[Logan]

I replaced my dmf last week after it failed. Since then, my transmission will not go into 5th gear all the time. After a right turn that is hard enough to put some lateral force on the car it will not shift into 5th gear. This condition continues until I make a left turn causing enough lateral force or if I rev it up in 4th gear until I hit about 60mph it usually will shift into 5th after that. Also, I noticed that my shifter lock pin doesn't seem to do anything. When I engage the pin the transmission can still shift. Not sure if this could be a cause of the 5th gear problem. I read in another forum about someone having 5th gear problems and it turned out to be low fluid level. So this last weekend I changed the fluid, which was a little low, but it didn't fix the problem. I also pulled the side cover to inspect the 5th gear but couldn't see any problems. Has anyone ever heard of anything like this? I'm trying to figure out what to expect before I pull the tranny off again and take it apart.

 

[chittychittybangbang]

Did you try adjusting the shifter? There's a FAQ article on how to do this.

The shifter lock pin on the transmission? You have to press down on the shifter assembly on the transmission while rotating it. In my case, it wouldn't go in if the shifter assembly is pushed all the way down. It worked about 5mm above that point.

That is certainly a weird problem. I've heard of weird things caused by worn walking crankshafts where the clutch pedal goes down by itself on a hard turn in 1 way. You are having something else.

 

[Logan]

Yeah, I adjusted the shifter after putting the trans back in. This is definitely not the problem

I can engage the shifter lock by pressing down on the assembly and rotating the pin the way it's supposed to. But once the lock is engaged, it doesn't lock the shifter. I can still move it through the gears with no added resistance.

Is it possible that the locking pin has sheared off inside the trans and is somehow sliding into and out of a position that prevents me from shifting into 5th based on the direction I turn?

 

[diesel guy]

Make only left turns? If the transmission was loose by a mm, could that cause these symptoms? Maybe the dogbone mount is bad? Sorry, don't know but that is weird.

 

[Logan]

Make only left turns? If the transmission was loose by a mm, could that cause these symptoms? Maybe the dogbone mount is bad? Sorry, don't know but that is weird.

I think you misread what I wrote. I can make right and left turns. After a hard right turn (regardless of the gear) when I get to 5th gear it will not engage. I can push the stick far enough to feel the teeth grind but that is as far as it goes. However, after making a hard left turn it will go in and out of 5th gear as if there is no problem at all, until I make another hard right turn. The dogbone mount is in excellent shape.

Has anyone on here actually been inside one of these transmissions before?

 

[Hazady]

Does this help? It's for an older VW.
http://www.brokevw.com/teardown.html
http://www.brokevw.com/020rebuild.html
http://www.brokevw.com/forks.html

 

[Logan]

Problem solved. My shifter lock pin sheared off inside the top of the selector shaft. There is a pin that guides the selector shaft into the correct position for each gear. The sheared off pin was preventing the pin from getting low enough to go into 5th gear.

 

[chittychittybangbang]

Interesting. Thanks for the follow up. So you took the transmission apart and found the sheared off pin inside? Or you just moved the shifter and found that it wouldn't go into 5th?

 

[Logan]

Just had to pull the selector shaft out of the top of the transmission. Pretty easy really. Removed the shifter cables, reverse sensor wire, and selector arm (part with the golf club looking counter weight). Then pull the two triple square bolts (forgot what size) holding the shaft in place on top of the trans. The sheared off peice of the locking pin was still inside the cylinder at the top of the shaft and had been samshed into two pieces from me trying to shift with it in the way. Bad because I couldn't shift into 5th, but good because it didn't get down into the gears.

I suspect the pin was broken before I ever got the car. I picked it up with about 50k on it (82k now). When I pulled the trans I had it at all sorts of different angles while I cleaned it and replaced the clutch fork lever. I suspect this is when the sheared off pin worked its way into the spot that prevented me from shifting into 5th. However, I had never been inside the tranny case and had no idea how the locking pin worked or if it could even be related to my 5th gear problem. I didn't even know I had a problem until I had the car completely put back to gether and took it for a test drive.

Also FYI, if you need to pull off the selector arm (golf club thing), don't lock the trans with the pin. If any of your selector arms are like mine it doesn't just slide off and on. I used a pry bar on each side. This would easily shear off the plastic locking pin and is probably how it happened in the first place. In hindsight, one should be using a gear puller.

Thanks for the input guys. Hope this helps the next person.