Hello all,
I have a 1991 Golf diesel that is having some trouble shifting. Mostly it works fine, but since yesterday afternoon it is sometimes a little rough shifting out of second and third (mostly second). It shifts IN to every gear with no resistance, however.
I haven't been able to reproduce the issue by moving the stick around with the engine stopped and the clutch pedal out, though I may have not tried hard enough.
The problem seems to show itself mostly when I drive from a stop going into first, then second, then slow down and stop and try to exit second. If I'm shifting up into third it has always been smooth. Third gear is a similar scenario.
When the stick gets stuck, it has some play, but it feels like it's getting stuck on something to prevent it from exiting gear -- I push it out and it pulls slightly to the side, then won't move any further. I have been getting around it by pulling it back, wiggling it, and pushing it again. Third gear will usually give if I pull it out with a little more force.
I have spent a while now looking for suggestions on this newsgroup already for this problem I'm having. I took the car into a garage and they told me they checked the gear oil and it looks fine, and maybe second gear was "on the way out". When I got in the car to leave the garage and started it, I couldn't get it out of first or third gear (not sure which -- but it moved freely when I stopped the engine, maybe by coincidence). I wasn't convinced they checked it sufficiently and am open to new opinions.
Any suggestions at all?
Thanks in advance, Mike.