Help! Suddenly no reverse - other gears are fine

[Aquaticmind]

Hi folks,
I need some help here. I'm on road trip and suddenly I have no reverse. Manual 5-speed transmission 03 Jetta Wagon. No issue before hand, now I can't get it to go into reverse. I just watched some videos on adjusting the the shifter cables, gave it a try but that didn't make any difference. Other gears are fine to shift through. I had the clutch replace about 1500 miles ago but solid VW guy and haven't had any other issue. Brake/clutch fluid is full.

1) anyone have any great ideas - I'm in Boone NC right now.

2) can someone tell/show me how to put the transmission into reverse from under the hood, that way I could at least back out of a parking lot if I needed to.

3) I'm wondering if it is the "push down" on the shifter part of shifting into reverse that isn't working - anyway to check that?

Thank for any help
~James

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

Huh.. could be a long shot. I had the same problem. My solution was shift into reverse like you normally would , while your right hand is still on the shifter hit the top of your hand with your left hand. this knocked the shifter down and I got reverse. Also you can take the console up and look under the shifter boot to see if any nylon pieces have broken away which is the most likely situation. That can be solved with the Diesel Geek shifter kit. In the mean time dont park where you need reverse

 

[ghohouston]

Almost gaurenteed to be a bushing bad. Save yourself a headache and buy the dieselgeek bushing kit and install all of them.

 

[csstevej]

Problem is …is he is on the road away from home . He needs something quick to get him going if he can’t pull through a spot.

 

[ghohouston]

Problem is …is he is on the road away from home . He needs something quick to get him going if he can’t pull through a spot.

This is true. Some 5/16 coolant/ fuel line works good for the bushings under the shifter handle in a pinch. Done that before.

 

[turbodieseldyke]

2) can someone tell/show me how to put the transmission into reverse from under the hood, that way I could at least back out of a parking lot if I needed to.

Hopefully your problem is in the linkage, and this trick will still work.

With the Engine Off and Key On, grab the upside-down golf club thing on the transmission, and cycle through the positions. It moves horizontally (Left, Neutral, Right), and vertically. You want the key On, so you can see when the reverse tail lights are lit. It's raining here, so I'm guessing at where the Reverse gear is -- Golf club in uppermost position pushed all the way down, swung toward the left (clockwise, if viewed from the top).

If you find the gear, then you can step on the clutch, start it, and drive reverse. You probably won't have to shut it off to resume driving in forward gears.

Good luck

 

[burpod]

there is a little box of GM or other such generic windshield wiper bushing/grommets at autozone/etc. i don't remember the exact ones, but one of them is a near exact fit (iirc maybe a tiny bit of trimming) to replace the most problematic bushing in the shifter in the cabin.

to get it into reverse from under the hood. push down all the way and towards the front. 99% sure of that, its been a little while

but good call, do that and with key on, see if reverse lights come on, then you're in reverse

 

[Aquaticmind]

Does anyone have a picture of the bushing that goes bad and info on how to replace it.

Which kit from Diesel Greek are you referring to, there seem to be a bunch of options. Since I'm not sure what broke, or is out of alighment, I'm not sure what to buy as a replacement. Thank you for the info.

 

[turbodieseldyke]

Does anyone have a picture of the bushing that goes bad and info on how to replace it.

Which kit from Diesel Greek are you referring to, there seem to be a bunch of options. Since I'm not sure what broke, or is out of alighment, I'm not sure what to buy as a replacement.

This doesn't sound like a repair to make during a road trip, as you might make things worse if not done properly. Before you order bushings, you'd need to find which one is bad, by removing the shift boot and inspecting the assembly.

First thing, is see if the under-hood trick gets you a working Reverse gear.

 

[Genesis]

Yeah I wouldn't try to do that in a parking lot. It probably is, however, the bushings in the cabin.

 

[ghohouston]

Years ago, I was able to maneuver a chopped piece of 5/16 hose in place of one of the shifter bushings from the top, without dropping the box. It's 100% not worth doing though. Just drop the exhaust down and drop the shifter box.

 

[Genesis]

I got all of them without removing the box, from the top.

The one likely responsible for this is accessible, but even so you want to be screwing with this in your garage, not in a parking lot.

 

[Aquaticmind]

Any one have any insight on how how to remove the shifter knob so I can look at the reverse bushing there.

 

[Genesis]

Pull the trim ring that has the boot free and extend it over the knob. There's a band there you cut to free the knob from the shaft. When done replace with a stout tie-wrap or a narrow band-clamp.

 

[burpod]

just unclip and pull the boot up , no need to really take anything apart other than that, iirc. although its been a while since i've done this on an actual mk4, but i don't think you need to take anything else apart to get at the bushing that's the usual culprit

 

[Genesis]

Its pretty-tough to get to it with the side housing around the shifter (which is secured to the lower dash panels) in place. Not impossible, but quite difficult. The bushing that is usually the cause of this is the one sticking out on the driver side. There are more of them that can be involved too and they're a fair bit tougher to get at.

 

[J_dude]

Like burpod said above, no need to remove the shifter knob, just pull/unclip the shift boot ring up out of the center console, and that will give you all the room you need to find the bushings

 

[Aquaticmind]

So it looks like the bushing around the spring are in tact, although they are old and starting to crack.

Can anyone send me picture of what the tranny / shift linkages should be in the reverse position? That way I will know what I'm trying to get to. I'm not seeming to be able to find it, which is concerning. It seems like I have 3 gears when in up position and 2 in the down position, since middle in the down position, it pops back up - which I assume is the neutral position.

 

[Brett San Diego]

At the transmission shift selector rod, reverse is all the way down and turned counter clockwise. Grab the "golf club" for lack of a better term and push down until it stops and turn counterclockwise.

Neutral

IMG_4582.jpeg

• Brett San Diego
• Mar 22, 2023

Reverse

IMG_4581.jpeg

• Brett San Diego
• Mar 22, 2023

Brett

 

[Aquaticmind]

Thank you