Help me find reverse!

[Jonasr907]

Hey guys! Love my TDIs, first post here. I just did the clutch and flywheel on my 2001 golf TDI. Went smoothly, easier than I expected! I used the Sachs power clutch kit from Kerma.
After putting it all back together, I have everything but reverse. Here’s where it goes downhill.
ive tried adjusting the cables (probably about 8-10 times). 1-5 feel great! Reverse just isn’t doing it. I push down on my shifter, move it left, and it feels like it glides along a wall that pushes it to the right into 1st. There is nothing obstructing the chrome counterweight. I have bled my slave. It won’t move over even when vehicle is off. I’ve looked at the lockout mechanism under my shift boot and it seems totally fine from poking around. Please help me with this, I’m at the end of my rope here!

 

[oilhammer]

Normally you would not need to mess with any cable adjustments or anything like that just to R&R the transmission. I suspect something got tooefed. I saw a guy once that bent the gear selector shaft by using a hoist on the counterweight to lift the transmission down. Expensive mistake.

 

[Jonasr907]

Hmm- okay. At first I only had 1,3,and 5thgears, so after adjusting and getting those back, I assumed that may have been part of where reverse went. I used my arms to lower and reinstall, so no toofing there. What would you check out first?

 

[JETaah]

Can you get the trans in all of the gears by shifting the lever right at the transmission?(i.e., cables disconnected)
Is there any side to side wobble in the shift tower shaft on the trans?

 

[Jonasr907]

Can you get the trans in all of the gears by shifting the lever right at the transmission?(i.e., cables disconnected)
Is there any side to side wobble in the shift tower shaft on the trans?

So sorry for the slow reply. I’ve gotten another golf to compare. It seems my shifter “club” won’t go all the way down to engage reverse from the engine bay. What could cause that?

 

[Jonasr907]

This is a video that should show what I mean

 

[Jonasr907]

SOLVED- the silver club was slightly off on the splines that it should slide onto. I needed to rotate it counterclockwise and reinstall. Thanks all!

 

[jokila]

SOLVED- the silver club was slightly off on the splines that it should slide onto. I needed to rotate it counterclockwise and reinstall. Thanks all!

I thought the splines were keyed and only let the club install one way. One of the splines is double thick.

Glad you got it going.

 

[JETaah]

I thought the splines were keyed and only let the club install one way. One of the splines is double thick.

Glad you got it going.

And therein lies the trouble.

 

[JETaah]

SOLVED- the silver club was slightly off on the splines that it should slide onto. I needed to rotate it counterclockwise and reinstall. Thanks all!

Often enough the "club" splines get messed up from the binding nut not being tightened enough. it will rock around and wear the splines out.
But, I've never found one that could be installed (clocked) incorrectly. Fortunately the club will wear before the shaft does which makes it an easier fix.

 

[braddies]

Glad you got it sorted, thanks for the update

Often enough the "club" splines get messed up from the binding nut not being tightened enough. it will rock around and wear the splines out.
But, I've never found one that could be installed (clocked) incorrectly. Fortunately the club will wear before the shaft does which makes it an easier fix.

If you end up finding that the splines machined into the silver golf club have worn out, might as well replace it with a club from a 5speed mk1 Audi TT for the shorter throw shifter, make sure keep the cable end from the tt club as well.

All this just in case things loosen up on you again, hoping it stays good