WhatUpTKHere
New member
So I've been given a free Golf Cabrio from 1997, which on the surface of it sounds very cool. Being completely inexperienced with Golfs, and merely wanting a cheap second car to have some fun in, I said yes.
It's got a huge list of problems - blowing blue smoke, passenger door won't open, has been run low on oil etc. etc. etc. but the number one problem is the automatic transmission.
It will only drive forwards, and I suspect only in 1st, or maybe 3rd. I'm unsure which it's stuck in. Putting it in reverse, one can rev the engine all the way to redline and simply nothing happens.
I had hoped that topping off the ATF and installing a new fluid filter would help solve this problem, assuming some hydraulic actuation may not be happening due to a low fluid condition. After trying this and failing, I redoubled my research efforts. I found this document (https://www.scribd.com/document/427289795/Transmision-Automatica-Gearbox-01M) which is somewhat of a holy grail to me now.
I've since learned that in the transmission, the B1 brake and K2 clutch are responsible for engaging reverse gear. The clutches and brakes for forward gears are actuated by electrical solenoids. Reading between the lines, I believe the reverse brake and clutch (B1 and K2) are actuated solely by the mechanical shift linkage. This means that electrical failures of either the harness, wiring or solenoids can not be the cause of my problems. Instead, the problem is likely something much more serious, presumably a failure of internal mechanical components that would require a full rebuild to fix.
If anyone could shed more light on this, I'd very much appreciate it. I love the idea of a quick easy fix to get back reverse, but I strongly suspect after reading 50+forum pages that it's not possible.
It's got a huge list of problems - blowing blue smoke, passenger door won't open, has been run low on oil etc. etc. etc. but the number one problem is the automatic transmission.
It will only drive forwards, and I suspect only in 1st, or maybe 3rd. I'm unsure which it's stuck in. Putting it in reverse, one can rev the engine all the way to redline and simply nothing happens.
I had hoped that topping off the ATF and installing a new fluid filter would help solve this problem, assuming some hydraulic actuation may not be happening due to a low fluid condition. After trying this and failing, I redoubled my research efforts. I found this document (https://www.scribd.com/document/427289795/Transmision-Automatica-Gearbox-01M) which is somewhat of a holy grail to me now.
I've since learned that in the transmission, the B1 brake and K2 clutch are responsible for engaging reverse gear. The clutches and brakes for forward gears are actuated by electrical solenoids. Reading between the lines, I believe the reverse brake and clutch (B1 and K2) are actuated solely by the mechanical shift linkage. This means that electrical failures of either the harness, wiring or solenoids can not be the cause of my problems. Instead, the problem is likely something much more serious, presumably a failure of internal mechanical components that would require a full rebuild to fix.
If anyone could shed more light on this, I'd very much appreciate it. I love the idea of a quick easy fix to get back reverse, but I strongly suspect after reading 50+forum pages that it's not possible.
