I have a 2006 3.2 quattro with a manual box. When cold the gearbox is pretty notchy but fine after 3-4 minutes or so. I've had the box fluid changed for correct spec oil, is this just a characteristic of the box or am I missing something? Cars on 150k miles.
Manual quattro gearbox notchy
- Thread starter ChrisR32blue
- Start date
very common in b7 quattro's , age will be a factor to a more or lesser degree but oil choice can be important .
My 6sp manual on my 2006 TDi 170 S Line is like that. 65k miles.
I can only really select first on the second try (I could be firmer with it and it goes in)...but I just gently try and then second try it goes in. This is only really when it's been stood still overnight. Once I've done a few miles it's fine.
And yes, after several miles it's warmed up a bit and is fine. Could be my clutch or dual mass flywheel as it does judder when cold from a standstill sometimes, but just a few more RPM seems to help that. But again after several miles the clutch is ok.
Could be something as simple as a clutch fluid change perhaps - not sure if this is also the same as the brake fluid circuit, On my 2000 Golf MK4 it's the same fluid.
I can only really select first on the second try (I could be firmer with it and it goes in)...but I just gently try and then second try it goes in. This is only really when it's been stood still overnight. Once I've done a few miles it's fine.
And yes, after several miles it's warmed up a bit and is fine. Could be my clutch or dual mass flywheel as it does judder when cold from a standstill sometimes, but just a few more RPM seems to help that. But again after several miles the clutch is ok.
Could be something as simple as a clutch fluid change perhaps - not sure if this is also the same as the brake fluid circuit, On my 2000 Golf MK4 it's the same fluid.
If its only when cold then try a different oil.
Fuchs do a 75w that is rated specifically for this issue.
Fuchs do a 75w that is rated specifically for this issue.
I had wondered if maybe a thinner oil would help, but would that then give less protection when warm? If it's only going to improve it slightly as it's a character of the box, I'd probably not bother. The car is just a supposedly cheap convertible for the summer months. So far it's not worked out cheap!
It's pretty normal on cold startup. I did change my oil (about 50K ago) even though they say 'for life' and it made a significant difference. The synchomeshes on these boxes often got a good hiding, with people slamming them into place - you can still defeat modern synrchos - and the metal they made of, brass I think, is softer than steel. If you ever crunched your gears, by not fully de clutching, it's the syrncho ring you're hearing, not the gear itself, which are constant mesh. I always give a very slight pause in neutral and it never fails to engage smoothly then and they should go into place with finger tip pressure too, if OK. Sometimes I still double de-clutch too but that's really unnecessary these days.
Hi Matt. Yes brake and clutch fluid share the same reservoir. It shouldn't judder but a diesel hardly requires any gas to set off in 1st and will judder if you give it a bit too much as though it were a petrol. Sometimes there is dampness too on a cold clutch that can cause this. If it's fine after a few miles there should be no problem. You can tell if there is an issue with your DMF by turning around at slow speed in a car park - a worn DMF will rattle near full lock.
Interestingly these boxes, or I should say the FWD 6 speed are very popular and in demand for Ford GT40 replica builds, where they are mated to a V8, as a transaxle gearbox, in that car's rear engine set up. So they are considered plenty tough enough. In the basic FWD A4s I think the clutch/DMF is rated to a maximum of around 410/20 nm but I think the gearbox itself is maybe tougher than that. I don't know if there is a difference, outside of the obvious, between the Quattros, diesel/petrol and FWDs, in terms of strength, though. The GT40 crowd in the States tend to source and import used diesel FWD 6 speeds, mainly because of the ratios, which I believe are different between diesel and petrol, though I stand to be corrected.
It seems to be
Sadly the words "cheap " and "B7" are not really compatible, that is just life owning one, whatever variant it is.
I did a lot of research on this problem of poor gear engagement when cold and a lot of it is down to the synchros when cold and the fluid being a bit too thick when cold.
This is a rated product that goes a long way to help smooth out the low-speed/cold gear engagement issues with the manual boxes.
This is a rated product that goes a long way to help smooth out the low-speed/cold gear engagement issues with the manual boxes.
Ok, thanks for taking the time to post that, I'll add it to the list on the next service.
