roper VAG gearbox oil. It's not massively expensive.

 

Not sure of the filling technique on that gearbox though but the 6 speed on the Seat had a fill plug on the front of the gearbox that needed a pipe and funnel to get it in. You then filled till it was level with the fill hole.

 

Phil

[Gizmo]

I recently changed the oil on my Edition 100 (MKI Superb) although a 5 speed I too am not convinced of these ‘sealed for life’ boxes either, mine had also done just over 90K, but TBH the oil that came out was pretty clean and the new oil has not made any noticeable difference to the gear changes ... but their was nothing ‘wrong’ with them before.

 

I did need an anti tamper security spline drive bit to remove the plugs though.

[lichfielddriver]

ive had this car 10 years

 

ive changed the gearbox oil 5 times, the engine oil 10 times, the gearbox twice, the engine 3 times, the DMF 3 times, the tyres 5 times....

[Guest]

Sealed for life refers to the age the vehicle should last according to the manufacturer. Change your gearbox oil at least every two years, if you want it to last well. I have over the years seen oil drained that was almost treacle after 5 years, the bronze and steel in the oil can be almost unbelievable. This churning through the Synchro Hubs and bearings will only cause problems. The amount of oil in a gearbox is not large so always use the best quality ( not always OEM as this can be the cheapest tendered oil at the time of manufacture ). This often applies to engine oil.

[silver1011]

Someone needs to take the plunge and do a how-to thread.

 

Incidentally I asked the main dealer to swap the gearbox oil in my 2008 Octavia with a 6 speed box a few years ago as it was getting a little notchy when cold. Made a noticeable improvement and cost around £60.

[ippo88]

I second that Silver. Could really do with a guide.

[peterposh]

I'd leave well alone, there's no combustion going on in there so it's practically immortal :-)