Noisy Reverse gear

[craig_the_german]

Hi all,

Just something I have wondered about for a while.
I have a MK4 1.6 manual and it has quite a noisy reverse gear. How noisy should it be? whats normal?

The gearbox is fine, no other noises, changes really well. The car has done 86000ks with no other issues.

I have had a look through the paperwork that came with the car when I bought it and the previous owners had mentioned the noisy reverse gear right from delivery and on the odd services throughout it's life. The explainations written by the servicing mechanics (dealer and independant) are that it is simply the cut of the gear teeth that gives it the noise. I have heard that reverse gear noise in other makes and models but my golf just sounds louder than the others.

What oil should it have in or is there an oil that helps with gear noise?

Thanks for your help.

[adrianTNT]

Hi.

Just wanted to say that my 1.6 16V makes reverse noises too.
It was very loud when I bought the car, you could tell that something was wrong, a service opened the gearbox and changed reverse gear. I think cost was under $100 for the part.

You can still hear noise now but not that lout, it is louder than other cars though.

[DAN682]

Ok I am no mechanic so excuse me if I am incorrect in terms.

Your forward driving gears are Helical cut with synchros (Gears are on an angle so when you put the gear in, it goes in nicer and has less noise), In just about every vehicle the reverse gear is a straight cut gear with no Synchro. Meaning when reversing you will get a whine out of the box because the gears have straight teeth therefore this makes for a noisier sound. If you ever watch the V8 supercars you will hear this all the time as they run Straight Cut Dog Boxes (or a variant) Most people in the WRX scene will upgrade their gearboxes to Straight cut boxes for example a PPG Gearset which I have in a 2000 WRX shared with one of my family members.

If it is a whine you hear, it is completely normal, if it is louder than others it still is not a problem. When I was working for Mazda the 6 Range was whisper quiet however the 2 and the 3's were noisy as.

If you search Youtube for straight cut gearbox or PPG listen to the noise and see if it sounds the same. I bet it does.

I hope this helps and if there are any mechanical techno boffins out there, please correct me on anything I have said. I am an IT nerd after all


Straight Cut


Helical Cut

[balkanac]

So straight cut gears are stronger than helical cut ones?

[craig_the_german]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies. As the gearbox has been functioning normally I didn't think there was a problem. I did find it reassuring that others with the 1.6 have had noisier than usual reverse gears as well.
Thanks for your input, certainly has put my mind at ease.

Pete

[DAN682]

So straight cut gears are stronger than helical cut ones?

MUCH MUUUCCCCHHH Stronger.

You can get a Straight cut box with Synchro's too so you don't have to rev match at all. In our WRX we have done 1st to 4th so for highway driving, you can go to 5th and have the quietness of the Helical cut.

[Golf Loon]

Just dont go flat out backwards and change the oil for a special gearbox oil that quietens noisy gears.

Its the same box internally as Golf 3s and 2s, all of which have noisy reverse gears.

[golfaki]

Wish my noise was only a minor issue, had two teeth come of the reverse gear about a month or so ago (rivets being the cause) which then caused other parts (bearings) to S**t them selves wasn't a cheap fix however compared to other gear box stories I've heard I don't think mine was that bad, including a clutch kit it was $2600 in total - having said that the guy @ VOLKSHOME seemed quite genuine and honest (think his name was JOHN) ...............

hopefuly your noise doesn't end up being that serious (mine was more of a cluncking sound though)

[Jmac]

Mate try Redline MTL , this has poly in it. It will make your box heaps smoother and quieter.
Jmac

[craig_the_german]

Hi all,
the noise is almost like a knocking sound. It makes it when driving backwards or rolling backwards (clutch in). It has done it since I bought the car and the previous owner had mentioned it many times on services. It seems to have gotten louder in the last week.

I'm going to check the oil level tomorrow as it kind of sounds like there's no oil in the box...but only in reverse. The forward gears are fine, no noises, no bearing whine, smooth changes...