Hi I have 110TDi on 90k and I was wondering when it should have the gearbox oil changed. I have recently purchased it and it comes with a full dealer service history but I cannot find it mentioned anywhere that it has been done. Am I better to stay on the side of caution and do it anyway?

Cheers

Matt

I don't think it's in the service schedule so unless the previous owner has done it, it may be on it's original oil. I changed mine at 40k.

Ok cheers. Next question-What grade oil should I use?

Try millers TRX fully Synthetic (75-90 I think) oil

I used that in the TDI and it's a very good oil at about £8 a litre from a decent motor factor. You will need about 2L of the stuff IIRC

Confirmed by Autodata CD2. 2 litres of 75W/90 synthetic.

Just a few days ago i was recommend by opieoils ( simon and guy ) to put silkolene silktran syn s in mu octy 1.8t. that's fullly synthetic 75w-90.

the change will take place tomorow morning and i can report my first impressions with that oil in the afternoon.

i've got very good experience with motul motyl gear 75w-90 gear oils in my former cars alfa romeo 145 and toyota avensis.

cheers

igor

I found the Silkolene was too expensive at almost £12 a bottle, and much harder to get hold of. The specs for the millers appear to be just as good, so personally I saved the money.

As long as the oil meets the specs required it's all much of a muchness if you are changing every 50k miles anyway and down to personal likes/dislikes. I have no idea how much the skoda stuff costs either and that might be fairly cheap too.

On the note of the change, you will probably find it takes about 200 miles for you to notice the change as the old oil and crud gets flushed out of all the components by the new clean oil

you're definitly right.

i have totaly forgotten about that aprox 200 miles.

there was an offer running at opieoils and that silktran was 7.99/l.

skoda dealer sells castrol sintrax for around 10 pounds /l.

there was an offer running at opieoils and that silktran was 7.99/l.

That's a nice price for that oil for sure

My vRS didn't like Silktran Syn 5 at all, I couldn't change gear when cold without crunching. It lasted a week before I dropped it out again :(

Mine LOVED VAG transmission oil.

Now I just have to get 2nd to 3rd right!

Thanks guys. I will try and pick some millers up and do it over the weekend (weather permitting). Are there any gaskets/seals that I need to replace? Am I ok with the original sump plug or is it like the oil sump?

Cheers Matt

I used mine again, there isn't a washer like there is on the sump plug. I'm not sure if it's meant to be renewed but mine has not leaked and I've had it out twice now.

The plug was reused on mine.

Sorry to bring this up again.

After struggling to source gearbox oil locally, I went to the local dealer and enquired about my car's history and when it was recommended to change the oil. I was informed that the gearbox is a sealed unit and does not require a change at any point in its life. I went on to ask what grade and I was informed that it required semi synthetic. Is it realistic to never change the oil and expect it to be ok? Should I change it?

Cheers

My vRS didn't like Silktran Syn 5 at all, I couldn't change gear when cold without crunching. It lasted a week before I dropped it out again :(

Hi Phil

I am finding the same on Silktran Syn 5. It is very sweet shifting once warm, but really needs care when cold.

What did you replace the Silkolene with? I am considering Redline MT90.

Chris

Chris Millers TRX Fully Synth was good all the way through for me.

Sorry to bring this up again.

After struggling to source gearbox oil locally, I went to the local dealer and enquired about my car's history and when it was recommended to change the oil. I was informed that the gearbox is a sealed unit and does not require a change at any point in its life. I went on to ask what grade and I was informed that it required semi synthetic. Is it realistic to never change the oil and expect it to be ok? Should I change it?

Cheers

No it is not. The "life" of a vehicle is usually a legal term that refeers to the time the vehicle is in warranty. So if you have 3 years of warranty, the "life" of your vehicle is 3 years. Also, the internals of gearboxes are under lots of pressure most of the time, and the synchronizers inside work with friction. Friction creates heat and heat+frictions = worn metal, even worst if you do any type of brisk driving. The little pieces of metal that break of the gears and synchronizers will float inside the gearbox creating more trouble in the long term. All gearboxes eventually need their oil to be changed. Also, VAG econotransmissions are not known for their reliability.

Anyway, they gearbox is not "sealed" either. There are 2 removable plugs to drain and fill the box.

I had to change my fluid because of 3rd gear grind above 4000rpms. I could not find a decent manual transmission oil in my country, so the last time i flew to the US, i bought 6quarts of GM synchromesh fluid from a chevrolet dealer. It is trully miracle transmission oil. It is as sleek and smooth as GL-5 spec oils, but has additives to make it work perfectly well with brass synchros like the ones in our cars (which usually call for GL-4 spec oils). So you get GL-5 smoothness with GL-4 compatibility. If you can, give it a try.

Sorry to bring this up again.

After struggling to source gearbox oil locally, I went to the local dealer and enquired about my car's history and when it was recommended to change the oil. I was informed that the gearbox is a sealed unit and does not require a change at any point in its life. I went on to ask what grade and I was informed that it required semi synthetic. Is it realistic to never change the oil and expect it to be ok? Should I change it?

Cheers

Where about are you exactly?

If you have a local Motorist Discount Centre they sell the millers stuff as do many local factors.

I have 1 Litre of the stuff hanging around but it would probably cost more to post it than to just buy it locally.

Millers Stockist Locator

sorry I have been away for a while. I am in Leicester-I have tried the big local motor factors to no avail. I will try somewhere online. Thanks for the help guys.

i am a bit dissapointed with silktran as well.

shifting is very hard when the car is cold. later on after it reaches optimal temperature it becomes very smooth.

i am thinking of replacing it with something else.

does anybody have any experience with amsoil?

mate from the us recommended me to give it a try. he uses it in his audi tt.

Amsoil Synthetic Manual Transmission and Transaxle Gear Oil

here in england amsoil is quite expenssive. so i would preffer to hear some more opinions before spending 50 pounds to give it a try.

You need SAE 75W90, Our local Skoda dealer sells it at around £4 + vat per litre

I had mine changed on Thursday on the 110 Tdi as the gear change was getting slightly notchy into 3rd & 5th. The car had done 117,000 miles. The Black treacley crap that came out looked terrible & with the new oil the gear change is silky smooth again. One tip, loosen the filler BEFORE the drain plug, Our filler prooved an absolute sod to undo & the oil was already out, This could have been a major problem !!

Try getting a quote from a small independent to do the work, the oil is a popular grade & many garages cary it in bulk & it saves you clambering around under the car. ours was £30 including oil

do you know what torque setting the drain plug should be? I have searched the Haynes Manual but it does not even mention draining/changing the oil let alone the setting for drain plug. I know that the filler plug should be 25nm (ASV transmission code). I know that this should not be over tightened.

Thanks for the tip about the filler plug-I imagine that will help when I go to do it in the morning.

Cheers for your help

What oil you going for?

I got it done for me as per stuartJ as I needed the car and there was a place by work. Gave them my oil and handed over £10 or £20

i'll definitly give a try to original vag oil.

vag dealer advised me today that vag gear oil is rebranded castrol taf-x fully synthetic. that one should be good.

when i said that i am not happy to give amsoil a try for 50 quid it was due to extremely high cost of that oil itself aprox 13 quid per us quart.

local garage does the job for 10 quid if i supply the oil.

i'll report the experience with vag gear oil soon:thumbup: