Hello.
I've lurked here for a number of years. I think I have posted in the past but it was a while ago.
I just thought I'd share my experience to hopefully help others.
I have a 54 plate 90bhp A2. I need turbo advice but that's to be another thread.
So, since we've had this car, it's had clunky gear changes. It was almost impossible to get it into reverse when we bought it (we got a bargain on the price of the car because of this ; )
After a quick search I discovered that the reverse light switch can get stuck, causing the difficulty engaging reverse. I removed the switch &, lo and behold, it was gunked up & sticking.
I cleaned & greased it, making reverse fine(ish)
All gears were still really notchy.
So, whilst looking into the reverse switch problem, I came across a post (I think from a VW forum) that mentioned this & a problem with Audi A2s and the selector unit on top of the gearbox.
Basically, on the underside of the bonnet are two rainwater drains from the air vent on top of the bonnet.
The one on the right (or UK drivers side) drains near the front of the engine compartment (to the right of the OS headlamp if looking from the front)
The other one however drains into a cupped receiver right above the gear selector linkage on top of the gearbox.
If this drain system doesn't work properly (for whatever reason - receiving cup not lined up or rubber on underside of bonnet distorted) water drips onto the gear linkage below.
This is what happened to me and this is what:
a. Caused the reverse light switch to stick - water ingress caused corrosion.
b. caused the gears to be awful to engage - the water had caused the bearing inside the selector or shift tower to break down.
It also caused this (see photo) when I emptied the gearbox oil >>
When I opened the drain plug, clear water came out first. The oil capacity of the gearbox is approx 1.5 ltr. These bottles are both 2ltr. So, that's about 3.5ltrs of fluid, over half water. Shocking!!
I refilled with fresh oil, changed the bearing in the shift tower (only just over £4 from Audi which I didn't think was too bad) and now all gears engage fine.
Just need to check or modify the bonnet drain to make sure it doesn't do it again.
Just as a note, to change the bearing in the selector tower I placed the whole shift tower casing into the oven at 240 degs for half an hour then gently tapped it out. nb - Remove the small bearings & plastic holder inside the casing first. Mine was pretty mashed anyway with few ball bearings left.
The old bearing casing has to be tapped down to remove it. There is a seal in the top of the casing. Remove this prior to the oven. Under this there is a lip to the casing that the bearing pushes up to. I gently tapped the bottom lip of the bearing case through this top hole. Took a few taps around the base but came out quite easily once it started to move. I had placed the new bearing in the freezer whilst I heated the rest in the oven so it contracted a little & pretty much pushed straight in, once the old one was out.
I hope this info helps someone else.
If anyone needs any further info on what I actually did to change the bearing or oil, please let me know.
Cheers
Gary
ps. I actually broke my shift tower whilst doing this but did an ingenious bit of repair to get it working again. A new one was going to cost £104 .. but that's another story too : )
I've lurked here for a number of years. I think I have posted in the past but it was a while ago.
I just thought I'd share my experience to hopefully help others.
I have a 54 plate 90bhp A2. I need turbo advice but that's to be another thread.
So, since we've had this car, it's had clunky gear changes. It was almost impossible to get it into reverse when we bought it (we got a bargain on the price of the car because of this ; )
After a quick search I discovered that the reverse light switch can get stuck, causing the difficulty engaging reverse. I removed the switch &, lo and behold, it was gunked up & sticking.
I cleaned & greased it, making reverse fine(ish)
All gears were still really notchy.
So, whilst looking into the reverse switch problem, I came across a post (I think from a VW forum) that mentioned this & a problem with Audi A2s and the selector unit on top of the gearbox.
Basically, on the underside of the bonnet are two rainwater drains from the air vent on top of the bonnet.
The one on the right (or UK drivers side) drains near the front of the engine compartment (to the right of the OS headlamp if looking from the front)
The other one however drains into a cupped receiver right above the gear selector linkage on top of the gearbox.
If this drain system doesn't work properly (for whatever reason - receiving cup not lined up or rubber on underside of bonnet distorted) water drips onto the gear linkage below.
This is what happened to me and this is what:
a. Caused the reverse light switch to stick - water ingress caused corrosion.
b. caused the gears to be awful to engage - the water had caused the bearing inside the selector or shift tower to break down.
It also caused this (see photo) when I emptied the gearbox oil >>
When I opened the drain plug, clear water came out first. The oil capacity of the gearbox is approx 1.5 ltr. These bottles are both 2ltr. So, that's about 3.5ltrs of fluid, over half water. Shocking!!
I refilled with fresh oil, changed the bearing in the shift tower (only just over £4 from Audi which I didn't think was too bad) and now all gears engage fine.
Just need to check or modify the bonnet drain to make sure it doesn't do it again.
Just as a note, to change the bearing in the selector tower I placed the whole shift tower casing into the oven at 240 degs for half an hour then gently tapped it out. nb - Remove the small bearings & plastic holder inside the casing first. Mine was pretty mashed anyway with few ball bearings left.
The old bearing casing has to be tapped down to remove it. There is a seal in the top of the casing. Remove this prior to the oven. Under this there is a lip to the casing that the bearing pushes up to. I gently tapped the bottom lip of the bearing case through this top hole. Took a few taps around the base but came out quite easily once it started to move. I had placed the new bearing in the freezer whilst I heated the rest in the oven so it contracted a little & pretty much pushed straight in, once the old one was out.
I hope this info helps someone else.
If anyone needs any further info on what I actually did to change the bearing or oil, please let me know.
Cheers
Gary
ps. I actually broke my shift tower whilst doing this but did an ingenious bit of repair to get it working again. A new one was going to cost £104 .. but that's another story too : )