Shifting problems..

[TalonJ]

I'm new to the forum and I can see how helpful some of the people are, so I figured i'd give this a shot .

Ok well I bought my 97, TSi AWD (70,000mi) just three days ago.
The only thing I noticed during my weekend of driving was sometimes having a little trouble shifting to first (while stopped) or downshift to certain gears. By trouble, I mean I just had to apply a little pressure.. I didn't think much of it, not a big deal to me. It does have 70,000 miles on it so I wasn't expecting the smoothest shift.
This morning I went out to start the car (warm-up) and immediately noticed a loud squealing belt noise which was only evident with the clutch depressed. It immediately stops when I press down on it. Now i'm thinking (ok, cold?)
FIfteen minutes later I come back outside, still making the noise. I got in and had a hell of a time trying to move the shifter into first... it just wouldn't go in, sometimes even heard a grind. (the best way I can describe it: it was like I was trying to shift without using the clutch at all) Using excessive force I got it to go in, none of the other gears seemed to be a problem, and this 1st gear thing persisted for the entire morning commute (only about 10 minutes) while stopped at stop signs it would take 5-10 seconds for me to get it into gear to move again (again using excessive force). After classes, (5 hours later) I was experiencing the same problems (belt noises and shifting, only it seemed a little worse).
Now one thing I have to note is I did drive it around for 20 minutes and it seems to be getting a little smoother getting into first, or at least less intermittent.
One more thing is after i've driven in reverse, it seems a bit of a pain getting it out of gear.

Sorry if it seems like something obvious, I haven't gotten into this car much at all but i'm hoping to.

P.S. Clutch was recently replaced (says the previous owner) It was traded in to my fathers dealership, so I bought the car for wholesale price.

P.S.S. The last thing I want to hear is "crankwalk" . But if this is an early symptom, please do tell.


Sorry for the novel guys, I just want to be as specific as possible.

Thanks for the help in advance.



Plex

 

[The Foos]

Sounds like your clutch fork is fine, but I would be concerned about the pressure plate. None of the fingers should stick out more than any of the others. What do you mean by slightly? .010? Half inch?

Obviously, I haven't seen it, so I don't know if you need to replace it or not. If you have pics, I can take a look at it.

Scott

 

[jb95gst]

I would say like 1/10th or 1/8th of an inch. I will try to post pics of it tomorrow, I do not have internet at home untill tomorrow so I am limited to my internet time.
Thanks again, JB

 

[jb95gst]

OK, Sorry I did not get pics posted yesterday, I have been so busy with school and work, and driving my sister to work so I could use her car........ anyways here are a couple pics I took with my phone real quick, I don't think they are that great, so sorry it's all I could get right now. I tried to circle where there was a slight difference.
Thanks again, JB

 

[The Foos]

From those pics, it doesn't look like there is anything too out of whack. I would probably just put it back together and see what happens.

 

[jb95gst]

Thats what I was thinking, I need my car back. Besides if my clutch starts to slip or something I am getting goog at pulling the tranny now, thats the third time since last feb that one has been out and I took one out on my gst the October before that.
Thanks again for all the help, JB

 

[jb95gst]

OK, I got everything back together and it all works fine.
I think the clip that holds the TOB came off and thats what caused it. I bought a new one and the old one was expanded out a bit more. With this new TOB though the pedal feels smoother than it used to, I am verry pleased with that. It also helped with my other clutch problem that I posted the link to, although it is still there, it's not as bad.
Thanks again, JB

 

[The Foos]