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I have a 2002 Skoda Octavia. Recently I've noticed that when it's cold, the gearbox is very recalcitrant, particularly in the lower gears. The feeling is of "stodginess" with a slight audible squeak.

Does this mean the gearbox oil needs refreshing? Is this easy to do at home? In the Hayne's manual, it suggest that to do this you need to jack the car up at both the front and the back, so that it is completely level. I'd have to get extra tools to do that right?

Is there anything else that could cause this (worn linkages/bushes?)?

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2 Answers

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My first try would be changing the oil. Fresh fluid is never a bad thing :) and it's fairly inexpensive (parts and labor). I've change mine last summer and it improve the ride.

As for the way to do it, refer to your manual since it's more vehicle specific. In my case, it was just a case of removing the oil pan drain plug, wait, put back drain plug and fill with fresh oil.

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This is one operation that I always take to a shop with a lift. On my cars it specifies that the vehicle must be level in order for the measuring hole to leak at the correct level. I don't have a good way to keep my cars flat when lifted high enough to access everything. – Brian Knoblauch Jan 12 '12 at 18:58
In my case, it's a Toyota Land Cruiser, so I have enough room to crawl underneath. – Gabriel Mongeon Jan 12 '12 at 19:19
There's a slight incline in front of my garage - perhaps I could just jack the front up there and use a spirit level to make sure? – tdc Jan 13 '12 at 8:21
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I used to have this with my 89 Acura Integra. It was exactly the same as you described and it definitely got stiffer in the cold weather. One day I decided to get the transmission out, open it up and figure out what's causing it. I followed all steps of disconnecting everything from the transmission before removing it and that included the shifter.

When the shifter was disconnected, I tugged on the lever that ran under the car from the shifter and into the gear box and found that its movement was as smooth as butter. Turned out that the stiff shifting was caused entirely in the pivot point between the shifter and the lever. I greased up that joint, bolted everything up and it started shifting as if it was new.

Definitely check oil. Since transmission is a completely closed system, if everything is ok, the oil should look almost new (at least it did in my car after 40k miles)

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Interesting ... though I think I'll have a look a the oil before I start removing any interior trim! – tdc Jan 13 '12 at 8:23

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