no 5th gear; ideas?

scottmartin49 · Post by **scottmartin49** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 6:45 pm

What is the liklihood of a linkage problem vs.REAL trouble?

1. always felt a little sloppy going into 5th, while in, whined a bit at 35-50mph
2. sometimes popped out or didn't engage without an extra "nudge"
3. no engagement at all today, just a "spinning/buzzing" sound but not that real harsh grinding gear noise
4. linkage is ok visually while being shifted through all the gears, all the nuts and bolts look ok and no obviously excess play
5. All other gears and clutch ok

Just looking for the voice of experience before I jump on the repair!

Thanks, Scott

Oh yeah; it's a bitsa for sure, but mostly 1986 Golf diesel 5speed

Quantum TD · Post by **Quantum TD** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 8:13 pm

Sounds like your linkage is sloppy: minimally. You could have killed your 5th gear also. Usually, the linkage at the main relay shaft goes bad. There's a vertical shaft with a leve mounted to it. At the end of the lever, there should be a ball. Usually, the ball rots off and leaves just a pin. That's what will make it hard to find 5th.

Now, the noise at certain speeds sounds like your sloppy linkage led to ground synchros or gears. Either that, or your trans was low on fluid, which led to wear to your 5th gear.

I'd say, check the fluid level in the trans first. If it's really low, or the oil is black, then worry about a blown 5th gear.

Then, rebuild the linkage completely (i.e. don't just buy the bushing kit, get all the rods, and especially, the main relay lever: costs about $40-50 by itself). It may look fine, but unless you know what to look for, you'll miss that main relay shaft. Anyway, you'll want to rebuild the linkage anyway if you have to replace the trans.

If that doesn't solve your problem, then it's time for a new trans, or a new 5th gear set, assuming the main shaft is not worn out. You can just replace the 5th gear set, but you'll have to lower the trans down to acess the 5th gear housing.

VWCaddy · Post by **VWCaddy** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 8:41 pm

Check the linkage operation more closely. See below for some tips:
http://www.4crawler.com/Diesel/ForSale/ ... ngProblems

Basically have someone inside try to shift to 5th and you get under the hood and see what the linkage is doing. Sometimes 5th is hard to reach when the selector lever is not set up dead center in the shifting range of motion. It is always a tradeoff to reach R-1-2 and 5, they are at the opposite ends of motion.

And also, check your gear oil level, low oil = toasted 5th gear.

Op-Ivy · Post by **Op-Ivy** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 11:42 pm

Yeap. 5th popping out is a classic sign of low fluid levels. Give them a check and report back your findings.

Brian Rages · Post by **Brian Rages** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:18 am

I vote for a toasted 5th gear. Sorry, I am not feeling optimistic today.

JRM · Post by **JRM** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 12:46 pm

i think this 1986 AGS trans had the fill hole mounted to low, so even when "full" its low- this would be your whine-I know I must fill mine ACG tranny in my 1985 GOlf with 2 quarts via the speedo cable hole!
Dont feel to bad, im batteling the same battle on my new project a Infinity G 20 here:
http://www.g20.net/forum/showthread.php ... post987962

scottmartin49 · Post by **scottmartin49** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 9:38 am

Thanks for the help! It's fallen to the "end of the month pile" of jobs but I'll post back with the ugly truth.

Scott

kevin g · Post by **kevin g** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 10:38 pm

How do you know hoe much oil to add to the tranny? I just eye ball it through the speedo cable hole. But don't know exactlly how much to add.

82vdub · Post by **82vdub** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 9:14 am

Here's a link to the proper fill locations, fluids etc:

http://www.brokevw.com/020oil.html

Post by **Fatmobile** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 12:31 am

Someone on here posted that it should be 1.8" below the edge the speedo cable sits on.... that's for the 5 speeds