[boukehj]

Dear all,

Together with a relatively experienced mechanic I recently put a new clutch on my MKII 1.8TD. We have exchanged the plate, cover and the clutch slave cylinder. Since then, the gear box shifts hard in 1st and 2nd, but only under very specific conditions:

Basically, the engine has to be cold and the car has to be rolling.

So this leads to the awkward situation that I can easily drive off, but then it's terrible to get it in second gear. After driving for 10 minutes, shifting is again effortless.
I also tried to turn the engine off (while still cold) while driving, and then the problem also exists. Of course I keep the clutch pressed.

Does anyone have a clue what the problem might be?

Best regards,
Bouke

 

[derv]

I don't know anything about that but I do know that when my dad changed the clutch in an old escort I owned he mentioned that the gear selector rods have to be set perfectly or it'll be a b1tch to select certain gears...

 

[MattyBird]

Its a common problem with the TD and few other petrol mondies also, change the gearbox oil to semi synthetic (sp) this will help a little.

 

[MattyBird]

Also try this:

How-To Adjust The Shift Cables (MTX-75)
TOOLS NEEDED: none

1. If make sure the cables are locked in the bracket. the knurls open by twisting them.

2. looking at the shift linkage, you will see two levers with cables on them. the one to the left is a small lever that controls the left and right. the larger one with the huge counterweight on it controls the up and down.

3. put the shifter in 4th gear and go to the left-right lever. Push the orange button on the cable in and move the lever so that it is pointing straight down and there is no slack in the cable. release the button.

4. have an assistant hold the shifter all the way left. Now go to the cables again and push the orange button on the up-down cable. the counterweight causes this to be a little off center so manually push this linkage to be pointing straight down. when it is set, release the orange button.

I have heard many people have trouble adjusting the cables, using this method I have gotten it dead on the first time.
How-To courtesy of TXFO

 

[boukehj]

Thanks for the advice. I'm not sure if the oil that went in was full synthetic (I have the bottle, but it only says 'C-10' 80W90 GL-5 grade). Come to think of it, I put in 2.75 liters but I wasn't convinced that it was fully topped.

How would I go about changing the oil anyway? When we took the gear box out it was easy, but I do not see how I would go about if I don't want to be that drastic