First time off the Button

[Philseyd]

Well last night i finished fitting the new ignition and door locks to the GT2 and for a car that has been standing for so long i was impressed then i turned the key.
i attached the car via jump leads to my picasso and jumped in turned the key and life was there. no spluttering or smoke it just turned over as though it had just been parked up for a couple of hours.

i left it running for a bit and then came the big choice of seeing it if would move under its own power, and yes it did it struggled to find the gears but eventually it found them all apart from reverse and i didnt check this before driving it to the end of the car park it is living in so i had to push it back to its bay.

Any ideas why it wont be finding reverse? i could feel it truing and it would make noises as though the gears were touching and scraping off each other but not going in.

Any ideas or advice i will go round tonight for another go.

Phil

[Old Mac Rocco]

Three reasons given in the trusty manual,
1 Clutch Fault.
2 Gearshift mechanism out of adjustment.
3 Worn synchro-hubs or baulk rings.
I'll pm you the gear lever set up most motor factors have these parts.
You may need the front and rear selector rods plus you can get all the washer type parts.

[mark1gls]

Is the clutch biting point near to the floor or at the top of the pedal travel?
Could also be the bulkhead is giving way and there is not enough travel in the pedal to engage the gear.
You could also try to put the car in reverse before starting it, push the clutch pedal down and start the car to see if it moves, Dont to this with anything behind you as the car might just jump backwards!

[Philseyd]

i have managed to select every gear apart from reverse it just dosent seem as though it want to go in its just sitting on the edge i can feel it wanting to engage but it just wont.

[mark1gls]

If the clutch seems ok on the other gears I would guess its either the gear linkage or the gear stick is not adjusted underneath. If you have a Haynes manual it explains how to set up the linkage etc. there might be something on FAQ section about setting up the linkage.

[mark1gls]

Found this, towards the end it explanes about the gap that's needed under the gear stick.
http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/index.php?page= ... &id=42%2F2

[Nate]

will it go into reverse when the engine is off? my money is either the bulkhead starting to crack or the clutch is partly seized.

[ghost123uk]

struggled to find the gears but eventually it found them all apart from reverse

My money is on the linkages. Easy to see / check, just open the bonnet and look down behind the engine at the nearside.