Then see this thread: http://www.tigerstyle.co.uk/poloforum/view...&highlight=

Just times out.

Cut and pasted from the GTI forum...

Hello people Simple question rearly would u pay (and how much) 2 have a relible gearbox?

Some of u may have seen that i put a post on the gearbox thread about a possible gearbox conversion!

If not this how it goes! Basicly I'm so fed up with having to pull my gearbox out 2 rebuild it every 6-12 months that I've finaly decided after 4 1/2 rebuilds 2 do somthing about it! Mad

So I've emailed a guy called martin halland who owns and runs a company called reyland! now some of u I'm sure will allready know who he is but for those of u who dont! reyland is most know for tunning and custom work on cosworths but he also does a who rang of other cars! Now those of u who have seen is escort or any of the cars he has worked on will know that his work is a good as i comes!! Very Happy

A few thing reyland has done include a conversion 2 fit skyline gearboxes into cosworth, rover 20vt (vw) conversions using rover gearboxes! and i think now he is moving into lotus ellises with 20v in them ! so u could say making gearboxs that dont bellong some were fit is his specitaly!

So you are proberly getting bored by now but all i need is a show of intrest by people in this type of conversion so that he will see it worth wild to look at our problem!

Cheers lads!! Very Happy

Works for me.

Do you have to goto him and he will fit the box for you, or will he send you out stuff to DIY it? Estimated prices?

yeah prices would be good

I've only just got my gti so I'm hoping that nothing goes wrong having been thru 4 gearboxes on my 16v, but it would be good to know theres an alternative out there if something does go wrong with the gti

If you have any questions you need to speak to "bbspolo" on uk-polos :p I'd hope the price is within a bracket of £400-£1000

Deep Cryogenic Tempering would probably work out cheaper:

Click http://www.frozensolid.co.uk/

Edited 14 February, 200818 yr by Tris

^^^ Pretty cool

Why not fit Haldex to go with it

oh yea, and then a proper engine to turn the extra shafts

Seriously? you guys?

What do you mean by seriously exactly?

Surely the Lupo 6 speed box is the easiest replacement?

Yeah, if you get a Lupo engine. I think somebody (might have been Jez) said they mount differently?

Edited 14 February, 200818 yr by tobyk

^^^ Pretty cool

Hahaha, nice one.

Someone email them and enquire.

Surely the Lupo 6 speed box is the easiest replacement?

It's been mentioned many times before and it would be a rediculous amount of work:

the lupo cannot and will never fit without great expense. Its based on the 020 design of the mk2 golf, as opposed to the polo box, which is an 085, just like the mk2 polo used. The bell housing is completely incompatible and wont mate to an 020. In order to fit one you need the following:

Lupo gti engine (or just the block/mk4 golf 1.6 16v block, then fit your gti head to it)

Lupo gti gear change selector and cables

Lupo gti pedal box and clutch master cylinder

Lupo gearbox mount.

Possibly lupo gti subframe. I dont even know if this'll fit. If not, someone thats good at welding to sort out the mountings.

I was looking into this before i reconned my box. Unfortunately the guy i was going to be it off decided to keep the six speed box for his lupo gti (which was a five speed) and sell the 'spare' engine he had with the 5 speed. I didnt think the work was worth doing for a 5 speed, even if it is a better box than the one the polo got lumbered with.

One of the main problems with the GTI box is it uses plastic bearings:

VW were well aware of the problem with the 5 speed box it simply can't take the power of the 1.6 GTI or even the 1.4 16v from the Mk4 to a lesser extent of failure though. The 5 speed box is a old design its a rework of the 4 speed box from the early Polos and the main area of weakness is the bearings in 5th, the diff and diff bearings this is why most of them make a noise before they go. If the diff bearings fail it generally takes the casing with it meaning either recasing the parts left or a replacement box.

VW did redesign the box this is why the Lupo GTI changed to a 6 speed box after all the warranty repairs started coming through on the Polo/Lupo GTi 5 speed box. From posts here a scary number have failed with under 40k on them, I've never heard of one making it past 80k on the GTI. The 6 speed box never made it to the Polo as the Polo GTI had ceased production.

In an ideal world, VW would of admitted to their problem and fitted a 6-speed box under warranty to the Polo GTI, no expense spared. But that's the problem - expense, and so they couldn't be bothered with the money and the hassle

Edited 15 February, 200818 yr by Mouse_GTI

mines at 75k and i cant hear any noises!!! but id be interested in getting a new one just to be on the safe side!

If you're box is an 085 is it possible to use an older box...G40 boxes don't have any of the same issues as the Mk5 Polo items?

What actually fails in the box? Is it not possible to replace weak components (bearings?)...with better/stronger items?

What's the gearbox code for your buttery hunk of junk?

I wonder if anyone has actually tried and succeeded adapting the Lupo box to fit...it'd surely be cheaper than dealing with Reyland? If people can make Golf boxes fit a Mk3 Polo...

Edited 16 February, 200818 yr by Tav

gti gearboxes are shit...its a shame...deal with it

Edited 16 February, 200818 yr by tomo87

gti gearboxes are shit...its a shame...deal with it

and that, is hitting the nail on the head!

and if that applied to everything we'd still be livin in caves grunting to each other hunting buffalo with spears

^^^ Exactamondo

cheers jez

what you have to look at though is how long the GTI has been about for and that knobody has solved the problem for a worthwhile sum of money

If the bearings are the main issue surely someone can source better bearings? No one has problems like this on the older 085 boxes?

my ex girlfriend wanted a gti but i advised against it cos of the shitty gearboxes. shame really cos they're a really nice all round car.

If you have any questions you need to speak to "bbspolo" on uk-polos :p I'd hope the price is within a bracket of £400-£1000

What do you mean by seriously exactly?

I think the price is one reason for Jez's comment... Properly hardcore gearboxes tend to start at upwards of £5k. What's the guy proposing to do? Do you all fully understand the failures and what's causing them?

The GTI 'boxes are pretty much identical to the earlier Polo ones, with the exception of a cable change linkage (if memory serves) and larger diff pinion gears on some of them. Whether it's the different diff arrangement that causes some of the issues I don't know - VW obviously thought there was a weakness there that needed addressing.

Personally I'd start by running a poll amongst 6N/6N2 owners to see what bits of their 'boxes have been breaking, and then evaluate the results. What oil have they run in the 'box? Has it ever been off the car (i.e. could it've lost some oil, or incurred other damage?). What kind of driving do they do? What power/torque is their car? What suspension height are they running? What wheels are they using? Have they ever crashed the car?

5th gear failure is fairly common on higher powered G40s - but is also caused by running low on gearbox oil, and not unheard of on any Polo with an 085-series 'box. If you've had a 5th gear set die and the 'box doesn't have the correct fill of oil in it, don't blame the gearbox design. I very much doubt there are more than a couple of Polo GTIs putting out enough torque to damage 5th gear like the G40s do, so wouldn't worry too much there.

BTW - the diff bearings most definately aren't plastic on the older 085 'boxes, and I'll bet that they aren't on the newer ones either. It's great that there's someone out there willing to help. But first clearly identify the problem, then fix it. Otherwise you're just pissing in the wind.