RobArosa Posted April 30, 2020 Report Share Posted April 30, 2020 Hi all, new member here. My daughter's Arosa has the pretty common oil leak from the gear selector shaft so I thought I'd replace the seal. Is it an easy job? I'll drain the gearbox and replace obviously but how easy is it to remove the seal? And do I remove it around the shaft? Thanks guys and girls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 30, 2020 Report Share Posted April 30, 2020 I'm sure somewhere I wrote a how to on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lupo 1.7sdi Posted May 1, 2020 Report Share Posted May 1, 2020 It is not easy to remove the oil seal. for this you need one or two thin screwdrivers (about 2mm in diameter), very sharp and hard (the oil seal has a metal ring under the plastic cover, a ring that must be perforated to hang and remove the oil seal). Basic rules: - Must not scratch the shaft (wrap thin layer of insulation tape around shaft). If this happens it will leak permanently. - Fill space between sealing lip and dust lip with grease - Do not touch the screw B. if necessary mark its position, otherwise you will need adjusting selector mechanism Selector finger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2 Posted May 1, 2020 Report Share Posted May 1, 2020 Yeah, when you remove/loosen that "remove this" bolt, you can end up with a burr on the end of the selector shaft. Run your fingers around the end of the selector shaft and see of you detect any sharp bits. You need to file them off else as soon as you slide on the new seal, you'll cut the lip and the new seal will leak (happened to me...). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobArosa Posted May 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2020 Brilliant, thanks guys. I'll give it a whirl and see how it goes. Did anyone ever settle on which gearbox oil was best to refill with? Standard or the heavier stuff? It's on 58000 miles so shouldn't be over stressed. Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lupo 1.7sdi Posted May 1, 2020 Report Share Posted May 1, 2020 I only used OEM G50 (this is written in manual) and I haven't had any problems with the box so far. Now the mileage is about 400k km (so about 250k miles) and I did the first oil change at about 200k km. I've changed it two or three times until now, I don't remember exactly. In general, the gearboxes on the Lupo/Arosa wich are type 085 were filled with G50 except for the gearboxes that equipped the 1.4 74kw engines that require G51. Now VW recommend another type G052178A2 but I didn't trust him. Here is a discussion about this problem. If you'll decide to use an aftermarket oil, be sure to use a GL4 or GL4 +, in no case GL5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobArosa Posted May 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2020 1 hour ago, lupo 1.7sdi said: I only used OEM G50 (this is written in manual) and I haven't had any problems with the box so far. Now the mileage is about 400k km (so about 250k miles) and I did the first oil change at about 200k km. I've changed it two or three times until now, I don't remember exactly. In general, the gearboxes on the Lupo/Arosa wich are type 085 were filled with G50 except for the gearboxes that equipped the 1.4 74kw engines that require G51. Now VW recommend another type G052178A2 but I didn't trust him. Here is a discussion about this problem. If you'll decide to use an aftermarket oil, be sure to use a GL4 or GL4 +, in no case GL5. That's great advice. Thanks 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobArosa Posted May 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2020 On 5/1/2020 at 7:24 AM, lupo 1.7sdi said: It is not easy to remove the oil seal. for this you need one or two thin screwdrivers (about 2mm in diameter), very sharp and hard (the oil seal has a metal ring under the plastic cover, a ring that must be perforated to hang and remove the oil seal). Basic rules: - Must not scratch the shaft (wrap thin layer of insulation tape around shaft). If this happens it will leak permanently. - Fill space between sealing lip and dust lip with grease - Do not touch the screw B. if necessary mark its position, otherwise you will need adjusting selector mechanism Selector finger Well I replaced the seal today and so far so good. Apart from being a bit of a faff to get the old one out it went pretty well. Shaft looked ok too so I greased the new seal up and knocked it in square with a socket. I'll see how it goes when it's warmed up as that's when it seems to drop the most oil but for now I'm happy. Thanks everyone for your help so far 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arosa1 Posted April 3 Report Share Posted April 3 I'm a bit late on this thread but does this DIY manual work on 2003 arosa 1.4 mpi 60bhp 8v 5speed manual? Repair shop said that they would need to take off the gearbox and replace it from the inside... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arosa1 Posted April 3 Report Share Posted April 3 And also what would be the oem number for the seal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2 Posted April 3 Report Share Posted April 3 Pics on the ultimate gearbox thread... You can swap it from the outside if you're very careful (as it's easy to score the shaft). The easy solution, unless it's pouring out is to simply keep topping up every year, via the speedo pickup hole. The level is right when the plastic gear is half covered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lupo 1.7sdi Posted April 7 Report Share Posted April 7 On 4/3/2025 at 2:06 PM, arosa1 said: they would need to take off the gearbox and replace it from the inside... It cannot be removed from the inside, only from the outside as I presented above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2 Posted April 7 Report Share Posted April 7 Yep. 👍🏻 It's easy when the gearbox is apart because you simply push it out from the inside. And the shaft doesn't get in the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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