I'm glad I'm not the only idiot to fill my bell housing with gearbox oil haha! I had a workshop of gearbox repair guys laughing at me when I told em :(

Just changed the oil on mine - CEG 5sp box.

Has definately made a noticable difference to the smoothness of gear changes. Also it no longer crunches into reverse nearly as bad or as often (do still dip the clutch and wait a couple of seconds before changing into reverse though).

£15 well spent I reckon.

For anyone intrested, just used GSF's Fuchs semi-synthetic 75w-90.

just changed the gear box oil on my 4 speed mk3, the differance is amazing, i jus the diagram above, wa sa lot of help, cheers

i also changed the engine oil and filter, again, suprising differance it made, so much smoother,

gearbox oil i used was semi-synthetic 75w-90, 10 quid wel spent

I know this is an old thread but I found the pics to be useful after searching everywhere to try and find how to change gearbox oil.

Could someone please tell me if that pic is similar to what is on a 6n2?

Also how much roughly will a garage charge to change the oil (just for the labour)

Up to the MK2f which was discontinued in '94, the fill plug is in the diff housing above the drain plug.

From the new model (MK3 aka mk4) its on the front wall of the gearbox, due to the different accessibility. That's the known '084-085' unit,recognisable by its horizontal cable-pull clutch lever,as fitted to all Polos from 1975-2002.

Up to the MK2f which was discontinued in '94, the fill plug is in the diff housing above the drain plug.

From the new model (MK3 aka mk4) its on the front wall of the gearbox, due to the different accessibility. That's the known '084-085' unit,recognisable by its horizontal cable-pull clutch lever,as fitted to all Polos from 1975-2002.

My Mk4 1996 with a DDH gearbox the filler is on the diff housing

Weird. Must be a pain in the arse to get to

i dont know if this was the case on early 6n's or what (no telling if yours is the original box or casing).

Year 1997, 115.000km.

I also changed my gearbox oil. It's like a new gearbox, so smooth and silent it's just amazing. Before it used to make some noise except when clutch is pressed, than in reverse sometimes would grind, when driving and selecting speed from higher to lower speed it would go harder.

Now all that is gone. VW "longlife" my ass.

Old oil was dirty (dark golden color) and new one is like water.

Oil is original VW with code G060726A2. I bought 3L and 2.6 is what is used.

Around 200km took new oil to start fully working.

Edited 16 May, 201115 yr by PoloAEX

I'm not technical at all, just started to attempt things on the 6n2 and all i have to say is could they have made this any more of a pain in the ass to refill, i dont want to drain it because i cant get to it to refill it.....do i realy have to take the drive shaft off too... if i disconnect at the box end will i be able to move it up out the way to gain a little more accsess to the filler hole or are we talking the whole assembely too and including the wheel etc ?

Hi, I'm about to start this job of refilling the gearbox compartment, and have some questions before starting (as I've never done this before and don't want to mess this up!!).

Car is Mk2f (1991) 5 speed polo coupe.

I've just had a look around the engine and I think I've found the two bolts for filling/ draining (near the passengers side wheel).

***

- I read in this thread that you can unscrew the filler or draining bolt for the gearbox with a bolt from the wheel (the wheel bolt does fit in there)- is this an okay method as I don't have the right tools? I'm going to try and unscrew the bolt with some pliers or a mole grip.

- Is it okay to drain some of the old oil (about half a pint) from the reverse light switch bolt? as I need to put a washer back on there after removing the switch and losing a bit of oil?

- And finally, the car is currently lifted up at the front due to being on ramps- will I be able to get the correct level of oil if I'm filling up the gear compartment while the car is at an angle?

# And is there any precautions before starting the job or is it simple as described?

Thanks a lot- advice here will be a huge help!.

Edited 22 December, 201312 yr by Nick_593

Just put 3 litres in. Obviously you won't get the right level otherwise.

Buy the correct tool. At best you'll kill the thread on the wheel bolt, which I'm turn will kill the hub if you reuse it. At worst you'll split the filler plug and even the gearbox casing. If it's really stubborn even with a 17mm male hex then clamp grips around it whilst the wrench is in there and turn both at the same time. The plug is a fairly soft metal.

Draining oil from the reverse light switch is pointless when you have to drain the rest from the drain plug anyway - it'll just make twice as much mess when it runs down the casing in two places instead of one.

Whilst i'm here, i recently filled up with Fuchs Titan 75w. It's worryingly thin stuff even when cold but so far I'm well impressed. Early days but recommended.

I recently had a full recon'd box from a very reputable gearbox firm in Salisbury ,and i was told to put 3.5 ltrs of 5-30 semi synth engine oil in it ,when i asked why he said it was something to do with the selector forks getting worn out prematurely because normal 75w90 is too thick and it doesn't fling it off quick enough which is why these boxes die so often. I've done nearly 10,000 miles on it and had no problems what so ever and its still as smooth as the day i fitted it back in. just my 2p.

Edited 4 January, 201412 yr by dogleg

Just changed my oil the other day for 75w 80 or 90. Kind of wish I'd put the thinner stuff in now from what I've heard off people.

Strange, I was just about to ask if 75/80 was ok. Had some lying around for ages, and got to thinking my whining gearbox and high mpg might be oil related, at least partly. Knew I had an oil weep somewhere, but dipstick never moved. now I know where its coming from. Found gearbox oil leak in mot report too.