Hiya.

I have a p reg polo, love it so much, it's a fantastic car. 2 years ago the gearbox went on it, I had a reconditioned one fitted at a cost of £700. Now the garage has said there is a leak from the gearbox, but that it is only slight and it should be ok for the next 2 years (it wasn't them that fit it).

I have noticed there are loads of oil spots where I normally park, I had a look under the car and it is very oily round the seal area.

The garage said it would need a totally new gearbox! is this right? will topping the oil up prolong the life of it? The garage didn't have any solution apart from a new gearbox.

I am so upset as I love this car

Its hard to say with out seeing it or any more detail, but it sounds like a selector shaft seal (easy job) . Have a search on here but id reccomend taking it to a different garage.

Does the whole gearbox have to be taken out to fix it?

I think the guys at this garage must just look at me and think I am a dumb ass or something, cos to me it seems a bit extreme to need a whole new gearbox for a leaky seal! Is there anyway I can test to see how much oil is still in the gearbox?

The only way to check the oil level is to top it up untill it runs out of the filler/level hole see the pics 17mm alen key required and 75W90 synthetic oil

The g/box does'nt have to be removed to replace the selector shaft seal, just a bit limited access

Early g/box

Later g/box

Where is it leaking from? Selector shaft seal can be replaced without removing the box. Suggesting that you need a new gearbox because it is leaking is ludicrous!

I'll have to take a pic tomorrow to show u guys - it's hard to explain it in my terms LOL

My main concern is how long can it go on leaking before doing damage? Where I park there is only spotting - the biggest is about 2 inches across. The gears are changing fine and the car is generally running really well. Should I find someone to fill it up ASAP?

i wouldnt go running it for long with a oil leak anyway!

They dont loose much if its a 2" patch. Even after changing the selector shaft seal. I've gone to top up the oil and found its not needed any.

Pics anyway, that should give a better understanding

Here's a picture showing the leaking area, hopefully u can see it clear enough on the picture.

With an oil leak like this, the oil tends to run along horizontal surfaces (like the bottom of the gearbox) before it actually drips onto the floor.

Your picture shows the all all right, but not where it is coming from. The selector seal is further back than the picture shows, maybe a picture from behind the front road wheel would show it up better.

Another option could be to wipe away the oil from under the gearbox, take the car for a run and on your return, try to see where any further leak is coming from.

There may be someone on the forum who can recommend a better garage in your area, but until you get the problem sorted, you should check the gearbox oil level at regular intervals, it may well be that it doesn't take a lot of oil to top it up, but running it low on oil will cause expensive damage.

Regards.

Thanks for replying - I don't feel fully confident to top the oil up myself, any idea of how much a garage would charge for it?

Although it is only a couple of minutes job, many garages charge a minimum of half an hour, so depending upon their charge out rate, it could cost you £20.00 to £30.00, BUT if you explain the problem to them, with a suggestion that you would like them to carry out future work for you, they MAY do it at a special rate, or even F.o.C.

Regards.

Hiya.

I am going to try and find another garage as you suggested. I think the one I normally take it to can't be bothered to give me serious answers to my questions - probably don't think my car is worth the effort cos it is so old.

Tomorrow I will try and look around the back of the gear box to see if I can locate exactly where the leak is coming from, hopefully I will be able to get a piccy of it.

Many thanks,

Clare.

I've just posted a new topic with exactly the same problem. I didn't read far enough down!

The leak isnt coming from the gear box shaft (the bit that the gear stick link connects to) is it? I've got a feeling its the seal round that shaft.

I've just posted a new topic with exactly the same problem. I didn't read far enough down!

The leak isnt coming from the gear box shaft (the bit that the gear stick link connects to) is it? I've got a feeling its the seal round that shaft.

Selector shaft seal! I really should learn to read :/

Like earlier posts, see if you can get round the otherside of the box, wipe it clean again but it might be cheaper to change the seal before changing the box!!

I think I may have found where the leak is coming from.

There is a cylinder shaped bit, as u can see I have drawn a circle round it, I think the leak is coming from where the cylinder joins in to the gear box, I have cleaned a whole load of dirt off it and will check again in a few hours, as I could only detect tiny traces of oil around the join. Anyone got any thoughts on this? Where abouts is the selector seal?

Thanks Loads!

Yea that will be the selector shaft seal. My 6N has the exact same problem. I keep it topped up for now til I have a free weekend. It's been leaking for about 6 months now in little drips, but has worsened a bit recently.

