Fitting a 5 speed box to a 4 speed Maestro.

[Lankytim]

The van im breaking has liberated its good 5 speed box. Im looking at converting a 4 speed maestro to 5 speed. Is it a simple case of removing a 4 speed cogbox and replacing it with a 5 speeder?:confused:

Many thanks!

[E_T_V]

Along with all the gear linkages, but yes pretty straight forward.

[Lankytim]

Thankyou ETV, Do I have to swap over ALL linkages including the brackets on the steering rack and the gear lever e.t.c? The gearstick on the donor is very stiff and feels worn out. Id probably be better off finding another donor for that particular part!

Will the driveshafts bolt straight in?

[Chris Y]

Gearbox to body mount may need to be different as well, but I'm not going to comment any further, since I don't know enough about the subject.

There have been other threads about this sort of conversion though. It's not as straightforward as it appears by all accounts.

[Lankytim]

Well it may not be going ahead anyway now... A friend mentioned that the gearbox in his 1986 Golf caddy pickup has gone bang. The Maestro gearbox may fit, seeing as its a VW item so he has taken it away. Hopefully it will get his caddy back on the road. If it does ill be sure to post up to say what differences there are. If it works one way, surely it will work the other?

[Speckled wood]

If your car is a 1.3, I think that its only the L version that will benefit from a 5 speed conversion as the ratio in top gear in the other 4 speed versions (HLE etc) is the same as 5th gear the 5 speed gearbox.

[Lankytim]

Speckled Hen, It would be for an HL so I think id be better off sticking with the 4 speeder!

*edit* Just realised its actually an L model, so may benefit from a 5 speed conversion afterall.

[e692wtt]

Well it may not be going ahead anyway now... A friend mentioned that the gearbox in his 1986 Golf caddy pickup has gone bang. The Maestro gearbox may fit, seeing as its a VW item so he has taken it away. Hopefully it will get his caddy back on the road. If it does ill be sure to post up to say what differences there are. If it works one way, surely it will work the other?

An easy way to get a Scirroco with knackered box back on the road cheaply was to fit a VW box from a scrap Maestro or Montego, way back when... The same plan also made it easy to convert a 4 speed Scirroco to a 5 speed Scirocco.

And according to road tests in 1983 and '84, the ratios in the MG1600 5 speed box are the same as the Golf GTi of the time. Some writers say it is the same box!

Your friend is on to something with his plan, he just needs to watch a few little details during the swap (having both cars side by side would be useful) :) .

[Lankytim]

My friend has got the box fitted, it all went in fine apparently! He can only get 4 gears though, 5th gear cannot be found. I think he may need the gear linkages from a 5 speed Golf rather than the linkages from the Maestro van- unless there is some sort of adjustment that can be made? He is verry happy anyway. His dead Golf caddy is now back on the road!

The Golf Caddy is a 1600cc diesel by the way.

This has some interesting implications... An A series powered Golf or Scirocco? A maestro with a Golf GTI engine? The mind boggles!

[G51 NAV]

A maestro with a Golf GTI engine? The mind boggles!A novelty idea I guess if you could get everything to fit, but I wager not many people here will be tempted by such a downgrade ;)

[e692wtt]

He can only get 4 gears though, 5th gear cannot be found. I think he may need the gear linkages from a 5 speed Golf rather than the linkages from the Maestro van- unless there is some sort of adjustment that can be made?

He'll have to mix 'n' match I think - that's why I said about having both cars side by side if possible ;) .

An alternative might be removing the main shaft that comes forward to the gearbox from the gear lever and changing its position on its splines - presuming that this is the same set up as on the Maestro and Montego (I wouldn't like to comment on this though).

If he's struggling to find the VW bits at a scrappy, there are plenty of VW Secondhand Spares places around the country, or places like GSF Car Parts or Euro Car Parts that may have the parts new.

[Lankytim]

My friend has swapped around all the linkages but still cant find 5th gear. His caddy is really screaming in 4th speed so he is eager to get things sorted. Unfortunately he is starting to think its only a 4 speed box! Is there any way of telling for sure?

Im sure I was told the van had a 5 speeder in but not im not so certain..

[G51 NAV]

have you not got the gearknob?

[e692wtt]

My friend has swapped around all the linkages but still cant find 5th gear. His caddy is really screaming in 4th speed so he is eager to get things sorted. Unfortunately he is starting to think its only a 4 speed box! Is there any way of telling for sure?

Im sure I was told the van had a 5 speeder in but not im not so certain..

See post #11, especially comment re: splines. Has he tried this?

[Lankytim]

The gearknob had the "gate map" missing so didnt tell us anything. The splines have been adjusted several times and the linkages have all been swapped but no joy!

Is it known to be particulary tricky finding all the gears after a gearbox swap?

[E_T_V]

It can be.

Many vans only had a 4 speed box though..

Are there any serial numbers still visable on it?

[Lankytim]

Ill have to check to see if theres any numbers on it, apparently the Volkswagen numbers have been blanked out..

Anyway. Turns out it IS a 4 speed, the 5 speeder is a bit longer apparently. Bum!

[maestro vans]

The 5 speed box has a green cap on the end of the gearbox where the clutch release bearing goes the 4 speed doesnt. This is the easiest way to tell its a 4 speed vw box.

[enfield49]

Check that the clutch is the same size , it was was when I did this conversion, The gearbox fitted straight on but you have to use the 5 speed gear lever assembly. Graham