Shifter Linkages getting sloppy quickly-- Different Quality Types Available??

[mtnbob]

I changed out all of my shifter and transmission linkages and bushings about two years ago on my 86 Golf. After 30,000 miles the shifting is getting loose again and 5th gear is starting to pop out . Is it possible that I purchased low quality replacements or do they not last that long? Any suggestions on better replacements?
Thanks
Robert

[catlin_cava]

Neuspeed makes a shift kit...its rather pricey thou

[JerryGTD]

Running the trans low on fluid could cause 5th gear to self destruct. One of the symptoms of low fluid levels is that 5th gear pops out.

[mtnbob]

I'll check it, but the shifter got sloppy over the last few weeks, and then yesterday on the way back from a long trip it got worse, then 5th started not going in all the way.

[burn_your_money]

Something may have just come loose.

Did you replace the main rod that goes up along the exhaust from the shifter to the steering rack? If not and it was rusty it could have eatten up your new bushing in there. Also, that rod will wear out and cause slop.

[rallydiesel]

http://www.4crawler.com/Diesel/ForSale/ShiftLinkage.shtml

[mtnbob]

I'm seeing two problems, now that I've looked at it more closely. The first problem is the plastic part attached to the car and the plastic part on the shifter that keeps the shifter from going into reverse unless you push down on the shifter. It has broken into multiple pieces and the part on the shifter itself has worn down. The second problem is the ball on the relay linkage that looks like a small golfball. It has worn down considerably causing slop in 5th gear (not sure I ever replaced it). I see the replacement parts for the shifter but I haven't seen the replacement piece that is attached to the car. The link I was sent in the prior post showed a replacement "golf ball" for the relay shaft, but wanted $15 plus shipping for a tiny plastic part  Any other options??
Thanks
Robert

[Rabbit TD]

I'v'e looked at that missing link shifter rod setup before,  it looks like it would help a lot especialy being adjustable and all .  Parts Place has all those other parts and I've bought most of them before other than the ball thing on bottom of the shifter but they have that too.  If the part you are talking about on the shifter that is cracked is the plastic covering on the reverse lockout arm being cracked don't worry about that too much.  That jumping out of 5th can destroy your transmission though.  It happened to me 2 years ago about 70 mph it jumped out of 5th a little and back in real fast a few times then bang it started eating itself.  I did manage to get it home and when I took it apart what happened is 5th gear broke or chipped a tooth to start with then the peices started getting more and bigger and had the pinnion gear tore up so bad I don't know to this day how I made it home.  Broke VW on the web here shows all that, mine was full of oil but sloppy linkage will also start wearing the 5th gear hub and jumping out of gear.  He has the best site around for transmission teardowns if it gets to that point. These transmissions are tricky to get adjusted right but if you shift it to 5th and feel on the trans lever that it clicks into the balls detent and still jumps out of gear with new bushings then the 5th gear hub is most likely worn out.  The good news is here that 5th is pretty easy to fix if you can find the parts.  That's also the time to gear up to the .71 fifth ratio if you don't already have it.  It's just 1 more problem we have on these to play with

[lovinthedeez]

one more thumbs up for the missing linkz stuff.  the guy makes it all himself in his shop personally, and has great service.  I put the shift kit in my old 84 gti, and it is some quality stuff.  just adjust it to the stock length, and fine tune to please.  stuff never came loose, and now that I think about it, feel kinda dumb I gave it away with the car.    haha.  plus you can get the kit in pieces so you can pick and choose what you want. 

[burn_your_money]

Yeah the missing linkz kit is of very high quality. I also had it on my rabbit. My only complaint about it was that I did not have the stock pieces to match the lengths of everything so I had a hell of a time getting it to shift properly

[Rabbit TD]

one more thumbs up for the missing linkz stuff.  the guy makes it all himself in his shop personally, and has great service.  I put the shift kit in my old 84 gti, and it is some quality stuff.  just adjust it to the stock length, and fine tune to please.  stuff never came loose, and now that I think about it, feel kinda dumb I gave it away with the car.    haha.  plus you can get the kit in pieces so you can pick and choose what you want. 

Did you have that weighted shift rod also by chance on your car?  I've always wondered about those things and have a hard time believing they would make any difference.  If someone says it actualy makes a difference I may try duct taping a brick on mine and see what happens   I definately like those adjustable rods with the good metal ends on the though, I wish I had a set of them.  I had one of the plastic ones pop off one time at night, that's a lot of fun too

[lovinthedeez]

Did you have that weighted shift rod also by chance on your car?  I've always wondered about those things and have a hard time believing they would make any difference.  If someone says it actualy makes a difference I may try duct taping a brick on mine and see what happens   I definately like those adjustable rods with the good metal ends on the though, I wish I had a set of them.  I had one of the plastic ones pop off one time at night, that's a lot of fun too

nope, I used two hose clamps and a 3/4" spark plug socket (who needs one of those anyhow) on the linkage.  I had the short shift setup that he sells, and it made a big difference.  A piece of steel stock would be better though, imho.  It's just what I had laying around at the moment.  and the gti wasn't a show car, it was made for rallying the fark out of it.   FUNCTION

[Rabbit TD]

Did you have that weighted shift rod also by chance on your car?  I've always wondered about those things and have a hard time believing they would make any difference.  If someone says it actualy makes a difference I may try duct taping a brick on mine and see what happens  I definately like those adjustable rods with the good metal ends on the ends though, I wish I had a set of them.  I had one of the plastic ones pop off one time at night, that's a lot of fun too

nope, I used two hose clamps and a 3/4" spark plug socket (who needs one of those anyhow) on the linkage.  I had the short shift setup that he sells, and it made a big difference.  A piece of steel stock would be better though, imho.  It's just what I had laying around at the moment.  and the gti wasn't a show car, it was made for rallying the fark out of it.  FUNCTION

I made one of the short shift things too after seeing the pictures, I had another relay shaft laying around and just half ass welded a little peice on the end with two more holes, it did make a difference.  That was also when I found my excuse to get a MIG welder after damn near burning the peice up!  I've always wondered about the weighted rod thing though.  I've seen the pictures of the one with the hose clamps and bar stock, I wonder how much weight is actualy needed. I have an extra 15 lb. boat anchor laying around down here some place and need to play with the MIG welder some more anyway, probably be enough to push the shift forks through the case .

[mtnbob]

The vw dealership wanted over $110 for the relay shaft arm I asked just for laughs!! I did buy the plastic part that helped keep the shifter out of reverse without pushing down, because I figured noone else would have it and used ones are hard to come by around here. I bought a complete shift relay lever from http://www.autohausaz.com/ for $20.77 and the bushing for $1.64. It was free shipping over $50 so I bought a rear bearing kit for $17. I couldn't even buy the replacement ball for the relay shaft with shipping for that much from the other guys. I have used these guys before with excelent results

[Rabbit TD]

The vw dealership wanted over $110 for the relay shaft arm I asked just for laughs!! I did buy the plastic part that helped keep the shifter out of reverse without pushing down, because I figured noone else would have it and used ones are hard to come by around here. I bought a complete shift relay lever from http://www.autohausaz.com/ for $20.77 and the bushing for $1.64. It was free shipping over $50 so I bought a rear bearing kit for $17. I couldn't even buy the replacement ball for the relay shaft with shipping for that much from the other guys. I have used these guys before with excelent results

I think that's the place I got my transmission seals from when I put one together after the other one ate itself.  Yes they are a very good place and have things nobody else does.  Thanks for reminding me of them, I'm putting an icon on my desktop for them now so I won't forget them