1st post - Popping out of 4th

[Guinch]

Well I did it. Finally bought myself a T25 last weekend. A 1988 Manual(4 Speed) 1.9 Petrol Hightop (Leisure Drive) . She is sweet but does have 1 or 2 issues to sort before any big trips. The 1st and most important is that it pops out of 4th gear when it is pushed even slightly. No noises or anything just pops out if you don't hold it in.

I am a bit pee'd off about it cos when I went to see it before bidding (ebay) it was sorned and so I didn't actually get it on the road. The bodywork was OK and the engine sounded good but didn't really check the gears.

Anyway its done now and having had a look here and in the books it looks like the first this to check the the gear linkage, which will be done as soon as I get a chance. Gear selection it also a little sloppy so hoping this will also tidy that up.

After that its the gear box. And I'm really hoping its not.

So down to the question:

Does anyone have any other experience/advice on this problem and how they fixed it? And if it is the gearbox what's chances of me being able to fix it myself?

Any help and advice would be appreciated? Cheers in advance.

G

[VWCamperfan]

Check the linkage first. There's an adjuster underneath the van just behind the fuel tank. If you loosen this and shorten the linkage slightly ie. slide the front and rear sections of the linkage together, then this might just help. Ony shorten by about 1cm. though as any more and you may be hitting your knuckles on the stereo!

Welcome to the club too!

[Guinch]

OK finally got round to spending some time on the linkage this weekend.

After moving it about to much and losing reverse, I managed to get it all back but its still popping out of fourth.

Might try shortening the linkage further (or lengthening it??) when I get the chance.

There is no noises or any problems with any of the other gears so I can't help but think it is more likely to be the linkage rather than the box. Or is that just wishful thinking??

[ermie571]

Talk to Aiden. He is the gear box guru.

Em
x

[Ian Hulley]

As Emma say's speak to Mr Talbot Sound's as though you've just found out why the last owner sold the van

Ian.

[lloyd]

Get your e out of Aidan's name.

His website is:
http://www.aidantalbot.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and phones are:
01925 495351
07817 377938

[Aidan]

if you hold it in gear you will wear the selector fork and the syncro slider and probably the cone on the gear too

[Guinch]

Thanks you the responses everyone.

So Aidan, you reckon it is the gearbox? Anything I can do with it or am I looking at a new gearbox?

[Aidan]

if you've done the linkages and it still does it then yes it's likely to be the box
(but before condemming it check the condition of the selector ball and selector rod cup to see that neither are excessively worn I've seen a cup worn right through because the protective boot was missing and the now grinding paste in their was working it's magic)
Worn box either due to mainshaft bearing moving in case and or 4th synchro/gear/synchroniser worn and or selector fork worn/bearings failed - basically points to high mileage low maintenace, oil could be original.
It's perfectly fixable, but drop the oil and see what you find the drain plug magnet will give an idea of overall wear and any bits that have broke may show up too, if it's really really bad then get an exchange unit from JK or Abbey transmissions cos it will cost a lot more to have me do it properly (unless they surcharge you on worn box)
read Bentley manual and decide if you can do it yourself, if you can I can supply the necessary bits, or I can do it for you, but not til last week in May/1st week in June unless the guy due in first week May cancels which I suspect he might, but obviously I won't know till a bit closer to then.
From £570, but expect at least an extra £100 if all the bits I've highlighted need replacing
I take it the vendor denied that it did it before he sornd it, or just took the sold as seen line, tough luck

[eatcustard]

Guinch, you are not the only one needing a rebuild

His godlyness "Aidan" will be doing mine when I have the funds

[Guinch]

OK I'm going to take Aidan advice and change the oil first of all.

Then (possibly depending on what I see on the plug) I'll take the box out and open her up and see if I can see the problem. I can then decide if it is something I can sort myself.

There is a oil leak between the box and the flywheel anyway so looks like I'm going to get it off to replace the gasket anyway.

Not looking forward to it as I'm pretty sure I'll have to rip out part of the rusted-together exhaust which will need replaced.

Geez these things are fun but they ain't cheap!!!

[wasserleaker]

If you try stripping the box, you will soon find that you quickly get to a point where progress stops because you need a special socket to undo the large (and very tightly torqued!) lock nut with 30 splines on it, before the thing will come apart, i had to make a socket which even with access to a lathe and milling machine, took a bit of effort, trial and error and much swearing! you could of course undo it with a chisel and hammer, which will most prob knacker it, but then you still need the right tool to re-torque the new nut after the rebuild. also, you WILL need access to gear pullers, and a press, don't think you can get by without either, you simply can't. various drifts, and tubes for pressing gears on, too. not an easy job all in all even with all the tackle, so the services of some one like Aidan who obviously knows these things inside out, is prob the best bet.

[Guinch]

Hmmmm!!! I didn't expect it do be an easy job but you make it sound pretty impossible. Did you get through the job or did you need to give up and enlist an expert?

Has anyone, other than Aidan, managed to successfully sort out a gearbox on their own? I seen he sells rebuild kits on his website.

[wasserleaker]

I did successfully rebuild my 5 speed, which had a snapped mainshaft, caused by a totally disintegrated roller bearing which allowed the mainshaft to move about way more than it was designed to! it can be done, but just be aware that it is a fairly tricky task, even if you have done a few simpler boxes before, like i had, and even with the right gear, and a lot of photo copies from a genuine vw manual, which i wouldn't attempt it without. stubborn-ness and lack of funds made me see the job through and i now have a sweet gearbox apart from a very slight whine from 3rd which is the only gear that i didn't replace the bearing for, as it looked ok, but to be honest, if i had to do it all again, i'd get it looked at by someone reputable, like mr talbot, as i had a bad experience with a box from a supposed vw 'specialist' selling what they claimed was a 'rebuilt' gearbox which was basically a pile of crap. before deciding to rebuild my own and before i had heard of Aidan's services, i paid 300quid for a supposedly rebuilt 5 speed which turned out to jump out of 5th, and whine like a biatch in neutral, leaked oil massively too. eventually got my cash back, obviously not all traders are like this, but the whole experience took weeks of faffing about and nearly led to me giving up and selling the van. DIY rebuilds can be done, but access to the right equipment, and lots of time and patience are needed, a known good second hand unit, if you can get one, or better still a proper, quality rebuild from a reputable chap like Aidan are the way to go in my opinion. but good luck if you decide to go for it, and tackle it yourself.
good luck with it mate whatever you decide to do.

[Guinch]

OK I'm going to take the gear box out and have a look.

I'm going to get myself kitted out with everything I think I'll need to get it off and back on. So I reckon gearbox oil and a seal/gasket for the gearbox (there is already a leak there) are on the list. Have I missed anything?

I've had a look about and read the discussions on the type of oil to use but not really sure what to expect to be sealing the box. Nothing mentioned in the Haynes book and can't seem to find anything in the wiki either. What am I looking for and any ideas where I would get one?