Gear Selection Problem

[alan_131]

Hi All

Mk1 99 110 tdi manual 160K

About 4 miles from home, I noticed that I was having to put a little extra effort getting out of 2nd to neutral, and the lever wasn't self-centering when in neutral. As I pulled up at home it got harder to move, and after a little fiddling refused to do anything other than 1st/2nd with some effort.

 

In the faint hope it might be something do with the lever I pulled the covers, but releasing the righthand selector cable left the lever free to move right/left and in a graunchy way into 1st/2nd. Too dark to look under the bonnet properly now.

 

Having been through the forum I'm thinking selector bolt - does this sound right and has anybody any other suggestions? Without the forum and the people who've taken the time to write posts I'd be working blind and certainly have no idea if I could get to it without taking the gearbox out completely. I'd like to thank everybody who took the time to write posts for this and all the other posts for other topics that have helped me in the past. If only Haynes were as helpful...

[Bigjeeze]

Hi All

Mk1 99 110 tdi manual 160K

About 4 miles from home, I noticed that I was having to put a little extra effort getting out of 2nd to neutral, and the lever wasn't self-centering when in neutral. As I pulled up at home it got harder to move, and after a little fiddling refused to do anything other than 1st/2nd with some effort.

 

In the faint hope it might be something do with the lever I pulled the covers, but releasing the righthand selector cable left the lever free to move right/left and in a graunchy way into 1st/2nd. Too dark to look under the bonnet properly now.

 

Having been through the forum I'm thinking selector bolt - does this sound right and has anybody any other suggestions? Without the forum and the people who've taken the time to write posts I'd be working blind and certainly have no idea if I could get to it without taking the gearbox out completely. I'd like to thank everybody who took the time to write posts for this and all the other posts for other topics that have helped me in the past. If only Haynes were as helpful...

 

 

Sounds like the cable problem to me but until you get a proper look you won't be sure. It might help to remove the battery tray but if you do be careful as the bolts in the base hold the gearbox mounting!

[alan_131]

Thanks for the advice and warning. I'll be very careful about the battery bolts. I might try getting some longer bolts or studs and replacing a couple of these if they hold the box up, so I can lower it rather than jack it up from underneath (working in the road, and the local council use camera cars). I'm wondering though if it's better or even neccessary to jack and take the battery tray out for better access/view.

 

When I read your comment about selector cables it prompted me to look again through the FAQ (don't know how I missed it - thought I'd read them all).

Off to try to see if the cables "try" to move the selector, and might pull the selector anyway to check the tightness of the bolt.

 

Do you/anybody know if the siezed due to crud feel of the selector is easy to tell from the bolt broken one? If the bolt's missing does the shaft still move but not select, or does something foul it? (went from completely normal to stuffed in a few miles)....

 

Thanks again for the help

Alan

[Bigjeeze]

Thanks for the advice and warning. I'll be very careful about the battery bolts. I might try getting some longer bolts or studs and replacing a couple of these if they hold the box up, so I can lower it rather than jack it up from underneath (working in the road, and the local council use camera cars). I'm wondering though if it's better or even neccessary to jack and take the battery tray out for better access/view.

 

When I read your comment about selector cables it prompted me to look again through the FAQ (don't know how I missed it - thought I'd read them all).

Off to try to see if the cables "try" to move the selector, and might pull the selector anyway to check the tightness of the bolt.

 

Do you/anybody know if the siezed due to crud feel of the selector is easy to tell from the bolt broken one? If the bolt's missing does the shaft still move but not select, or does something foul it? (went from completely normal to stuffed in a few miles)....

 

Thanks again for the help

Alan

 

It was a long time ago when my MK1 had the cables go. As I recall it happened suddenly. When I looked and then felt around the selector you could tell the cable had popped off. SO you should be able to tell whether it's just the cable of the selector bolt.

 

 

 

 

 

Good luck!