Reverse Lockout weak

tactdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Location
North Carolina
TDI
2005.5 Jetta
On the transmission that I installed in my Jetta, the reverse lockout/gate/spring is non-existent. I do not have to push down and to the left to get into the reverse gate, I can just move the shifter to the left. It takes some practice to find 1st gear (typically move the shifter to 2nd to confirm the shifter is in the proper 1-2 gate) without getting reverse.

Is there a fix for this? Do the shifter pins in the bottom of the transmission control the lockout?
 

40X40

Experienced
Joined
Feb 12, 2006
Location
Kansas City area, MO
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium
On the transmission that I installed in my Jetta, the reverse lockout/gate/spring is non-existent. I do not have to push down and to the left to get into the reverse gate, I can just move the shifter to the left. It takes some practice to find 1st gear (typically move the shifter to 2nd to confirm the shifter is in the proper 1-2 gate) without getting reverse.

Is there a fix for this? Do the shifter pins in the bottom of the transmission control the lockout?
Pretty sure the reverse lockout is all handled inside your console.

Bill
 

tactdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Location
North Carolina
TDI
2005.5 Jetta
Sounds promising. Certainly better than a transmission problem.
Are the bushings inside the console the issue? Since the car has 146K, I am sure they have some wear.
 

tactdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Location
North Carolina
TDI
2005.5 Jetta
Pull up on the shifter? Not sure, never tried that.
I can still push down on the shifter.

I looked under the shift boot. There is a plastic dog bone bushing attached to a metal bracket along with a spring that makes the side to side have resistance.
 

tactdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Location
North Carolina
TDI
2005.5 Jetta
I fixed my reverse lockout by shimming the "C" bracket that holds down the plastic dog bone bushing.

I purchased a leather Momo shift knob to replace the slick plastic factory knob. The way I shift is using 2 fingers (light touch), and I found my fingers sometimes slipping of the shifter before the shift was complete. Wanted a leather wrapped knob to ensure my fingers had good contact.

Anyway, the reverse shift gate was non-existent. I could move the lever into the reverse gate without pushing down. After a few weeks of driving, I did not have a problem finding 1st, like I said before, I would typically put the shifter in 2nd to ensure I was in the correct gate. Since I do shift slow and with my finger tips, I typically would not force the shifter too far to left into the reverse gate.

After taking the shifter knob and boot off, I took a look at the “C” bracket and the dog bone plastic bushing. The dog bone bushing is connected to a spring and metal bracket (used to locate the shifter and provide some resistance).


Removing the “C” Bracket and moving the shifter around, I determined that the shifter seemed to already be pushed down. I could still push down on the reverse lockout spring, so it was not all the way down, but down enough to get around the lockout. Moving the shifter up and around, I also determined that if I pulled the shifter up (and the dog bone), I could find the reverse lockout. Looking at the shifter and trying to disconnect the dog bone from the spring, seemed impossible without removing the center console.



Realizing that if I could keep the shifter raised, I would have reverse lockout. I found 4 small washers to place under the “C” bracket.




Placing two washers under each screw for the “C” bracket, raised the dog bone (by its own upward pressure) to provide the reverse lockout.







I then finished installing the Momo shifter, reusing the shift boot by pinching the boot hole against the shifter and its screw cap that covers the mounting screws (underneath the shift boot).


 

Cm328

New member
Joined
Aug 24, 2024
Location
Reno, NV
TDI
2015 TDI SportWagen/6 Speed
I fixed my reverse lockout by shimming the "C" bracket that holds down the plastic dog bone bushing.

I purchased a leather Momo shift knob to replace the slick plastic factory knob. The way I shift is using 2 fingers (light touch), and I found my fingers sometimes slipping of the shifter before the shift was complete. Wanted a leather wrapped knob to ensure my fingers had good contact.

Anyway, the reverse shift gate was non-existent. I could move the lever into the reverse gate without pushing down. After a few weeks of driving, I did not have a problem finding 1st, like I said before, I would typically put the shifter in 2nd to ensure I was in the correct gate. Since I do shift slow and with my finger tips, I typically would not force the shifter too far to left into the reverse gate.

After taking the shifter knob and boot off, I took a look at the “C” bracket and the dog bone plastic bushing. The dog bone bushing is connected to a spring and metal bracket (used to locate the shifter and provide some resistance).


Removing the “C” Bracket and moving the shifter around, I determined that the shifter seemed to already be pushed down. I could still push down on the reverse lockout spring, so it was not all the way down, but down enough to get around the lockout. Moving the shifter up and around, I also determined that if I pulled the shifter up (and the dog bone), I could find the reverse lockout. Looking at the shifter and trying to disconnect the dog bone from the spring, seemed impossible without removing the center console.



Realizing that if I could keep the shifter raised, I would have reverse lockout. I found 4 small washers to place under the “C” bracket.




Placing two washers under each screw for the “C” bracket, raised the dog bone (by its own upward pressure) to provide the reverse lockout.







I then finished installing the Momo shifter, reusing the shift boot by pinching the boot hole against the shifter and its screw cap that covers the mounting screws (underneath the shift boot).



My lockout is non existent on my TDI I can’t see the pictures you provided, I’d love to be able to see them if there’s anyway I could get those
 

Dieselgeek

TDIClub Enthusiast, Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Oct 3, 2000
Location
Golden, CO
TDI
2016 Golf TDI
If the stick is getting stuck down usually the problem is that the shaft bushings have degraded and are causing binding. It's a common problem and we have a forever fix for it. <LINK>
 
Top