[SOLVED] Help! Gearstick gone wonky...

[Joe87]

I was driving around today and noticed that the gearstick had suddenly gone very wobbly. In or out of gear, the stick can move 3 or 4 inches in either direction up or down (eg 1st gear to 2nd etc). Left to right it will move an inch or so, but I know this is normal and it's been like that since I've had the car.

What surprises me is how suddenly it happened - I would expect it to be a gradual change. I did hit a fairly sizable pothole at a fairly high speed around the time it happened but didn't think much of it , not sure whether this could have caused it? However, the car still seems to work fine and gears still go in or out ok, so my questions are:

1) Any ideas what has actually happened? I would suspect something to do with the linkage, perhaps something has broken or popped out? I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to gearboxes so just guessing really.

2) Is it ok to keep driving, or is this a sign that something else is about to go?

3) Is there something I can do to diagnose or repair the problem, such as having a look underneath?

4) Is it likely to be a costly, lengthy or difficult repair?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[MacColl]

This is not an area that I have any experience so I can't give you some straight advice.

I am however planning on re-doing my linkage at some point and found this guide which I believe would be the same as Scirocco and might give you an indication on what's gone wrong..
http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php ... age&pid=44

[Nate]

get someone to wobble it while you look at the linkage under the bonnet. you should be able to easily spot which par of it has excessive play

[wassell]

it sounds like one of the bushings may have popped out of place on the vertical rod. Or the rubber section of the linkage has fallen off at the bottom of the vertical rod, leaving just a knurled looking stump (this will make fore/aft slop). its a very simple fix to put some new bushings in the linkage, and takes no more than an hour if taking your time.

if you replace the bushings, its worth replacing the linkage arms too as their joints wear out causing sloppiness. Think you can get the lot for about 20 quid from crazy quiffs.

If you're anywhere near padstow in cornwall id happily have a look and help you with the work if needed.

wassell

[wassell]

in respect to having a look, it should all be failry visible unless you have an injection model where everything is obscured haha.

back of the engine bay, roughly in the center is where you want to be looking. easiest way to find the linkages is to follow them back from the gearbox. give everything a tug and pull to see how loose it is, leave it in gear to make it easier to check the slop.

should be looking for something like this;

but without all the nice machined bits with extra holes etc, just plain black rods. but the whole mechanism is the same otherwise.


but its pretty much what you're looking for.


hope it helps.

Wassell

[Joe87]

Nice one guys! Thanks so much for the advice - will be having a look this weekend, so hopefully it will be as simple as you suggest.

Wassell - thanks a lot for the offer, I'm not really anywhere nearby though. Those photos are helpful though (definitely going to look more like the second one than the first) - unfortunately I do have an injection model, but I never expect anything on the Scirocco to be easy any more.

[bensspares]

check the gear linkage, there is a ball thing that is held inplace by a 13mm nut, i recon the ball thing has come off (common)

[Joe87]

Just had a quick look with someone wobbling the gear stick, the whole assembly seems very loose. Doesn't seem to look quite like the picture (maybe I'm just looking at it the wrong way round) but there's a kind of vertical rod that seems very loose. Will have a proper look at it over the weekend with the old man (he knows a bit more about it than me).

[wasted]

That vertical rod has two bushings (one top, one bottom) and is connected to a balljoint (the one bensspares mentioned) at the base by a small nut. If the nut has come off the bottom, the balljoint and the rod will be very loose, but I'd imagine you to have problems with getting out of gear.

It's possible that one or the other bushing has split - this happened to me, and it was fairly obvious, because it 'clonked' every time I moved the gearstick.

As others have said, it's really best to get a good torch in there and figure out which bit is loose.

wassell - whereabouts is that linkage setup from?

[wassell]

http://www.usrallyteam.com/index.php?ma ... x&cPath=13

there dude, looks rather tasty. cant find the exact link i had before, but i think it were 150-170 dollars for the full linkage and bushing kit. relativly pricey but looks lovely.

Joe87, no worries. If it helps, my ball fell off (ooo er missus) resulting in the stick being sloppy fore and after with about an inch of lever travel. doesnt bother me too much, but is a simple replacement. in regards to having a good look, it should be fairly visible from underneath just please use decent axle stands and maybe a brick/wheel incase anything fails.

as wasted mentioned, to get the whole linkage apart it is only (1x) 13mm nut and (2x) R-pins and is very simple to do and understand if you take a few minutes to trace everything. for the price of the bushing kits id get a new one anyway, may as well replace the lot whilst you're down there.

this is the short link that the ball may have fallen off. when the black ball is removed theres a knurled shaft c.15mm diameter. if its not there dont panic, it just results in a bit of fore/aft play as i mentioned before.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/250899978695? ... _668wt_919


it may also be worth checking your bulkhead where the clutch cable comes through, make sure thats all sturdy when someone presses the clutch. when these go (they all crack/pull through at some point) it'll make selecting a gear a little more difficult. to find where it goes through the bulkhead trace the clutch cable back from the gearbox. for reference it should be about level with and just behind/too the left of the exhaust manifold.

[PeteGLi]

Alternatively from VW Heritage / Big Boys Toys

http://www.vwheritage.com/vw_spares_Lin ... try_GB.htm

[Joe87]

Right, managed to have a look under the car today. As wassel and bensspares suggested, the rubber ball has come off. Also, the bushing at the top of what Haynes calls the 'relay shaft bracket' seems to be knackered/non-existant too, as what Haynes calls the 'relay shaft' can wobble around inside it.

The gearstick was always a little wobbly so I imagine which ever one happened most recently caused it to actually become a noticeable problem. Probably the rubber ball because the now-exposed knurled shaft is the only bit nearby not covered in oil...

Looks like I'll be getting a new bushing kit and a new ball - anyone know where I can get the ball from? Couldn't see it on GSF or Euro Car Parts. Bensspares, you got one by any chance? Would prefer a new one if possible...

Thanks for the help.

[wasted]

Available on eBay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-GOLF-MK1-C ... 1848wt_952

ECP don't seem to stock them, but CrazyQuiffs and VW Heritage do, at an extortionate price:

http://www.golfmk1.co.uk/Items.php?cat= ... =ENGINEBAY (Gear linkage relay lever)
http://www.vwheritage.com/vw_spares_Gea ... try_GB.htm

[Joe87]

Yikes not cheap then. Guess I'll go for that ebay one...unless I can find it somewhere along the stretch of road it came off

[Joe87]

This is now sorted. New rubber blobby-brackety thing is now installed, and gears are back to their previous working state. Just hope I did the nut up tight enough...


Thanks for all the help.