Hi,

 

4th gear on the 1.9SDI Fabia 1 is decidedly crunchy. Changing up is ok if a short pause going through neutral is performed, but coming down from 5th is not a nice experience unless you slot it into 3rd before 4th.

 

None of the other gears are affected. Car has done ~80K, and I've adjusted the linkage.

 

I'm thinking a gearbox oil change would be the place to start. Anyone think/know different?

 

Cheers,

Iain

Edited 5 June, 201511 yr by iainfm

If its a worn synchromesh then a gearbox oil change wont do anything to improve it.

Gearbox oil could be low, just top it up to find out.

Maybe try some Redline Gearbox Oil. It's supposed to be good for knotchy gear changes it's quite expensive though, may not solve it but it might help prolong your Gearboxes life. http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=46&pcid=7

Thanks - will have a look at those options. Tends to be find when cold, then gets worse as the gearbox oil heats up (presumably).

 

Cheers,

Iain

Seems to be oil related then. Just change the oil and see what happens it's the least most expensive option.

Thanks - will have a look at those options. Tends to be find when cold, then gets worse as the gearbox oil heats up (presumably).

Cheers,

Iain

Worn synchromesh

Deal with it or its new gearbox / rebuild time

Try double clutching it usually works. Takes longer but should help

I did read the previous replies.

 

I'm pretty certain it's either gear oil or a worn synchromesh on 4th. Changing the gear oil might work, and is way cheaper than changing or rebuilding the gearbox.

Thanks, double-declutching doesn't help. I'll change the oil this weekend (hopefully), and take it from there. Given the age of the car, we'll probably just live with it.

 

Cheers,

Iain

What was the outcome

Only got as far as buying the oil and plug socket, mainly due to the weather. Hoping to get it done this coming week...

What's oil does skoda use? 

I got Comma MVMTF 75W-80 GL-4 1L, from Halfrauds.

 

Got the change done yesterday. Old oil was decidedly thin and manky. The new oil seems to have improved things a lot. 4th is still a bit notchy, but much better than it was.

 

It took about 1.25L, but I couldn't find anything to say what the capacity should be...

I hope the oil change does the trick but I would support the suggestion of double de-clutching.

 

I learnt to do it many years ago (on somebody else's van) and it has been second nature for many years.

I'm sure it reduces the loading on the synchros which can only  help life expectancy.

 

If it it didn't help in your case, you can't have been doing it properly - fair enough if you only just started.

Its all about judging the revs to engage the gear - I practised without using the clutch at all in a hillman imp van with a very tenuous gear linkage - gearbox survived just about.

Quick update...still crunching badly going down from 5th to 4th. Best way to prevent is slotting it into 3rd then 4th, or skipping 4th on the way down altogether.

 

Given the age and value of the car there's not much point doing more with it at this time. If the car outlasts the gearbox I'll consider swapping another one in

You could try rev-matching manually rather than relying on the synchromesh to do it for you.

 

When changing gear, use the time deselecting old_gear and a pause in neutral to rev the engine up or down to the revs it will be at in new_gear.

...double de-clutching...

Could you not get a 2nd hand box for a reasonable price.

Hi,

 

Thanks for the replies. Double-declutching doesn't help. Haven't tried rev-matching, but as the Mrs is on L plates it's probably a bit much to cope with at the moment.

 

Replacement box should be cheap enough, if it comes to that

Also thinking it's worth waiting until reverse is engaged with the assistance of the clutch *every* time... 

I your near unit 18 I recommended them to change the box. Very cheap for me and very quick.