Bone Stock Trans/Clutch hard to shove into all gears.

[radwoodtsi]

Hey all,

I know this question has been asked a million times but I can't for the life of me find a situation quite like this.

For one, the car is a 92 TSi with 85k Original miles and the car is entirely stock. Not one mod. The trans is original, the clutch is original.

I've had DSMs that needed adjustment, new clutches, etc but this is a bit weird.

Essentially, when shifting into gear, it almost "half" goes into gear. You push it in, it stops, and you force it in again and it's actually in gear. The "first" half will pop out if you try to drive with it in that position.

It doesn't grind. No gear in particular is worse, they all do it. Temperature doesn't seem to matter. It's a tad easier when warm. No strange noises.

Clutch engagement is pretty high.

I did the clutch drag test and it doesn't move until 200rpm before rev limiter.

Also, it doesn't slip under load.

Any thoughts?

 

[AWD-Tony]

There are several things you can inspect.

Make sure the clutch fork sits to the right (towards the drivers side) of the halfway mark in its hole on the trans.
Is your shifter assembly loose? The plastic inserts wear.
Also check the base of the shifter assembly to see if that has play.
Check the shifter cable on the transmission.
There should be a plastic shoe in the shifter assembly on the trans.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

I suggest checking the shifter bushings as well. That would make since as to why all gears seem messed up.

 

[luv2rallye]

There's most likely way too much play somewhere between the shifter and the tranny shift levers. Have someone shift (engine off) while you look at the cables. Cables should be bolted solid to tranny and not moving around when shifting. Shifter select lever shoe may be broken or extremely worn (https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/97-gs-t-fifth-gear-grinding-help.376341/#post-152266167). Bushings on tranny shift levers or shifter base or on shifter itself may be worn.

 

[radwoodtsi]

Hey all,

Thanks for the tips.

The cables to the trans were loose. Tightened them and it improved maybe 5% max. It still feels like I'm locked out of every gear until it just clicks into place. It'll go halfway into the gate, stop, then require some extra effort to get it in again. No grinds, ever.

Out of this list:
Make sure the clutch fork sits to the right (towards the drivers side) of the halfway mark in its hole on the trans. - checked this, is good.
Is your shifter assembly loose? The plastic inserts wear. - attached to trans it was loose, tightened
Also check the base of the shifter assembly to see if that has play. - havent done that yet
Check the shifter cable on the transmission. - seems fine besides assembly being loose and tightened to no fix
There should be a plastic shoe in the shifter assembly on the trans. - looks complete and intact.

Overall, watching the cables nothing seems stretched or out of order.

Something to note, when the car is on is when it occurs. When the car is off it occurs much less while rowing through gears.

 

[twicks69]

Pull the trans and see what's going on with the clutch assembly.

If it is engaging pretty high and you have already adjusted it back down towards the floor, and you have already inspected the clutch master cylinder (which could be getting pedal pump up issues from an inner piston seal leaking), and you have checked the bellhousing bolts, rear dowel bolt and visually inspected for bellhousing cracking, and all the other clutch hydraulic components and clutch fork placement; you will likely find an answer by pulling the trans.

 

[radwoodtsi]

Thanks for the reply.

Haven't adjusted the clutch or checked the cylinders but I will certainly.

Inspected the bolts and bellhousing and it has no issues apparent.

Pulling the trans will need to be a very last option, though. Difficult thing to get done.

 

[radwoodtsi]

Also of note, simply because it's always an improvement, I bought bushings for the shifter.

 

[AWD-Tony]

If you adjust the master rod, make sure you can push the slave back in by hand. There’s a valve in the master that you don’t want to block by pushing the rod too far.

 

[AWD-Tony]

I reread this post. You might have a worn clutch.
What’s the history?
Did you just purchase it?
Anything done recently? eg replaced any hydraulic components.

 

[AWD-Tony]

There are plastic bushings in the shifter itself, the one you row the gears with. Think about 6 or 8 iirc.
How does your shifter feel? Sloppy or tight? In and out of gear.

Have you tried bleeding the system? And did you check for leaks?

If the hydraulics and everything in the shifter assembly looks good and the pedal is adjusted properly, you might have no other choice then to pull the trans.

 

[radwoodtsi]

There are plastic bushings in the shifter itself, the one you row the gears with. Think about 6 or 8 iirc.
How does your shifter feel? Sloppy or tight? In and out of gear.

Have you tried bleeding the system? And did you check for leaks?

If the hydraulics and everything in the shifter assembly looks good and the pedal is adjusted properly, you might have no other choice then to pull the trans.

Checked the shifter and all the bushings look mint. There's very little play in any direction. It's way cleaner, tighter, and better than I expected. Same with at the transmission. The left/right lever for the shifter moves up and down a slight bit but I would imagine not out of tolerance.

I haven't tried bleeding it. I have not checked for leaks yet.

Need to try pedal adjustment.