Car takes longer to get in to 5th gear

Howdy,

I am not imagining this but my 2004 VW Golf 1.4 has had a very strange problem recently. Generally I would be able to go in to 5th gear when I hit 60-80 kmph but now I have to be at least over 100 with high RPMs. I know I'm not going mad because when I would use the Dundrum slip road going home I'd normally go in to 5th around the 70/80 mark and keep it at that pace. The safety catch literally will not let me go in to 5th gear at all until I get to the higher speeds mentioned and what is stranger is the RPMs seem to be lower in 4th gear at higher speeds then they were before the problem.... anyone ever come across something similar?

Cheers in advance

TheChizler

Are you pressing the clutch fully in? Unless your speed sensor is broken, or somebody sneakily replaced your wheels or gearbox, the same revs in a certain gear will bring you to the same speed.

mickdw

Whats the safety catch?

It is very difficult to understand how you could have lower revs at a certain speed than you were used to. Less noise possibly but not less revs.

TheChizler

Also you're not pressing the clutch slightly when accelerating are you?

mickdw

mickdw wrote: »

Whats the safety catch?

Sorry my descriptions of this is probably really bad as my knowledge of cars would be very basic. Before the gear stick wouldn't allow me to go in to 5th at lower speeds which is normal, now it won't go in to 5th at all unless the car is going 100 kmphs + .

Gear stick

Reverse I I I I - 5th

---

I I

It just won't budge in to 5th at all and I am forced to put it back in to 4th.

TheChizler

Clutch slave cylinder gone perhaps? Or pressure plate spring might have snapped. Has the car developed any funny noises recently?

I had 2 snapped springs in my pressure plate in November, made switching gears very difficult.

TheChizler

TheChizler wrote: »

Also you're not pressing the clutch slightly when accelerating are you?

I don't think so but I shall see on the way home I am a ****er for developing random bad habits....

holdmybeer

Your jumping gears too early, you will destroy you vw that way. 5th is for high speed, not cruising. Trade for an auto if you like casual.

mickdw

Deleted User wrote: »

Sorry my descriptions of this is probably really bad as my knowledge of cars would be very basic. Before the gear stick wouldn't allow me to go in to 5th at lower speeds which is normal, now it won't go in to 5th at all unless the car is going 100 kmphs + .

Gear stick

Reverse I I I I - 5th

---

I I

It just won't budge in to 5th at all and I am forced to put it back in to 4th.

There should be nothing to stop you selecting 5th at any speed if gearbox and clutch are ok. It sounds like you have had a problem all along.
You shouldn't be able to select reverse or 1st at speed.

YbFocus

mickdw wrote: »

There should be nothing to stop you selecting 5th at any speed if gearbox and clutch are ok. It sounds like you have had a problem all along.
You shouldn't be able to select reverse or 1st at speed.

Exactly as mick said, if you want to pull away from the lights with your car in fifth the car won't stop you.
It will stop you from over revving by an early down change though.

It sounds like you have a very weird gearbox problem and you've had it for some time and it's getting worse.
I'm lost for what it could be though.