MK7 "Random / "Stupid" Questions Thread"

[MonkeyMD]

So I've been having issues with shifting. It is sometimes hard to get into gear. I'd say 1 out of 20 or 30 times. It's pretty random when it happens. Some drives i have no issues & some i do. Sometimes happens when it's cold & sometimes when it's hot. I will say when i get going it's not as pronounced although sometimes getting into 5th or 6th is harder, but not like 1st or reverse.

I'm pretty analytical, so I've tried to observe different variables like temperature, shifting speed. Using different gears first etc. I've tried pumping brake & clutch pedal & i can't definitively say it helps or not. I thought it did, but didn't always. So I'd say it doesn't & car just coincidentally went into gear. I can't pinpoint when it's worse.

I've had the brake fluid flushed in case, but it didn't make much of a difference. Also remembered i had a clutch stop so i took that out.

Shop says it's not likely clutch master or slave cylinder as that would have different symptoms. They say it's probably a bad clutch which was replaced probably 9000 miles ago so still under warranty.

Any ideas?

 

[Pineapple]

So I've been having issues with shifting. It is sometimes hard to get into gear. I'd say 1 out of 20 or 30 times. It's pretty random when it happens. Some drives i have no issues & some i do. Sometimes happens when it's cold & sometimes when it's hot. I will say when i get going it's not as pronounced although sometimes getting into 5th or 6th is harder, but not like 1st or reverse.

I'm pretty analytical, so I've tried to observe different variables like temperature, shifting speed. Using different gears first etc. I've tried pumping brake & clutch pedal & i can't definitively say it helps or not. I thought it did, but didn't always. So I'd say it doesn't & car just coincidentally went into gear. I can't pinpoint when it's worse.

I've had the brake fluid flushed in case, but it didn't make much of a difference. Also remembered i had a clutch stop so i took that out.

Shop says it's not likely clutch master or slave cylinder as that would have different symptoms. They say it's probably a bad clutch which was replaced probably 9000 miles ago so still under warranty.

Any ideas?

What does "hard to get in gear" feel like?

 

[EpicTech]

Mine hates going into first for some reason if at anything more than a rolling speed that would pass an old man on a walking cane. She simply refuses to notch into first unless I slow to damn near a stop.

 

[MonkeyMD]

What does "hard to get in gear" feel like?

Sometimes it's just like there's a notch you have to push through.

Sometimes, can't even get it into gear. This is especially for reverse. Then i have to shift into 3rd, 2nd, 1st. Pump clutch. Anything. As i try to put into gear. Back to neutral. Let of clutch. Try to get into gear. Sometimes at a light up have to force it a little. Sometimes it goes into gear easier when i let car roll a little

 

[BigLips19]

Sometimes it's just like there's a notch you have to push through.

Sometimes, can't even get it into gear. This is especially for reverse. Then i have to shift into 3rd, 2nd, 1st. Pump clutch. Anything. As i try to put into gear. Back to neutral. Let of clutch. Try to get into gear. Sometimes at a light up have to force it a little. Sometimes it goes into gear easier when i let car roll a little

Assuming you're manual... how's your transmission fluid? I've been meaning to flush mine, I've heard that can make a big difference

 

[Pineapple]

Mine hates going into first for some reason if at anything more than a rolling speed that would pass an old man on a walking cane. She simply refuses to notch into first unless I slow to damn near a stop.

I have this and ‘the notch” that @MonkeyMD mentioned. Without going into detail about my observations, my conclusion is that I need to dial in my side-to-side down to the specific thread. I will say for now I have noted that it usually feels a lot better to aim more towards 3rd than reverse when trying to enter 1, my main problem gear.

Over the summer I had the cable end pin back itself off the bell crank during a torrential thunderstorm, so I put it back on, ascertained I could grab 1st and reverse, and haven’t adjusted it since. Recently, I noticed a significant increase in shifting difficulty/poor movement after removing and replacing the trans mount (didn’t end up changing it) and replacing gear oil. Next next weekend I intend to make the adjustments so I can update then.

 

[Nineeightyone]

So I've been having issues with shifting. It is sometimes hard to get into gear. I'd say 1 out of 20 or 30 times. It's pretty random when it happens. Some drives i have no issues & some i do. Sometimes happens when it's cold & sometimes when it's hot. I will say when i get going it's not as pronounced although sometimes getting into 5th or 6th is harder, but not like 1st or reverse.

I'm pretty analytical, so I've tried to observe different variables like temperature, shifting speed. Using different gears first etc. I've tried pumping brake & clutch pedal & i can't definitively say it helps or not. I thought it did, but didn't always. So I'd say it doesn't & car just coincidentally went into gear. I can't pinpoint when it's worse.

I've had the brake fluid flushed in case, but it didn't make much of a difference. Also remembered i had a clutch stop so i took that out.

Shop says it's not likely clutch master or slave cylinder as that would have different symptoms. They say it's probably a bad clutch which was replaced probably 9000 miles ago so still under warranty.

