Lost 5th gear today...

[89VWdieselGolf]

i'm driving down the 401 and it popped out of gear (it used to do it alot when i drove for long distances but only on the highway), so i topped up the gear oil and its been fine. but today it started doing it again, and i put it back into gear and heard it grind and then wine....i thought to myself "i've seen enough rally video's to know what that noise is....SH!T"

so ya, now my car is a 4 speed with an extra neural... this IS the 89 golf for sale in the classifieds.....i guess the price just dropped  

Jeff

[VWRacer]

Jeff,

Your 5th gear may have simply loosened on the shaft. If so, it can usually be fixed without losing the gear altogether.

1) Jack up front and install jackstands. Pull (IIRC, I'm not home) driver side wheel and inner wheel well flap. Drain gearbox oil.

2) Pull end cap off gearbox. Fifth gear should be right under the nut. If the nut is loose, this will cause the gearbox to pop out of gear and for it to grind while in gear. Tighten the nut to 125 ft-lbs. Reinstall cap and fill with fresh oil.

3) Drive in happiness...

DISCLAIMER: I really don't know if this will work on a VW gearbox. It works well on DSM gearboxes (I've done 2), and I understand that VW and DSM gearboxes are very similar designs. In any case, I'll take a look at my Rabbit when I get home to get a better idea.

[Dr. Diesel]

020's are well known to pop out of gear when the fluid's low.

[89VWdieselGolf]

2) Pull end cap off gearbox. Fifth gear should be right under the nut. If the nut is loose, this will cause the gearbox to pop out of gear and for it to grind while in gear. Tighten the nut to 125 ft-lbs. Reinstall cap and fill with fresh oil.

the end cap on my tranny was leaking like mad. it had a hole so big you could stick a pen through it....i took it into my auto shop and filled it with scilicone (my shop teacher insisted it wouldnt work.....but it did   ) i'm afraid if i pull it off if it will crumble into a million pieces. (this is the cap that has the VW symbol on it and its about the size of a hockey puck right?

and for the 2nd post, yes, it did pop out of gear when the fluid was low....i think it got low again and thats why it started, but it just seemed weird that it wouldnt engage at all now.....i hope i can fix this, i'd like to sell it as a 5 speed not a 4

thanks,
Jeff

[lord_verminaard]

Actually, the green cap with the VW symbol just covers the clutch rod/bearing assembly.  You'll need to pop off the whole endcap- six bolts.  Fifth is right under the endcap.  DO NOT pull out the rod with the spring on the end of it, or you are boned.    

What to look for- The teeth should look fairly clean, not chipped or out of shape.  Also, there shouldnt be a lot of dark, smelly (more than normal) trans oil around the area.  If so, this is bad, but possibly not the end of the world.  If you see bits and pieces of "stuff" around the gears, it's probably toast.  A final test, disconnect the shift linkage, then grab the syncro hub (the big round "sleeve" under 5th gear) and try to move it up and down.  It should slide and lock into gear without much complaint.  If that doesnt work, hook up the linkage and have someone try to shift into 5th while you watch.  If it wont go, then the bearing cage that holds the synchro hub on the shaft has melted and tossed it's bearings all over the place.  At this point, 5th will need replaced.  This is usually the case if everything looks fine but it still wont go into fifth.  Although if you heard grinding, chances are that you will find some bits of something under there as evidence.  Good news, you can replace fifth and the synchro bearing with the tranny in the car.  

Good luck, and hope that it's just a loose bolt.  

Brendan
84 Scirocco 8v
00 Camaro L36 M49

[VWRacer]

Thanks Brendan...yes, I meant the entire end cap with the six bolts, not just the dust cover.  

[89VWdieselGolf]

Actually, the green cap with the VW symbol just covers the clutch rod/bearing assembly.

green?!?, whoa, mines rust

but anyways, thanks for that detailed info, i'll try and fix that asap i hope it goes well

thanks again,
Jeff

[Patrick]

A new cap will cost you about 6 or 7 bucks, just pushes in like a big frost plug. Use the appropriate size socket from a 3/4"drive socket set for a driver.