Club 80-90 Forums

Good evening all we're having a problem with our reverse gear. At the moment it only goes into reverse after a couple of attempts it almost feels as if something is stopping it. Is it the gear box or is it the linkages. My plan was to change the gearbox oil first and then go under the van remove the spare wheel and work on the gears. Am I wasting my time doing this or is it just over time the gear linkages have worn which is my thought. Every other gear seems fine apart from first to second it's never happy doing that. Thanks all

clean and grease gear linkage bushes one at the back by gearbox, one just behind tank, then clean and grease front below gearstick,, remove box cover to do this, then refit box and do the adjustment shown in haynes, photograph the front mech and box so we can comment if something is worn or missing.

yes change oil too and then the gearstick bush if still not good, you need to check adjystment again after doing bush.

check clutch is bled.

none of its a waste of time, the next step is a best part of £1K gearbox rebuild or a second hand box with no guarantee so you need to be sure its not something simple and cheap.

4 or 5 speed lots of info in wiki.

I think I'd get under the van and try to select reverse by using the selector on the gearbox several times first. If it won't go in all the time then you know that it's a worse case scenario.

Thanks guys yeah I was thinking it was the linkages. Sorry I meant a waste of time me getting under there rather then having to take it to the garage which I'm really hopeimg not to do as it's so expensive for a whole new gearbox rebuild so fingered crossed it's not that. It drives fine once going very occasionally it will jump around when pulling off in first gear so maybe the clutch plate needs some attention. When I get round to doing it I'll take photos as I go along so you can all see

Sorry it's a 5 speed left hand drive

Good stuff and info on here also.... with pics

https://vwt25.blog/2016/03/21/gear-link ... rbishment/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Always keep meaning to tell James.... thanks

Hi l've just spent the past year on and off trying to sort out a gear change problem. The problem was that it would not go into first or reverse very easily. If I switched off the engine and selected the gear it would go in fine.Then l'd start the engine up and drive off with no problem. On the move l could select 1st OK for about 20mins. Once the engine was warmed up the problem got worse, so every time l stopped l'd have to turn the engine off to select first. This problem started to happen after l'd fitted a new clutch.

l changed all the worn parts in the gear change. No difference. I checked the clutch slave cylinder mounted on the left hand side of the gearbox. There was some evidence of brake fluid there so l changed that. This sorted the problem out for a couple of weeks then it came back. l then checked the clutch master cylinder again, as it looked fine previously. Sure enough it had a couple of drips worth of fluid on the pipe. l changed the master cylinder and had hell of a problem bleeding it thoroughly. I ended up buying a bleed kit from Halfords to pressurise the fluid. I think due to the very long pipe from front to rear and all the bends it only needs a tiny amount of air to get trapped to affect the clutch travel. It now works like a knife through butter! So in future l'd check the clutch cylinders first.

Hence, l think the problem went back to fitting the new clutch. The new clutch increased the pressure required to activate it and that was too much for the slave and master cylinders, so they started leaking. I realised after that the problem getting worse after 20mins of driving must have been related to the amount of times l was using the clutch, rather than the engine warming up. Parked on a slope the clutch was probably bleeding itself just enough for me to drive off, but every time l used it a small amount of air would get drawn into the master cylinder, so gear selection got worse. You can see why garages just replace everything.

If the clutch cylinders need replacing avoid the really cheap ones, I changed the caravelle from automatic into manual gearbox so had to set up a clutch system. Bought some new cylinders thinking they were decent mid priced components only to have leakages and constant problems trying to bleed the system. Turned out I was overcharged and had actually bought the really cheap ones. No quality control on these it seems, replaced them with decent original brands and have a perfect clutch now.

Changing my master cylinder as i've had some strange off and on gear selection issues this weekend. Just changed gear oil and greased links.
David

Thanks guys will look into it funnily enough it works fine now but I'm still going to change the gearbox oil and gear linkages if they need doing

Changed the master cylinder yesterday, bled it through and went for a run. Had a problem getting into first at some lights but after that it all seemed good. Have since bled again just to be sure and will take it out again today. Couldn't take it again after bleeding as it then decided to conk out on me-knackered rotor arm!
David

Seems ok now, just had the afternoon out in the van. Did about 30 miles all gears smooth. Let us know how you get on.
David.