4th Gear does not engage

[LiamDub]

In the last month my 2015 Skoda Octavia 2.0 TDI (Manual Transmission) does not engage all the time with 4th gear. All other gears are fine but frequently (and nearly all the time - not as bad starting off but after 3 or 4 gear moves then 4th gear fails) when I try to move from 3rd to 4th or from 5th to 4th it does not engage - If I try to hold it in place as I take foot of clutch there is a grating noise and not engaging. Moving down from 5th to 4th is always worse than from 3rd to 4th?

 

Anybody have experience of this? Did they identify the problem and solve it?

 

My mechanic said he never seen this happen - it is usually the first/second gear that there is a problem. He said he could change the clutch and transmission (very expensive) but could not guarantee that this will solve the problem.

 

 

 

[MoggyTech]

 

[J.R.]

Synchroniser cone worn and through the crunching the engagement spurs on the gear and/or the collar are damaged.

 

Sorry but I have long forgotten the correct technical terms.

 

By all means adjust the cable linkage as it may possibly not yet be terminal.

[LiamDub]

Hi MoggyTech and J.R.,

Thanks for the link ( gear linkage adjuster) and the suggestion of the potential worn synchroniser cone.....good to have something to talk to the mechanic about.

Best,

Liam

 

 

[TrinityJay]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but if 4th has a linkage issue wouldn't that also affect 3rd in the opposite way? ie- coming out of 3rd you think it's in neutral but 3rd is still partially engaged.

 

I'm inclined to agree with the mechanic in that the first synchros to go are 1st (if driver is poorly educated) and 2nd (most frequently shifted gear). Regardless, 3rd -> 4th is such an effortless shift that even with buggered synchros it would slot in just fine. It has to be something else.

 

@LiamDub does the gearlever feel like it's gone all the way in to 4th on the gate, or is it blocked? What about 3rd? I reckon give the linkages a fiddle. 

[LiamDub]

@TrinityJay 3rd gear works fine....it goes in the gate without any problem (very smooth). When I take it our of 3rd (or 5th) and move it to 4th the gate in 4th is not as definite. If you try to force/hold it in the gate then you get the grating noise, otherwise as you move out of 3rd or 5th towards 4th you are in neutral (when stop/start is off) and putting you foot on the accelerator you just get revs and rpm dial going up. 

[TrinityJay]

Certainly sounds like a linkage issue then.

[LiamDub]

Was thinking that myself.....planning to meet with mechanic in the next few days.

[LiamDub]

Mechanic sorted it out - it was a worn synchroniser. For a car less than 5 years and low mileage it is very disappointing - my old skoda did over 200,000 km and never a problem with the gears (or worn synchroniser). Could have been the previous owner poor driving damaged it or maybe the parts they are using nowadays in skoda are not what they used to be.

As you can imagine it was not a cheap fix.

[J.R.]

Poor driving unlikely, when 4th gear was the direct top gear the selector fork could become worn through the driver resting his hand on the gearlever eventually leading to engagement problems but it would not wear the synchro cone.

 

They have been pretty much bullletproof & over-engineered for decades now especially German vehicles, if someone drove for a few weeks without a clutch they might wear one or more synchros, the only thing that could definitely wear it out would be a deliberate act, revving the car and pulling hard on the gearlever towards the 4th gear position without disengaging the clutch.

 

You may have been the ultimate victim of some bad blood towards the previous owner, its a very rare failure on modern VAG gearboxes, or simply a part with a crack that finally let go.