CopaMundial
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2011
- Location
- Southeastern PA
- TDI
- 03 Jetta Wagon 5sp (New to me Oct 2014) 03 Jetta 5sp (RIP Aug 2014)
On an 02J transmission when the shift tower is locked in the home position, does that prevent the selector shaft from rotating or does it just lock up/down movement of the shaft?
I am trying to check cable alignment and locking in home position only prevents up/down movement of the shaft. It is still able to rotate when locked, but I wasn’t sure if that was normal.
Here is a short video of what I get when attempting to lock in home position
https://youtu.be/5SEsvWGCIUs
The reason for checking cable alignment in the first place is that I am troubleshooting a gear selection problem where the neutral position is tough to find. When I do locate neutral, it is much farther back than normal (back meaning closer to typical 2nd/4th position) and I end up having trouble engaging 2nd/4th. Reverse is also hard to get, but I think that’s mostly because it’s hard to tell if I’m starting from the right neutral position.
I seriously doubt it’s cable alignment, since this came on pretty quickly. I bought the dieselgeek bushing kit, but I haven’t replaced any yet since none of them seem to have that much play and the issue can be reproduced under the hood which seems to eliminate the in-cabin cable end bushings.
Here is a video showing progression from neutral to first back to neutral (fails) and attempting 2nd. (Apologies in advance for the low audio and Vertical Video Syndrome, as it was difficult to find a room for filming)
https://youtu.be/dE183zVCZvA
I am trying to narrow down whether this is a shift tower issue (which I may try to tackle) or a broken shift fork (which I would need a lot of alcohol before attempting). Thanks in advance for any suggestions on possible causes or possible drinks that may aid in diagnosis.
Car in question is on 03 Jetta Wagon with the 5 speed manual transmission, 240k miles.
I am trying to check cable alignment and locking in home position only prevents up/down movement of the shaft. It is still able to rotate when locked, but I wasn’t sure if that was normal.
Here is a short video of what I get when attempting to lock in home position
https://youtu.be/5SEsvWGCIUs
The reason for checking cable alignment in the first place is that I am troubleshooting a gear selection problem where the neutral position is tough to find. When I do locate neutral, it is much farther back than normal (back meaning closer to typical 2nd/4th position) and I end up having trouble engaging 2nd/4th. Reverse is also hard to get, but I think that’s mostly because it’s hard to tell if I’m starting from the right neutral position.
I seriously doubt it’s cable alignment, since this came on pretty quickly. I bought the dieselgeek bushing kit, but I haven’t replaced any yet since none of them seem to have that much play and the issue can be reproduced under the hood which seems to eliminate the in-cabin cable end bushings.
Here is a video showing progression from neutral to first back to neutral (fails) and attempting 2nd. (Apologies in advance for the low audio and Vertical Video Syndrome, as it was difficult to find a room for filming)
https://youtu.be/dE183zVCZvA
I am trying to narrow down whether this is a shift tower issue (which I may try to tackle) or a broken shift fork (which I would need a lot of alcohol before attempting). Thanks in advance for any suggestions on possible causes or possible drinks that may aid in diagnosis.
Car in question is on 03 Jetta Wagon with the 5 speed manual transmission, 240k miles.