Any ideas?

First and easiest thing would be to redo/check your shifter alignment. It's free, and as @Pineapple said even a single 'thread' can make a difference, which makes it annoying BUT not the worst to work out, it just takes some time.

Other thing I've noticed on some of our cars is that I need to give it a little gas and then it'll fall right into gear without issue, which could be a mount alignment issue but it's probably easiest just to adjust the shifter alignment -- the cars I experience this on, though, I don't know how to align the shifter and haven't bothered to figure it out (yet).

 

[MonkeyMD]

I'll have to work on shifter alignment maybe. Although from what I've read, it's easy to mess it up.

I have the Superpin, dieselgeek setup. I know they're was something else, just can't remember

 

[MonkeyMD]

Assuming you're manual... how's your transmission fluid? I've been meaning to flush mine, I've heard that can make a big difference

Flushed it 20k miles back

 

[Nineeightyone]

I'll have to work on shifter alignment maybe. Although from what I've read, it's easy to mess it up.

I have the Superpin, dieselgeek setup. I know they're was something else, just can't remember

I also have the DG Sigma 6 shifter, though no super pin. They also have the bushings, but from what I hear the super pin and short shifter are the two biggest factors for a great shifter feel. I'm inclined to say your alignment is at fault. I need to do mine again as well, as it's not quite as good as I think it could be.

 

[MonkeyMD]

I also have the DG Sigma 6 shifter, though no super pin. They also have the bushings, but from what I hear the super pin and short shifter are the two biggest factors for a great shifter feel. I'm inclined to say your alignment is at fault. I need to do mine again as well, as it's not quite as good as I think it could be.

How easy or hard is it to do.

Keep in mind on the scale of i can barely fill up with gas to i just rebuilt my transmission & swapped AWD into my GTI. I'm on the I'll change coils but I'll probably break the ground wire & plastic coil clip (not hypothetical)

 

[Pineapple]

How easy or hard is it to do.

Keep in mind on the scale of i can barely fill up with gas to i just rebuilt my transmission & swapped AWD into my GTI. I'm on the I'll change coils but I'll probably break the ground wire & plastic coil clip (not hypothetical)

All you need to do to access it is to get the intake out of the way. On a stock vehicle that's just the filter box. Monster mitts might have trouble getting around the battery tray and iirc the turbo intake (black pipe on the left of pic) but it's very doable.

 

[Nineeightyone]

How easy or hard is it to do.

Keep in mind on the scale of i can barely fill up with gas to i just rebuilt my transmission & swapped AWD into my GTI. I'm on the I'll change coils but I'll probably break the ground wire & plastic coil clip (not hypothetical)

Well, you need to unclip your shift boot inside the car, and there's a pin DG sells for like $6 that you put through a ring on the shifter and into the base. Then you go to the transmission end and rotate the little cable collars and free them from the cables (or on the DG, loosen the cable collar holder thing via the allen keys) and put the transmission into neutral via the lever, then release the cable collars and release the little lever on the transmission and pull out the pin, put the boot back on and you're golden. I'll find the video in a moment.

e: I think the most difficult/scary part of this is removing the shifter boot trim to be honest, that shit's sharp. Use trim tools, take your time, and if you don't have a pin, they're not expensive. You can also substitute a nail or even an allen key in a pinch, but I really think the pin is the best option.

 

[Pineapple]

Well, you need to unclip your shift boot inside the car, and there's a pin DG sells for like $6 that you put through a ring on the shifter and into the base. Then you go to the transmission end and rotate the little cable collars and free them from the cables (or on the DG, loosen the cable collar holder thing via the allen keys) and put the transmission into neutral via the lever, then release the cable collars and release the little lever on the transmission and pull out the pin, put the boot back on and you're golden. I'll find the video in a moment.

e: I think the most difficult/scary part of this is removing the shifter boot trim to be honest, that shit's sharp. Use trim tools, take your time, and if you don't have a pin, they're not expensive. You can also substitute a nail or even an allen key in a pinch, but I really think the pin is the best option.

Oh yeah, the pin is important to keep the shifter in neutral. Also good I think to have the car on a level surface. But what you're describing is the end to end right? That really just controls how much the shifter tilts when in gear if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Nineeightyone]

Oh yeah, the pin is important to keep the shifter in neutral. Also good I think to have the car on a level surface. But what you're describing is the end to end right? That really just controls how much the shifter tilts when in gear if I'm not mistaken.

Well, OEM uses both collars -- I haven't played with the DG shifter much after installing so going off of memory I was describing the OEM process. With the DG shifter you'd need to loosen the four allen key bolts that clamp on the cable end, IIRC that one does side-to-side and can have more impact on the ability to grab gears.

It can also eat me, because the one allen key was a massive pain in the ass and overall I hate allen keys. Tbh I might replace it with a regular bolt so I can use a ratcheting wrench