W639 Vito 111 CDi 2nd gear synchro

[thebeardedsheff]

Hi everyone

I'm relatively new to the forum but have been lurking for months!

I've read plenty about the famed 1st gear issue with the w639 but can't find out much about the issue I'm having - namely 2nd gear being hard to select and crunching on the way up from 1st. It doesn't seem so bad when going down from 3rd gear. I am guessing the synchro has just about had enough and is very worn. The vehicle has covered 241,000 and there is no evidence of a gearbox replacement or refurbishment in the history file.

What are my options? The value of the vehicle is such that a replacement box would be prohibitively expensive i would imagine... My gut reaction is to either see if I can get 2ng gear replaced, buy a replacement box from a scrappy with a known mileage (no guarantee that box's sunchros won't be worn), or stick with it and persevere...

Thoughts ..??

Cheers

Mike

 

[190]

Does it have the correct very thin oil in the box. If the issue improves as the box heats up that might suggest the oil is too thick.

 

[thebeardedsheff]

Been doing plenty of reading as per http://www.mercedes.gen.in/poor-first-gear-selection-manual-gearbox-problem-w639-vito-cure/

As recommended on another thread and it looks like that might be the possible cure. My symptoms are almost identical to those described on the page I've linked to. I'll try a change of AT oil first and see how it progresses.

I've learnt one valuable lesson today - read the information others provide! It'll help counter over-duplication of information...!

Cheers

Mike

 

[190]

The correct Manual transmission Oil has a very similar viscosity to ATF so that's why it will have worked. It really is surprising thin, much thinner in fact than engine oil.

 

[thebeardedsheff]

Just quickly in response to an earlier point 190, yes it's much worse when cold. After a few minutes the gear change becomes less difficult. But still hard work. Will change the transmission fluid as per the above link and report back.