9N GTI Gearbox issues

[Stuwey]

OK, so after having done 60,000 kms in my beloved GTI, there was a whine coming from first gear, and a harsh vibe through the car when giving it a bootful in either second or third.

Went back for warranty, and they've replaced a couple of bearings in the 'box and handed the keys back. In short, they did a terrible job. Aside from the oily hand prints, silicone, and grease everywhere, it leaks oil, and it is SO difficult to pull out of reverse, i have trouble.

Anyways. Whilst the whine is gone, the vibe is still there from what is obviously a stuffed bearing or two in there.

I'm gonna put it out there... I drive my car pretty hard at times. No trackday stuff, and no skids, but what can I say - speed thrills. I bought a GTI for a reason.

My question is this - Are there any tough gearbox options? Do i spend the cash in building up another box with a Quaife diff and straight-cut gear set? The noise wouldn't worry me, but if it broke again after spending that amount of money i swear i'd cry.

Anyone else looked? Anyone else worn out a 'box in 60,000kms?

[bfeboi]

keep sending it back to the stealer till they fix all the problems and request a loan car for all the inconvience they've given you

[geoff_gti]

Hey Stuwey, your's wouldn't be the first....

The Mk IV GTI essentially the same gearbox and I had big probs with mine. Mine started out with a whining noise in 1st as well. It dropped a washer inside between R / 1st, then after that was repaired (requiring the mechanics to break the seals and pull the whole thing apart) about 6 weeks later 5th gear sheared off at the other end. I think when it was reassembled the opposite end was minutely out of alignment or something and then chomped itself. It died with 75000km on the box, was replaced with another box from a rear-end wreck with less km.

I've since changed the oil to Redline MTL after letting the new box settle for a few months to make sure it all felt ok.

If your Reverse is sticking though and there is no more whining, it could be the mounts underneath are worn. If you drive a GTI like a GTI this is pretty likely!! If the box is sitting slightly off centre etc on the mounts the selector/gearstick coming in from underneath might be catching slightly.

Get them to check all the mounts and perhaps change the oil as Redline is a little heavier and should reduce the jerky change (if you've got that still). Sounds like that haven't put it back in properly. The oil could be excess spillage from the refill - it could also be they didn't seal it properly!!

Have a search in this section and also the Mk IV Golf section as there have been similar gearbox stories.

Cheers

[Stuwey]

Well I emailed PPG and asked about a full custom gearset..

their answer? $10000-$12000 for a full custom job, plus supply your own gearbox and about six months....

It'd be one tough 'box though!

The search continues....

[Jmac]

If your Reverse is sticking though and there is no more whining, it could be the mounts underneath are worn. If you drive a GTI like a GTI this is pretty likely!! If the box is sitting slightly off centre etc on the mounts the selector/gearstick coming in from underneath might be catching slightly.
Reply to this quote, this is a cable shift transmission. Would have to be significant cant to bare weight in the cables, it makes sense if we were talking about a Golf with rod to box shift but not this transmission. I know of another sticky in reverse Polo im due to look at and ill get back with the findings.
Cheers
Jmac

[geoff_gti]

If your Reverse is sticking though and there is no more whining, it could be the mounts underneath are worn. If you drive a GTI like a GTI this is pretty likely!! If the box is sitting slightly off centre etc on the mounts the selector/gearstick coming in from underneath might be catching slightly.

Reply to this quote, this is a cable shift transmission. Would have to be significant cant to bare weight in the cables, it makes sense if we were talking about a Golf with rod to box shift but not this transmission. I know of another sticky in reverse Polo im due to look at and ill get back with the findings.
Cheers
Jmac

Fair enough was a semi educated guess from a semi non-mechanical golfer haha