Quite an easy job really just a pain to get to without a pit!

Removing

‒ Drain gear oil.

‒ Remove selector finger.

Rod selector mechanism => from page 34-6

Cable selector mechanism => from page 34-31

‒ Remove selector shaft.

‒ To prevent damage to the selector shaft, wrap thin layer of insulation tape around it.

‒ Push selector shaft in onto stop.

‒ → Carefully punch a hole in the middle of the seal (arrow) using a small screwdriver.

‒ Then lever out the seal using a slightly larger screwdriver.

‒ Remove insulation tape and check selector shaft for damage.

Installing

‒ Lightly oil outer circumference of oil seal.

‒ Fill space between sealing lip and dust lip with grease G 052 128 A1.

‒ Carefully push seal over chamfer of selector shaft in a twisting motion.

‒ → Press in seal onto stop (in direction of arrow). When doing this, do not cant seal.

‒ If necessary use an assembly lever -A-. Use subframe as fulcrum point for lever.

‒ As subframes are not all uniform it may not be possible to use the tube VW 421 with gearbox in situ.

‒ If this is the case, use a commercially available socket AF 17 mm, length 83 mm.

‒ Assemble selector finger.

This should be made a sticky in FAQ , belting write up.

you dont even have to drail the oil. If your fast just a quick pick out and hammer new one in.

I dont think this lass has the ability to do this though. But any good garage should know what you mean when you approach them and tell them the gearbox selector shaft seal needs replaced.

Rediculous at saying it needed a new gearbox!!!

Hiya!

Just thought I'd let you all know that I have spoken to a garage that does gearboxes in house. They have quoted me £27 to replace the oil seal, he says that is the first thing to try, then worse case he said that the shaft may need to be replaced in which case the gear box would have to be taken off which would cost about £180. So all is good! Hopefully it is just the oil seal, but the prognosis is no where near as bad as the other garage made out.

I will probably ask them to show me how to top up the oil on it, just in case anything goes wrong again.

Thank you so much for all your advice, it really helped that I was able to tell him the exact problem!

Clare x

That's a good write-up Nige, the only thing that I would do as well.is to polish up the shaft with a bit of wire-wool (etc.) before passing the new seal over it.

Hello,

Many thanks to nige8021 for the excellent instructions on how to fit the Selector Shaft Oil Seal on my P Reg 1.4 Polo. I approached the job with a bit of trepidation but it all worked out fine.

I would appreciate a bit of advice. When I was draining the oil there wasn't enough clearance to remove the drain plug so I left it to drain through the Selector Shaft opening. I noticed that it seemed to come out a bit quicker, when I removed the filler plug. My question is, does the Gearbox have a breather, that may be blocked? If so, where is it?

Many thanks again for the excellent instructions.

Cheers,

Stuart.

--------

Removing

‒ Drain gear oil.

‒ Remove selector finger.

Rod selector mechanism => from page 34-6

Cable selector mechanism => from page 34-31

‒ Remove selector shaft.

‒ To prevent damage to the selector shaft, wrap thin layer of insulation tape around it.

‒ Push selector shaft in onto stop.

‒ → Carefully punch a hole in the middle of the seal (arrow) using a small screwdriver.

‒ Then lever out the seal using a slightly larger screwdriver.

‒ Remove insulation tape and check selector shaft for damage.

Installing

‒ Lightly oil outer circumference of oil seal.

‒ Fill space between sealing lip and dust lip with grease G 052 128 A1.

‒ Carefully push seal over chamfer of selector shaft in a twisting motion.

‒ → Press in seal onto stop (in direction of arrow). When doing this, do not cant seal.

‒ If necessary use an assembly lever -A-. Use subframe as fulcrum point for lever.

‒ As subframes are not all uniform it may not be possible to use the tube VW 421 with gearbox in situ.

‒ If this is the case, use a commercially available socket AF 17 mm, length 83 mm.

‒ Assemble selector finger.

you dont even have to drail the oil. If your fast just a quick pick out and hammer new one in.

I dont think this lass has the ability to do this though. But any good garage should know what you mean when you approach them and tell them the gearbox selector shaft seal needs replaced.

Rediculous at saying it needed a new gearbox!!!

Can this seal replacement be done without draining? I've recently replaced the oil but I've now noticed that the seal is passing slightly. Don't want to do the oil again if possible.

Your thoughts please.