Board Logo

Beetle Gearbox Whine
phantom - January 24th, 2015 at 07:27 AM

Hi all, we have just put a '60 Beetle back on the road after many years of it sitting. The gearbox seems to whine a bit when in 3rd or 4th gears. Is this a general sign of age / wear and tear, or is there something more sinister coming? The car is only going to be a low-use weekend driver. If it should still drive OK for a while thats good, but all info appreciated.

Is there anything we can do, short of pulling the thing out, to assist the situation?

Thanks.

helbus - January 24th, 2015 at 11:46 AM

Certainly could not hurt to give the motor and gearbox a change of oil if been sitting for long time.

1303Steve - January 24th, 2015 at 12:17 PM

Hi

Put some Nulon G70 in it, it worked wonders with my sons 74 http://www.nulon.com.au/products/Specialty_Products/Manual_Gearbox_and_Diff_T...

Steve

vlad01 - January 24th, 2015 at 07:32 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1303Steve
Hi

Put some Nulon G70 in it, it worked wonders with my sons 74 http://www.nulon.com.au/products/Specialty_Products/Manual_Gearbox_and_Diff_T...

Steve


its great stuff.

I found it virtually stops wear altogether in my cars.

oil always drains with no metal content, where before G70 there was metals in the oil with every change.

So far I have a box with over 575,000km of pure abuse and have used G70 for more than 200,000km.

I dont know if its just a great box or the G70 really doing its job but certainly know the G70 makes a difference with wear, noise and huge improvements in shifting quality and speed.

vw54 - January 24th, 2015 at 07:36 PM

do a few kls and dump the oil do this a few times to get rid of the crude in the box

then add the nulon good stuf

hulbyw - January 24th, 2015 at 09:58 PM

x 4 for Nulon
Cheers

1303Steve - January 25th, 2015 at 09:37 AM

Hi

When we bought my sons 74 1303 it had an original granny spec gearbox, whinny and hard to change back gears when cold, the Nulon fixed all that.

Steve

psimitar - January 25th, 2015 at 11:02 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by vw54
do a few kls and dump the oil do this a few times to get rid of the crude in the box

then add the nulon good stuf


^^^^WHS

Flushing the box out as best as possible is the best idea as it'll also help remove some of the tarnishes that have built up on gears n bearings.

Then use the G70 :)

petemart - January 25th, 2015 at 11:42 PM

It could also be the mainshaft bearing (the one behind the nosecone you can replace with the gearbox out) if the whine is there is all the gears?

SunshineKarmann - January 30th, 2015 at 09:26 PM

If it is only a weekender runabout I wouldn't be too concerned. Agree that an oil dump or two would be a great move. If it is whining and slipping outta gear then time to consider a reco box. Mine used to whine like my mother in law but kept on giving me reliable motoring. Mind you it was dumped in the guts and the blade end of the axles and the fulcrums were pitted and knackered but no loss of drive or crunching. Drove it until I fitted a Rancho to suit the 1904.

phantom - February 14th, 2015 at 06:53 AM

Thanks all, the car will only be an occasional driver (club trips and sometimes to work etc), doesn't slip out of gear and is only whining in 3rd and 4th. Will contemplate an oil change for it, have more issues now. Thanks!