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4th Gear has mind of its' own!

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:06 pm
by almac
i noticed while driving today,
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that while in 4th gear(MT), when i take my foot off the gas pedal, the transmission pops itself into neutral :-( ... i tried it several times just to make sure i wasn't loosing my mind.
if i keep my hand on the shifter knob, it stays in gear (of course), but i don't feel any tugging...
all my other gears are acting normal. everything sounds fine.

thoughts?

Re: 4th Gear has mind of its' own!

Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 12:25 am
by jessef
Take the center cluster and shifter cover off and then try it.

I had mine have a 'slight' bind and would pop out very rarely.

I found out that the shifter boot was stiff in cold weather and would cause it to pop out of 4th (down to the right) every once in a blue moon.

Other than that, check the linkage.

Re: 4th Gear has mind of its' own!

Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 7:37 am
by Aztec Nomad
Hey,
Ya, it could be the linkages. I had a 84 jetta diesel and it had the same problem. My arm would get sore driving down the highway holding it in "economy" gear (fifth), so the passenger and I would switch the duty every 5 minutes or so. If I was driving solo my right leg would push against the stick. What it turned out to be (not sure if the mits is the same), was the plastic sockets on the shift linkages were worn and wasn't travelling the required amount to engage entirely. It was a cheap fix.
Adam