Manual popping out of gear

[themightyquinn]

2005 TDI with DUK
Long story short, after what I thought were linkage issues I lost 1st, 5th, and reverse gears. Turns out one of the "stop screws"/"slider bolts" had gone missing. After replacing it with one from the Boxster transmission I have kicking around I got my gears back. Unfortunately I'm still having issues with the transmission.
When manually shifting the gearbox at the selector rod (i.e. shift linkage out of the equation) it feels like the there isn't much of a detent and it takes minimal effort to pull it back out of gear. So little effort in fact that coming on and off the throttle, bumps in the road, engine vibrations, even just the stretch of the shift boot will work the transmission out of gear (even when sitting parked in the driveway).

Normally, I'd suspect synchros when a transmission is popping out of gear, but there''s no grinding when going into any of the gears, and it seems unlikely that most or all of the synchros would go at the same time. Any ideas?

 

[Tdijarhead]

I had a car popping out of gear while driving, it turned out to be an inner cv joint that the bolts were backing out of.

Yours sounds more like worn linkage bushings, there are kits to replace the bushings in these cars. Dieselgeek has a very complete set with installation videos also.

 

[themightyquinn]

Thank you for the input, the problem seems to be present without the linkage connected so I think that must not be the problem -- having the shift linkage connected does seem to exacerbate the issue though, but just because the extra weight seems to place more pull on the selector shaft. I'm guessing it must be something internal, just not sure what.

I was hoping there was some adjustment or something to do with the missing screw that was causing the issues but that doesn't seem to be the case. I can't imagine it's the synchros, although the problem is surely not helping them so I've parked the car. Looks like I'll probably have to pull it apart at some point

 

[Tdijarhead]

Shifter Bushings for VW Audi Seat and Skoda

Make your VW shifter feel like new! Our VAG shifter bushings cures sloppy shifters and will get your shifter working like new! You'll save a ton time and money!

www.dieselgeek.com

You likely need a 1st gear getter but as long as your in there a complete set is advisable. The videos I referenced are at the bottom of the page.