Please help

[Pancake Slap]

So I was on my way home tonight, and when I went to shift into third gear from second I was suddenly locked out of all gears. I coasted for a bit while struggling to find a gear, and pulled over. It wouldn't let me put it in any gear. The last I tried was reverse, it made a huge clunk like when you start it in gear without the clutch engaged, and suddenly I was able to shift into gears again no problem. Where do I begin looking into this problem?

 

[eddieleephd]

Shifter linkage on the transmission and clutch. I'm guessing clutch pad came apart.
Will it go through gears when it's off?

 

[Pancake Slap]

It went back to shifting like normal once only after I tried reverse. I was able to drive it home with no more issues.

 

[ekincaid]

I have had the same thing happen with my Golf a couple of times. With mine the temperature outside is usually hot and I found that my clutch peddle wasn't coming up fully. Stuck my foot under the clutch peddle and lifted up with my foot and it popped back up. Not exactly sure what was going on. That's been months ago and everything is working fine now. Shifts perfectly. Your issue sounds so almost exactly the same as mine. I hope somebody can point to what this might be.

 

[Pancake Slap]

It was weird because my peddle didn't really feel different, like I was extremely surprised I couldn't find a gear. I'm suspecting it's an issue with the hydraulics as I haven't had any clutch slippage. I'm going to check out the clutch master cylinder and all today and see if I notice anything off.

 

[ekincaid]

So out of curiosity. Did you find anything amiss?

 

[mrGutWrench]

I have had the same thing happen with my Golf a couple of times. With mine the temperature outside is usually hot and I found that my clutch peddle wasn't coming up fully. Stuck my foot under the clutch peddle and lifted up with my foot and it popped back up. Not exactly sure what was going on. That's been months ago and everything is working fine now. Shifts perfectly. Your issue sounds so almost exactly the same as mine. I hope somebody can point to what this might be.

Hey, fellow NC TDI buddy. I had a similar thing 12 -14 years ago at about 180K miles. I had to lift the clutch up with my toe a few times and soon after it felt as if the clutch was not engaging properly. It was "soft feeling" coming out. Soon after I noticed that, the clutch began slipping under hard acceleration in lower gears (not much, it was pretty subtle). I changed it all out to the V6 Sachs clutch upgrade (no mass balancer) -- like we did in the 00s*. All has been fine since. When the old parts were off, you could feel a difference in the tension on the spring tongues between the new and old spring plates and that makes me pretty sure that the basic problem was a weak/worn spring assembly; it might have been that the entire clutch was worn. Anyway, it took a complete clutch replacement, I'm sorry to say.

(* I've been running that clutch for nearly 400,000 miles since. I think that there are new "parts swaps" that accomplish the same thing without the rattle and harshness of the older upgrade parts from 15 years ago. The new clutch transformed the feel of the clutch entirely, really solid feel, much more positive pedal, never slipped, handled "feathering" taking off easily when needed, etc.)

HTH, MrG

 

[ekincaid]

Hey, fellow NC TDI buddy.

You are just down the road from me. Well sorta... I live not too far from Benson.

I have been leaning toward replacing the clutch. I have 229k right now on the original. I might look into that after I get the timing belt taken care of. Not that I know a huge amount about any of this. I just scratch my head that the only time it happens is when it is hot outside. Thanks for your input.

 

[eddieleephd]

Air expands when it's hot and generally causes issues shifting.
First attempt could be flushing the clutch and brake system being they are the same fluid.
If that doesn't solve the issue then the clutch disc is expanding and coming apart causing issues.
Only thing is you'll need to re-bleed the system when doing the clutch.

 

[PakProtector]

Only thing is you'll need to re-bleed the system when doing the clutch.

Why?
Could for sure. Would-be-a-good-idea? for sure...but need to?
cheers,
Douglas

 

[Pancake Slap]

Sorry guys, work has been crazy recently and I haven't really had the time to hop back on here. I haven't been able to replicate the problem at all. Also, when it happened my clutch pedal was acting normally, it didn't stick to the floor or anything. I was suspecting the clutch master cylinder (mainly because I don't want to tell my wallet I need to buy a new clutch), but everything has been acting normally. I'm wondering if it has to do with the shifter itself.

 

[Nevada_TDI]

When was the last time you adjusted the linkage?

 

[Pancake Slap]

When was the last time you adjusted the linkage?

Hasn't been done since I bought the car last year. No telling if it's been done at all.

 

[Nevada_TDI]

There are some great how-to's available here; I realize the problem has stopped but if you adjust the linkage you won't have a, " I wonder if the linkage has anything to do with it?" moments.

 

[Diesel Fumes]

There are some great how-to's available here; I realize the problem has stopped but if you adjust the linkage you won't have a, " I wonder if the linkage has anything to do with it?" moments.

You're talking about the shift cables right? I adjusted those and it took like 3 minutes. Super easy task and made my car shift a lot nicer even with otherwise worn components. Might not fix the op's issue but won't make things worse

 

[Pancake Slap]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I'm going to take a look at it this weekend when I finally get some time off. When I find the solution I'll be sure to post it up.

