cannot shift into gear with the car running

[97boostedTSI]

I have a 97 TSI AWD and i bought the car from a friend who had let it sit for about 6-8 months. He told me a i needed a new master cylinder/slave cylinder and last night i replaced both of them, bled the system, and fired the car up. The clutch pedal has a good feel to it now (the pedal was basically nonexistent before this), but i still am having trouble getting it into gear. It has a fidanza aluminum flywheel and a centerforce dual friction clutch.

My question is, would it benefit me to change the fluid in the transmission? i've read it could be a broken clutch fork or i need to shim my pivot ball. I would prefer to not have to drop the transmission unless i have to though. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!

 

[jking29]

What kind of shifting problems are you having? Do you have a tough time getting it to shift into gear with the motor running and the clutch depressed or are you having trouble shifting between gears? I would try adjusting the shifter cables first and then move on from there. If you don't know when the last time the gear lube was changed in the trans I would do that as well.

 

[97boostedTSI]

i have no idea how long the oil has been in the tranny so i will go ahead and change that.
It is difficult getting into and out of gear when the car is off or running. either way it is the same.

are there bushings on the shifter linkage that could be going bad??

 

[jking29]

There are rubber bushings under the hood where the cables connect to the arms on the trans as well as under the shifter plate inside the car. There are brass bushings as well as bearings available to replace the bushings under the hood. There are also aluminum bushings to replace the bushings under the shifter plate inside the car. Upgrading both of these bushings will make an incredible difference in shifting whether the rubber bushings are bad or not. If it is difficult to shift into gear whether the motor is running or not, you definitely need to adjust the shift cables.

 

[97boostedTSI]

There are rubber bushings under the hood where the cables connect to the arms on the trans as well as under the shifter plate inside the car. There are brass bushings as well as bearings available to replace the bushings under the hood. There are also aluminum bushings to replace the bushings under the shifter plate inside the car. Upgrading both of these bushings will make an incredible difference in shifting whether the rubber bushings are bad or not. If it is difficult to shift into gear whether the motor is running or not, you definitely need to adjust the shift cables.

ok thank you for the quick replies. Im gonna sound like an idiot asking but what do i do to adjust them? I have never owned a car with shift cables (always owned fox body mustangs).

thanks again for the help man i really appreciate it.

*EDIT* it has new brass bushings under the hood. i will look into adjusting the shift cables.

 

[brute]

To adjust the cables, you do so at the base of the shifter. When you take out the boot, you'll see the two cables and where they connect to the base of the shift lever (just bushings with cotter pins). There are also two lock nuts and a threaded barrel on each cable. This is where adjustment happens. Disconnect the cable via cotter pin. It shouldn't be under crazy tension or compression, so just let it hang there. If it isn't lined up just sitting there, break the lock nuts loose and adjust with the barrel accordingly.

This will all make more sense if you actually look down there. Here's a little diagram I made a while ago for a similar question. Dug up from the Photobucket vault

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[97boostedTSI]

awesome man thank you! i will look into that tonight when i get home.

love the picture. haha thats great!

 

[97boostedTSI]

*UPDATE*
i bled the system with a friend tonight and made sure that all the air was out of the line, adjusted the clutch underneath the dash, and made sure the shifter cables were good under the shifter and under the hood. The car will now easily go into gear with the car off.. like butter.. but when you start the car, it's like a brick wall. It will go into second with minor effort, but every other gear is impossible.

could i have a bent clutch fork or is my pivot ball shot??

 

[SolidBoostTSi]

Check for a leaking Slave Cylinder.

It's obvious your clutch isn't releasing completely.

pull the boot off the slave and look for leaking Brake fluid. either that or the piston cup in the slave is worn out and has a big divot gouged in it... steel rod vs Aluminum piston, you be the judge


-Solid

 

[97boostedTSI]

I replaced the slave cylinder like 4 days ago along with my master cylinder. I did notice that my clutch fork is not dead center. It's sitting towards the DRIVER side... so that apparently is not very common considering they usually go towards the passenger side when the pivot ball wears.

the previous owner shimmed the pivot ball when he replaced the clutch/pressure plate like 4k miles ago. The car drove fine until like 3 weeks ago, became difficult to shift, and now wont shift at all when the car runs. Shifts like butter when its off though.

Im pretty sure the clutch fork is bent funny or the shim was too much. any other suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for the responses everyone.

 

[turboAWDfanatic]

Take a few minutes to search "clutch disengagement". Not slamming you, it's just that this is a VERY common problem among DSM owners, especially w/ aftermarket clutches and flywheels and there's hundreds of threads addressing this issue.

Go read the info near the bottom 1/3rd of this page
RRE's Clutch And Flywheel Tech Info

Read EVERYTHING here:
Frequently Asked Questions - Team Rip Engineering

Watch the videos on this page:
Transmission Videos


Here's a reply I posted to somebody's disengagement problems:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/262049-shifting-problem.html#post151202185

Hopefully it's just a disengagement issue and not a faulty clutch, flywheel, or trans, but you will have to pull the trans if the fork/ball is the issue. Again, check the Road/Race page for info on checking the fork.

 

[97boostedTSI]

thank you very much man that information is very helpful!

 

[turboAWDfanatic]

NP. Good luck!