BeetlePD
Veteran Member
I see nothing in the 2005 Beetle TDI manual about changing gear oil. On my old Honda Civic (same year) it was every 100,000 so I’m surprised the VW manual says nothing about it
Thanks
Thanks
timing belt (80-100K miles, depending on the model)What’s a TB? A google search just gave me “throttle body” but diesels don't have throttles. So I’m confused. ��.
or every 5 years, whatever comes first.timing belt (80-100K miles, depending on the model)
You're gonna change the fluids one way or the other...either on your time or the fluids time... having been stuck on the side of the road twice in my life, I do my best to stay ahead of the failures.^^^^^^ THIS^^^^^^
fluids are cheap. they break down fast.
Only a fool would change manual trans. fluid annually. I think 100k miles or every tb change is a nice easy to remember interval. My gear oil looked pristine at 100k.or every 5 years, whatever comes first.
reality is that every fluid in your car should be changed at least every year or more (like motor oil).
The dinosaurs thought the tar out looked good too...going by look has nothing to do with the actual condition of lubricants not subjected to carbon and extreme heat.Only a fool would change manual trans. fluid annually. I think 100k miles or every tb change is a nice easy to remember interval. My gear oil looked pristine at 100k.
BMW did the same thingI really believe that VW thought of lifetime as what people would typically own/drive a car, up to 100k miles. No one should advocate not changing any fluid or think that it really lasts forever. That would be ID10T thinking.
I run nothing but highway, so the gear oil is not being abusedI've seen my share of overtaxed gear oil. The stuff that came out of my 02Q @100k was mint. Maybe if you track the car or grind the gears consistently it might be shot by 100k.
it does heat up a bit and cools down, this expands and contracts and drawn in fresh moisture from the air. over time this builds up acids in the oil after the life of the detergent and additives is broken down and no longer doing its job.(and I don't think it is hydroscopic, Correct. so moisture shouldn't be a problem) WRONG.
A leaky shift tower seal will certainly let water into the trans driving through rain. That seal can get wallowed out and damaged when the shift tower bushing has worn enough to allow the tower to move around during shifts.Yeah, there really shouldn't be any noticeable moisture unless you've been fording rivers or parking in flood plains.
Is that very common? I know my Kubota that lives outdoors got water intrusion through the shift tower when the boot degraded and ripped off. I've not personally run across milky gearbox oil in cars that weren't either ancient or submerged.A leaky shift tower seal will certainly let water into the trans driving through rain. That seal can get wallowed out and damaged when the shift tower bushing has worn enough to allow the tower to move around during shifts.
I found the shifttower collar selector that operates the detente for the reverse gear rusted. It was a stinky mess. I had already changed the lube every 100k and was finding it moisture cloudy and dark brown beyond the normal. Fixing shifter slop by replacing shifter tower bearing and seal stopped that stuff from happening.Is that very common? I know my Kubota that lives outdoors got water intrusion through the shift tower when the boot degraded and ripped off. I've not personally run across milky gearbox oil in cars that weren't either ancient or submerged.