Hi Folks, I recently purchase an '04 Octavia Estate 1.8T. The car is great but when the clutch pedal is depressed there is a noticeable creaking sound. Unless done very gently the selection into 1st is more of a crunch than a smooth gated plop, it is also gritty and not as smooth as expected into 5th and the selection into reverse can be a bit dodgy too. It's the original box and clutch on 148K last owner may have had a bit of a heavy right foot (to the tune of a few burnouts i assume). Does this sound like the box and clutch might need replacing or is there other lower cost things I can try? I have basic skills (change pads, basic service etc). Cheers for any golden advice folks!

Mine very occasionally creaks - probably nothing to worry about unless the clutch is overly heavy.

 

Reverse on most cars is straight cut and can sometimes be more difficult to get - best practice is to be stationary and wait a bit longer than normal to select the reverse after depressing the clutch.

 

Two cheap and relatively easy things to try before diagnosing a clutch/gearbox fault:

• Check & readjust gear linkages. I've never needed to do this but there are plenty of guides around (including YouTube videos).
• Change the gearbox oil. Genuine oil is quite cheap from the dealer/TPS - not worth taking a chance with anything else IMO. Make sure you can undo the fill plug before undoing the drain plug  you will need a funnel & bit of hose to fill it up and a 17mm allen head socket to undo the drain/fill plugs. Guide for this is here: 

As above, I’ve just done this. However my box has a whining sound to it so I suspect the input shaft for 3/4 is on its way out.

For me I have a spare gearbox but for yourself, try the oil change or get the box swapped (but there is a risk that a spare could also have the same issue). I’ll be getting my original box refurbed for stage 2 power so it lasts. 

 

Unusual these boxes go, but I guess it’s all down to how it’s been treated. 

 

Best at of luck.

Cheers guys, this forum is great, such a wealth of knowledge! I'll give those things a try and report back when I can. Just come across another possible issue which might be for another post but I found the rocker cover has been painted inside and judging by the peel around the oil filler cap may not be as adherent as it should be! 

On 18/08/2019 at 12:41, MrBert said:

the rocker cover has been painted inside

 

😲🤔😅

 

Wow, that's got to be pretty high up on the stupid car mods list! Possibly above the tinting of head lights/tail lights.

On 19/08/2019 at 22:09, petrolbloke said:

Possibly above the tinting of head lights

Even the one biker up where I live who tinted his headlights RED?

I'm thinking it's a full strip job, not my idea of a fun weekend!

4 minutes ago, MrBert said:

I'm thinking it's a full strip job, not my idea of a fun weekend!

Full strip, massage oil , then it will be  time.

Anyone know an efficient way to search the forum? Searching for a guide or tips on how difficult it is to remove the valve cover!

Pretty sure there aren’t any guides on removing the cam cover. It’s pretty straight forward though. 

On 24 August 2019 at 19:47, MrBert said:

Anyone know an efficient way to search the forum? Searching for a guide or tips on how difficult it is to remove the valve cover!

 

The search function has its limits and I found the best way is to use Google as follows.

Into Google put briskoda followed by your search terms. 

Google will then search briskoda past and present plus relevant posts and some links to you tube.

On 24/08/2019 at 19:47, MrBert said:

Searching for a guide or tips on how difficult it is to remove the valve cover!

No, but Haynes tell you what order to torque the bolts up in, and removal is the reverse of fitment!