2002 Jetta 5 speed REVERSE, 2nd and 4th issues

I have been having issues with getting into 2nd and 4th sporadically. It would not go into those gears and then within several minutes everything would be fine. Now I can't get it into reverse, reverse seems to be first gear but no issues getting into 2nd and 4th. The nut on the top of the counterweight is tight.

What should I check next?

https://youtu.be/sheTKD03hmo
https://youtu.be/7HBE5vycg-4

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TdiRN said:

I have been having issues with getting into 2nd and 4th sporadically. It would not go into those gears and then within several minutes everything would be fine. Now I can't get it into reverse, reverse seems to be first gear but no issues getting into 2nd and 4th. The nut on the top of the counterweight is tight.

What should I check next?

Click to expand...

You probably need some bushings, specifically the "first gear getter"

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WildChild80 said:

You probably need some bushings, specifically the "first gear getter"

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Click to expand...

I put the first gear getter in about 1.5 years ago....

TdiRN said:

I put the first gear getter in about 1.5 years ago....

Click to expand...

Might need the rest of them in the bottom of the shifter, you could try the adjustment but before that, do you feel like there's excessive slopnin the shifter?

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WildChild80 said:

You probably need some bushings, specifically the "first gear getter"

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Click to expand...

The links are in the videos...

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Would those bushing under the shifter cause that "loss" of gears?

Just checked and gear getter is still in place. I'll do the cable readjustment this weekend. I hope its not the bushings under the shifter those look like a real PITA to get to.

TdiRN said:

Would those bushing under the shifter cause that "loss" of gears?

Just checked and gear getter is still in place. I'll do the cable readjustment this weekend. I hope its not the bushings under the shifter those look like a real PITA to get to.

Click to expand...

I did a set from the bottom, wasn't too bad

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It's a good job to do when you have the exhaust down for a turbo replacement or something like that. I had mine on jack stands and it wasn't too bad, the shifter feels much better, the side to side was gone and the front to back was on its way out, but now all that is left is shimming the ball but it feels great so I may leave it alone.

It might cause your problems if both bushings had left...

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The bushing on the left side of the shifter is completely gone. Can't tell 100% on the right side bushing. Not exactly sure how I'm going to do the left side as the "Gear Getter" is already in place....

I did drill the hole on the right side of the tower yesterday. Waiting on the parts to arrive tomorrow hopefully.

Replaced left side bushing. Right side is still really on there. Still don’t have reverse! Adjusted cables still no dice.

I need some help!

I'm not sure anyone can help you more than the diagnosis video above goes through the diagnosis the slop. It tells you how and what as far as that's concerned.

The bracket the cables go through on the transmission must be solid and the clips holding the cables firmly in place.
Be sure the cable ends are secure and have no slop. The up and down bushing shown in the beginning of the video and the spring bushing at the end are all about reverse.

If you go through the entire process and nothing works then you're looking at the clutch, shift tower, syncros and transmission.

Can you get into reverse and then start the car and back up? If so then the flywheel is likely shot. If not a bushing, or shift tower issue is likely.

Seriously watch the second video I linked above and go through the whole thing. The cable bushings, especially the side to side can be your issue with reverse.

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Not sure if it is any help, but my daughters car lost everything above 4th gear. I just swapped the transmission with a newer one from the boneyard (lower miles as hers had 225K on it). Anyway, I took the cover off the side of the old transmission afterward and found that part of the internals were rubbing/interfering with the inside of the cover. Seemed as simple as tightening something up to fix.
I think the cover is accessible with the transmission on the vehicle too.
Just a thought.
Good luck!

I meant to type "everything above 2nd gear"

Shift tower bushings
https://www.idparts.com/shifter-tower-bushing-repair-kit-a4-p-2281.html

I got it sorted out last night. I used a 20D 4" nail as per the DieselGeek videos and I reset the adjustment. At first this didn't work so I put the car in neutral and went to move the counterweight by hand. It didn't want to go at first, but with very minimal effort I was able to move it into reverse. Performed the reverse shift in the car and it worked!

eddieleephd said:

Shift tower bushings
https://www.idparts.com/shifter-tower-bushing-repair-kit-a4-p-2281.html

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I think this is the underlying issue unfortunately. I need figure out how to swap these out.

You'd have to drop the exhaust and remove the forward heat shield to access the lower portion of the shifter. Unfortunately they put it in through the bottom

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eddieleephd said:

You'd have to drop the exhaust and remove the forward heat shield to access the lower portion of the shifter. Unfortunately they put it in through the bottom

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Click to expand...

Shift tower not shifter bushings, he already drilled a side hole to do them in the cab...

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WildChild80 said:

Shift tower not shifter bushings, he already drilled a side hole to do them in the cab...

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Click to expand...

Right, duh.
I'm sure there's a video on that somewhere...

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eddieleephd said:

Right, duh.
I'm sure there's a video on that somewhere...

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Click to expand...

I vaguely remember one but no idea what my search wording was

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The funny part is i can get it into reverse manually and then it will work from inside the car to get outta the driveway but by the time I'm at work it will no longer engage reverse through the shifter.

https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=277786

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TdiRN said:

The funny part is i can get it into reverse manually and then it will work from inside the car to get outta the driveway but by the time I'm at work it will no longer engage reverse through the shifter.

Click to expand...

Will it go into reverse before you start the car and then not?

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after I get it in manually with the counter weight it will shift via the shifter for a while. I think those bearings must be so shot that after the normal shifting to drive the 30+ miles to work it won't allow it to get into reverse. I can push the shifter down fine its the movement forward that seems jammed up. 3rd seems a tad notchy at times.

I think you need to watch the second video one more time and verify if you have replaced the front to back bushing, the first side to side is the first gear getter, cable saver bushings are the others.
The hole shown drilled in the housing doesn't get the cable saver bushings

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Here is what I have replaced:

Geargetter bushing
Front to back bushing (of the left side of the shifter, no drilling required

The side to side bushing was still on there so tight I couldn't get the cable off of it, i was able to get the black clip off and back on however.

Are you referring to changing the bushings on the ends of the cables at the transmission end?

TdiRN said:

Here is what I have replaced:

Geargetter bushing
Front to back bushing (of the left side of the shifter, no drilling required

The side to side bushing was still on there so tight I couldn't get the cable off of it, i was able to get the black clip off and back on however.

Are you referring to changing the bushings on the ends of the cables at the transmission end?

Click to expand...

Cable saver end bushing in the bottom of the shifter box. Too low to get from the top. However, now that you mention it, the one on the shaft for the up down lever could be an issue.

I think I got it sorted out. I readjusted the cables and pulled back on the cable end itself to take out every last mm of slack and that seems to have done the trick!

Probably need to look at those cable end bushings at the transmission itself - perhaps switch those to solid bushings.

Edit: @work and went out to try it again and it wouldn't go into reverse again! It seems as though after I have done some shifting it won't work as designed. I'm going to look at the cable ends - maybe they are just worn out. What i noticed yesterday was that when I pushed the shifter over it was not pushing the counterweight on the transmission down far enough....

I've adjusted the linkages multiple times, changed the bushings under shifter, changed the bushing on the shifter shaft and the problem still persists. If i grab the counterweight and get it into reverse it works fine for a little bit. But there seems to be a rough spot I have to pull it through before it will get into gear. Would that be the counterweight shaft bearing?