02A with sloppy shifter

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
nice work
dont upload to photobucket, use this forums upload so it will be saved please. also not everyone pays hard earned cash just so they can see photos!
 

Phi1osopher

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2019
Location
Austin, TX
TDI
'96 B4V TDI Passat Wagon
nice work
dont upload to photobucket, use this forums upload so it will be saved please. also not everyone pays hard earned cash just so they can see photos!
I uploaded to Imgur.... how do we upload photos here?
I looked (and searched) but found nothing...
 

garciapiano

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2018
Location
Southern California
TDI
1997 Jetta TDI (1Z)
There is nothing wrong with simply replacing the bushings on the 02A. For what it's worth it cost me over $400 and a solid day's worth of work to swap to the 02J tower and Polo box. Would I do it again? Only if I was very picky about how my shifter felt. The 02J is very nice, no question about it, but not an absolute necessity.
 

Matt-98AHU

Loose Nut Behind the Wheel Vendor
Joined
Apr 23, 2006
Location
Gresham, OR
TDI
2001 Golf TDI, 2005 Passat wagon, 2004 Touareg V10.
There is nothing wrong with simply replacing the bushings on the 02A. For what it's worth it cost me over $400 and a solid day's worth of work to swap to the 02J tower and Polo box. Would I do it again? Only if I was very picky about how my shifter felt. The 02J is very nice, no question about it, but not an absolute necessity.
And now you have sturdier parts. The relay lever is now metal, not plastic, and the shift lever with the integrated weight is thicker and not prone to shearing like the two layers of cheap steel the Mk3 setup used.

Over the long term, not only have you improved how precise shifting it is, but you've made it more reliable and less likely to have a failure again in the future.

All this talk in the mk3/B4 forums about shift linkages breaking... how often do you hear that from the guys who own mk4s newer than 99.5? You don't. They don't break with anything coming close to the frequency of the old style shifter.
 

garciapiano

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2018
Location
Southern California
TDI
1997 Jetta TDI (1Z)
And now you have sturdier parts. The relay lever is now metal, not plastic, and the shift lever with the integrated weight is thicker and not prone to shearing like the two layers of cheap steel the Mk3 setup used.
Over the long term, not only have you improved how precise shifting it is, but you've made it more reliable and less likely to have a failure again in the future.
All this talk in the mk3/B4 forums about shift linkages breaking... how often do you hear that from the guys who own mk4s newer than 99.5? You don't. They don't break with anything coming close to the frequency of the old style shifter.
I fully agree, 02J linkage is far more reliable. FWIW by the time you have the 02A box out to replace the bushings, it is almost easier to have your 02j setup ready to bolt in, might as well.
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Phi1osopher, installed his bushings with the shift box in the car. Huge amount of time saved, compared to the 02j parts swap.

As for the plastic parts breaking, how often does it actually occur? It breaks, you replace it, then you get another 15 years out of it? Since joining the forum, I’ve only had one relay lever crack. I replaced it with a used spare from the shed... no issues since.

I never heard of the shift weight shearing, but I’m also not shifting like I drive a race car.

-Todd
 

Matt-98AHU

Loose Nut Behind the Wheel Vendor
Joined
Apr 23, 2006
Location
Gresham, OR
TDI
2001 Golf TDI, 2005 Passat wagon, 2004 Touareg V10.
Phi1osopher, installed his bushings with the shift box in the car. Huge amount of time saved, compared to the 02j parts swap.

As for the plastic parts breaking, how often does it actually occur? It breaks, you replace it, then you get another 15 years out of it? Since joining the forum, I’ve only had one relay lever crack. I replaced it with a used spare from the shed... no issues since.

I never heard of the shift weight shearing, but I’m also not shifting like I drive a race car.

-Todd
Well, when you work on these every day, you see some pattern failures. It did happen to my mk3 more than 10 years ago, but mine isn't the only one I've seen it on. Michigan corrosion may have played a role. It definitely wasn't as easy shifting as some others (until the Mk4 linkage went in).

The plastic lever broke twice on that car. Once on my old man who was the original owner after only about 4-5 years of ownership (but also already 150k miles) and I think I broke it again when I did the clutch some years later, probably more a symptom of being a relatively green wrench at the time and not yet knowing exactly the weak point of the part yet and how to safely remove it without breaking.

Sure, it's more work up front to convert the linkage, but in the long term you'll have to deal with it less because... well... they don't really fail.
 

Phi1osopher

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2019
Location
Austin, TX
TDI
'96 B4V TDI Passat Wagon
After replacing the bushings in my 100% stock 02a, I am very happy with how the shifter feels, and am in fact 100% content with how it shifts.
I recognize I am not driving a race car, rather a sporty wagon, and I have no intention to make any changes until something breaks.
 
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