New linkages and bushes still problems

I had it running and tried to engage gears but still the same I will do a new oil change and see if it makes difference could it be a issue that there may not be enough oil in the box maybe, and am I right in saying the 020 gear box takes 2 litres of oil, sorry to sound silly but it is normal vw gear box oil Il have to ask there isn't anything else I need to get like any numbers or grade of oil for the mk1, I seen the guide for gear box oil change, and someone said to get the full 2 litre in I have to use the speedo drive hole, but I heard it sometimes results in you dropping the drive in the box if your not careful, someone also mentioned jacking passenger side up and the full 2 litres should go in from the original fill-hole, has anyone tried this and does it work, thanks again guys just want her on the road 

yeah drain the old stuff out the bottom, take the filler off the end near the green cap and fill it up thru the speedo hole (cos its easier, you could fill thru the fill hole if you have tubing and a funnel) till oil runs out the filler hole and you're done.

dont jack it up! this could lead to you over-fillign the oil, as you wont be able to drain all the old stuff out with it fitted on the car. just drain what you can, then refill as above.

when removing the speedo cable its key to not put any kind of force on it, once you have it loose. basically if you catch the gear on the lip of the hole you'll pull it off the shaft so once undone carefully release it and wiggle till it comes free. it might be stuck in the hole so only use force to free it, preferably gently lever the top plate up a bit rather than tugging hard. and try not to damage the seal, though you may just want to buy a new one anyway while there as they arnt expensive.

If you phone up and tell VW what car you have they should have no trouble getting you the right oil

Thanks Johnny lol il try to be careful otherwise il be   , hope it goes well going to ring vw and sort me oil got lots on this week 

I've changed my gearbox oil twice in the 20 years of owning the car and only ever filled it up to the filler hole and the gearbox is still fine 265,000 miles later. The oil I used came in a bottle with a long tube on the end so you can put that in the hole and tip the bottle up but fill it up slowly or it will just shoot back out the hole.

Did you not use the speedo drive hole? And do you get the whole 2 litres via fill hole ? 

No I did not use the speedo drive hole just the filler hole and I did not get the 2 litres as even after drain the oil out there will be some left in the gearbox unless the gearbox is on a bench being dismantled.
Good website
020 Oil

Thanks mark1, so I take it it's best to fill through the fill hole till it starts to trickle out then leave it as that and not attempt the full 2 litres through the speedo drive I was checking google and there's a thread that said about the seals leaking and someone said it maybe that before there was little oil but now that the oils had been filled it's leaking the seals so I'm not sure what to do to drain it and fill it 2 litres via speedo drive or just use the full hole till it trickles out an leave it as that lol on a genuine level how did vw fill the gearbox oil through the speedo drive or fill hole when these were made just don't want leaky seal or more oil than needed 

regardless of which hole you use to fill it, you need to remove the filler bung so you can see when the oil runs out. do not just pour in 2l as it will be overfilled, as said there is always a bit of oil knocking about inside you just cant get it all out unless the box is off the car

One tip is to make sure the filler isn't seized before you drain the existing oil! Like Mark I found that the spout that comes with the 1L bottles of oil was fine, less hassle than funnels and tubing. If you jack it up just enough to remove the NSF wheel to give more access to the filler, you will get most of 2L in.

Thanks leeo, I think il use the 1 litre bottles and go through the filler hole I am abit heavy handed so don't really want to mess around with the speedo drive if I can get away with filler hole so this is what I will do 
1. Remove NSF wheel and level the front end using axle stand

2. Loosen filler hole then drain hole 

3. Drain all old oil

4. Remove filler and let some oil in and see some run out through drain just to see it come through 

5. Close drain and use the spout of the bottle through the filler hole till it triccles out then close filler hole 

6. Start her up and select through gears or go for a drive but best not lol no tax or mot so let it stand on drive 

Hope my step by step was good enough lol 

step 5 should be: refit the wheels and lower the car back down to the ground.

if the front is in the air that'll give you a false reading as the engine will be tilted further back

  well spotted Johnny, lol hopefully should get it done this week or next been a little busy lately 

To fill the oil up from the filler hole with the car on the floor I just turn the steering to full lock left and there is plenty of room to get under the wheel arch and fit the oil bottle in the hole.
I lie on my back and with my feet sticking out from the front of the car you can get your head under the arch and see in to the filling hole, just don't push the bottle in till it stops as it hits one of the gearbox cogs and the oil does not come out of the bottle very well.
Leave an old rag on the floor under the filler hole to catch any dripping oil.

Thanks mark, I might even try to take the front wing off as I need to put the new one in so hopefully that will give me but more access thanks again guys appriciate all the help if I come across any problems on the way "Il be back" 

Just make sure you can undo the filler plug before draining the oil out. You can buy new plugs from VW for a couple of £s if they are rounded off, same one for drain and filler. I had to buy a new one last year.
17mm allen key or you can buy a little socket to do the job.

Looks like this, 1st one I found so shop around…
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DRAPER-38323-17mm-HEX-DRAIN-PLUG-KEY-3-8-SQ-DRIVE-AUDI-BMW-ROVER-VW-GEARBOX-/151402630118?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item23404ccbe6


 

Lol "I'm back" had some time between the heavy downpours to so the GTI, I got a digital caliper and when I did it at 19mm ( just to double check and see if it ok) it just giving me reverse instead of first so I played about with it but only be able to tell when she's on the road what happens, I drained the oil got the speed drive out thank god it al went well and undone the top nut so all was well let it all drain out, but now what oils do I go for I know Johnny you said to go to vw but I been reading up on this MTL REDLINE, has anyone used this and does it really help with gear changes and all that,also is there anything better and am I right to believe that the transmission for the mk1
Is 75/90 oil, I did ring vw but there parts department was closed till Tuesday so just thought il look around and saw this MTL REDLINE that people say it's very good for the gear changes, would be nice to hear peoples views on this 

redline mtl is what i always used to recommend, but hotgolf (THE 020 box expert!) isnt so keen on it, and recommends the proper VW oil

HELLO BAZ DID YOU SORT THE GEAR PROBLEM .ONLY I HAVE A VERY SIMILAR PROBLEM. WHEN I SELECT REVERSE I DONT NEED TO PUSH THE STICK DOWN ALSO THERE IS ONLY A COUPLE OF MILL BETWEEN 1ST AND REVERSE ALSO I HAVE TO PUSH IT HARD OVER TO THE RIGHT TO SELECT 5TH , LIKE YOU I HAVE CHANGED ALL THE LINKAGES

Hello pickle no not yet but I have drained the oil so should use the redline MTL to see if that helps my brown haynes manual says 20mm instead if 19mm but I will get someone to get inside and select gears as I fiddle with the rod so then hopefully I will get the right gears but I have noticed the close it is to the metal bracket that's when you have to push down to get reverse the larger the gap between the more easier it is to get in to reverse see if closing in on the gap helps for you 

CHEERS BAZ MUCH APPRECIATED ILL TRY IT THE WEEKEND