6Spd Manual Gearbox Opinions Needed

[elmo230]

Seen a lot of threads on this, but would really like to encourage a consensus on what people should expect from the manual 6 speed gearbox on an Octavia, especially a vRS. I.e. what is fault and what is feature of the gearbox, so I and othere don't go to the dealer wanting them to fix design faults with the car itself.

 

Questions are:

- What MK3 6spd manual model do you have?

- Do you have any loose movement in the stick in neutral or engaged (i.e. does it wiggle a bit)?

- Do you have a stiff/overly notchy gear change from 1st into 2nd when cold? How about 2nd to 3rd?

- Do you have any mechanical feeling through the stick into 2nd? 

- IF you do have a mechanical feeling, is it crunching gears OR something between the 'box and the stick on you opinion.

- Has it got better or worse over time/miles?

- How about going into 1st or reverse?

- Have you had an oil change? IF so VAG oil or other? Any difference?

- Have you had an alignment? Any difference?

- Have you had synchros replaced? Any difference?

 

Thanks to the people who replied on my other thread about this and the steering creak - I have reposted here as I think it was getting lost under replies to the steering creak issue and I had written about it at the bottom of the post. Mine is going into the dealer next month.

 

[elmo230]

For reference, my answers to the above are:

- vRS 230 pre facelift

- Some movement in the stick (it wiggles a bit)

- Very stiff/notchy 1-2 when cold - doesn't fully go away when warmed up. 2-3 slightly notchy.

- Mechanical feeling into 2nd when cold, feels like I'm being pushed out of the gate.

- Doesn't sound like grinding gears, any sound is short lived and the gear goes in - but there is an odd sound.

- Haven't owned the car long enough (1k miles/1 month)

- 1st and reverse are ok - sometimes problematic, but no more than other cars I've owned

- Had an oil change with VAG oil, no difference

- Haven't had it aligned, asking dealer to do that next month - will report back.

- Haven't had synchros looked at. 

 

[ScoutCJB]

Mine was a 2015 Scout and from when I brought it at 75k (ish) miles i would say:
 

- Some movement in the stick (it wiggled a little bit)

- A bit stiff/notchy 1-2 when cold - not aware it did it when warm.  I found for the first 2 mins of gear change when cold if i changed gear a bit more slowly it was fine.  I accepted this as your not supposed to drive cars hard when cold so it sort of went hand in hand and was a reminder to be a bit less eager.

 

How many miles is yours on?

[elmo230]

1 minute ago, ScoutCJB said:

Mine was a 2015 Scout and from when I brought it at 75k (ish) miles i would say:
 

- Some movement in the stick (it wiggled a little bit)

- A bit stiff/notchy 1-2 when cold - not aware it did it when warm.  I found for the first 2 mins of gear change when cold if i changed gear a bit more slowly it was fine.  I accepted this as your not supposed to drive cars hard when cold so it sort of went hand in hand and was a reminder to be a bit less eager.

 

How many miles is yours on?

 

It's got 37k on it @ 4 years. Reason I'm concerned is I've had a Mk7 Golf with what I'm assuming is a very similar gearbox, linkage etc combination and it's a lot worse than that. I also drive like an old man until it's all up to temp. Driving enthusiastically actually makes the gear change a lot better, but not perfect.

[TrinityJay]

Questions are:

- What MK3 6spd manual model do you have?

Pre-FL RS230. 58,000km, 2k of that mine

 

- Do you have any loose movement in the stick in neutral or engaged (i.e. does it wiggle a bit)?

No, virtually zero play

 

- Do you have a stiff/overly notchy gear change from 1st into 2nd when cold? How about 2nd to 3rd?

2nd is a little notchy when cold, but I've had worse. All gears have a pleasant positive engagement once warmed up.

- Do you have any mechanical feeling through the stick into 2nd? 

Yes, as above

 

- IF you do have a mechanical feeling, is it crunching gears OR something between the 'box and the stick on you opinion.

Just the feeling of the dogs engaging, nothing bad

 

- Has it got better or worse over time/miles?

N/A

 

- How about going into 1st or reverse?

The times I've had to engage 1st at low speed (because 2nd is too tall) it has engaged very smoothly. Reverse has pulled the partial engagement trick on me once or twice, but that's expected behaviour

 

- Have you had an oil change? IF so VAG oil or other? Any difference?

N/A

 

- Have you had an alignment?

Nope

 

- Have you had synchros replaced?

Not necessary. The 1st & 2nd synchros on my GTi6 are quite worn and I've managed that ok for 7yrs, so I think I'll survive with what little wear the Octavia has.

[Ads230]

What MK3 6spd manual model do you have?

Pre-FL VRS 230, at 34,000 miles (32k of that mine)

 

Do you have any loose movement in the stick in neutral or engaged (i.e. does it wiggle a bit)?

No, little play in the stick.

 

Do you have a stiff/overly notchy gear change from 1st into 2nd when cold? How about 2nd to 3rd?

I think universally 1st - 2nd is notchy when cold, although mine has improved considerably over time (i.e. past 20k miles). 2nd to 3rd absolutely fine.

 

Do you have any mechanical feeling through the stick into 2nd? 

No more than normal, usually feels like a thinner gate. Could be the nuance of VAG design bypassing reverse gear.

 

IF you do have a mechanical feeling, is it crunching gears OR something between the 'box and the stick on you opinion.

No more mechanical than normal.

 

Has it got better or worse over time/miles?

Better for me. But an important point is that I've got a dogbone engine mount fitted. Was an 034 billet aluminium piece, then replaced that with an APR billet stainless steel piece. Significantly eliminated any 'play' in movement and improved gear shifts making it much more precise.

 

How about going into 1st or reverse?

Same as @TrinityJay - reverse has pulled the partial engagement trick on me once or twice, but that's expected behaviour. Getting back into first from second (i.e. slow movement forward, like slowing to crawl up to traffic light), it has it's normal mechanical protection (to prevent change into 1st at speed and overrevving the engine) - but easy enough to pre-rev and change down as needed.

 

Have you had an oil change? IF so VAG oil or other? Any difference?

No.

 

Have you had an alignment?

No, although the lower engine mount made an immediate world of difference.

 

Have you had synchros replaced?

No.