 

[Tdijarhead]

Here is a dieselgeek link to their bushing renewal kit if you find you need that, however at the bottom of the page are several you tube videos about how the shift mechanism works and more importantly how to adjust the linkage mechanism. As diesel fumes pointed out it’s a fairly easy and quick process.

Deluxe MK4 Shifter Bushing Kit

All the MK4 shifter bushings in one convenient, money saving kit! If your MK4 Shifter is sloppy you can buy this kit to get everything you need to make it great

dieselgeek.com

 

[eddieleephd]

^^ Bushings are a good thing to do either way, highly recommended also.

 

[Pancake Slap]

Well I couldn't find anything really wrong with the car. I was able to drive it a little over 30 miles today with no trouble at all. I haven't been able to replicate the issue or diagnose it. I'm going to look into getting new bushings and call it solved.

If the issue arises again or if I find a solution I will post further. Thanks for all the help.

 

[mrGutWrench]

You are just down the road from me. Well sorta... I live not too far from Benson.

I have been leaning toward replacing the clutch. I have 229k right now on the original. I might look into that after I get the timing belt taken care of. Not that I know a huge amount about any of this. I just scratch my head that the only time it happens is when it is hot outside. Thanks for your input.

Hi. Who is a good mechanic in central NC to replace a TDI timing belt? As I said, my clutch was operating OK, but really needed to be replaced (at least the spring portion) at a lower mileage that you're experiencing now. I don't know much about my car's early history -- I bought an '02 Jetta sedan new in '02, then that car was totaled by a drunk driver in November, '06; I bought my '03 wagon with 110K to replace it. It was a recently turned in lease car from California, it showed signs of poor maintenance and there was a groove in the carpet under the clutch pedal from the heel of high heeled shoes. I think it had had about 4 years of hard life.
I expect that if you upgrade your clutch to the most modern type of clutch in use today (my upgrade about 12 years ago was to a combination of V6 standard and racing parts, it's been really solid but it does away with the mass balancer and that results in noise with the clutch pushed in and the clutch engagement is rough and jerky -- I think that there are more recent upgrades that allow for a solid clutch with smoother and quieter operation. That said, I can't complain of getting 400,000 miles out of a clutch assembly with no issues other than a little noise and harshness), you'll find that all is well again.

Good luck, Bruce in Carrboro

 

[Pancake Slap]

So it finally happened. I was driving along when suddenly I was no longer able to find a gear. I coasted to a stop and the only gear I could grab was reverse, but I remained locked out of all other. This time I could find the gears when I turned the car off, but my clutch had little to no pressure. I was able to crank it in 2nd gear and limp it home.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm thinking I need to replace the clutch master and slave.

 

[PakProtector]

The only gear available being reverse leaves me with a question or two. Reverse has no synchro, so how did you get it in reverse? Car stopped and running? The other gears not being available also leaves wondering, was it dragging? I assume you put it in gear when everything was dead, and with the interlock switches taken care of by pushing the pedal down, then applied the key...

I agree it sounds like a slave and/or master...but I am not sure.
cheers,
Douglas

 

[Pancake Slap]

It kinda clunked into reverse. I didn't have to force it at all. But yeah I started the car in gear to get home and I couldn't even shift back to neutral while it was running.

 

[waymui@gmail.com]

I have similar issues so I’ll be watching this thread for ideas. Please keep us posted when you have updates! Thanks

 

[Pancake Slap]

Sorry it's been a while guys,
So I replaced the slave and bled it, now the peddle is back to normal but it still won't engage. After rechecking for leaks I decided to go ahead and order a new clutch and flywheel. I'll keep you guys posted on anything interesting I may find.

 

[Pancake Slap]

Alright so I dropped the tranny today. Looks like it went 250k on the original clutch. The dmf was toast, and the clutch was torn into pieces. Replaced it with a smf complete conversion kit from IDParts. I checked the rear main seal, and replaced the arm, pivot ball, and throw out bearing. I ran out of daylight so I'll be back at it Wednesday.

 

[KrashDH]

Alright so I dropped the tranny today. Looks like it went 250k on the original clutch. The dmf was toast, and the clutch was torn into pieces. Replaced it with a smf complete conversion kit from IDParts. I checked the rear main seal, and replaced the arm, pivot ball, and throw out bearing. I ran out of daylight so I'll be back at it Wednesday.

250k, I'd do that rear main while you're in there...

 

[Pancake Slap]

I was planning on it, but it looked good and there were no leaks. Will I regret it in the future? Possibly. But the biggest concern is getting the car moving again.

 

[Pancake Slap]

To clarify, the transmission is back in place, I just need to bolt on the CV's and take care of the rest of the engine bay.

 

[KrashDH]

If you spring a leak right after you get all that work finished, you'll be kicking yourself.

Edit: ah transmission is in place. Ok well, keep your fingers crossed