Mathew,
Seeing what is wrong isn't an option, just get new parts and
start from scratch and, at the end of the day, it will shift like a
brand new car straight off the showroom floor!!!
The ball at the bottom of the shifter is a hard one because
you have to move the exhaust system out of the way and get to it from
under the car. Actually, that isn't too hard because if you undo the
cat bolts, unhook a couple of the rubber hangers, you can push it off
to the side so that you can get the heat shield off. Techtonics
(http://www.techtonicstuning.com/) has a complete shifter rebuild
kit, P/N 798.220 for $110.00 that includes EVERYTHING that is
required to rebuild the entire linkage and comes with a short shift
kit as a bonus. They also have a "special tool" to align the
first/reverse gate but the "fat side" of an audio cassette works just
as well. I've used the procedure in the Bentley and once you get
stuck into the job, it becomes quite clear what has to be done. The
hardest part I found was replacing the shift rod bushing inside the
black box that the shift rod and ball sit in. As far as replacing
the bushing on the relay shaft bracket goes, it is easier to drill
out the two rivets that hold the bushing retainer in place and
replace them with a couple small screws & nylon locking nuts. Piece
of cake!!!!!!.......Jack
After all of the good information about VW shifters, an A2 Jetta (my
neighbour) comes to my shop with linkage / reverse-lockout problems.
There is no lockout for reverse, and first and reverse are very close
together.
I think to myself, "great, I am now well-informed about shift
linkages". Wrong. The back end of the A2 shift linkage is
completely different.
After close examination of this A2 diesel Jetta, I find that the
ball-socket thing in the floor has too much play. There is a spring
that holds the shifter up. That spring is between the ball in the
socket, and the relay-rod connection bushing. Trouble is, the whole
assembly falls too far down, and pushing down on the shifter to get
past the reverse gate is not necessary.
Does anyone know how to take the shifter, and the ball-and-socket out
to see whats wrong with them, or where to find the information?
Bentley isn't much help. It just says "remove and adjust", it
doesn't say how.
Thanks in advance,
Mathew Banack
