I'm impressed by Ed's research. However, I replaced my shifter parts with the contents of Mike Potter's kit and the difference was like night and day. Night and day, I say. In my experience, any plan short of this risks being too little too late.
My 90 GLI shifter ball, bushings, etc., may have been uncharacteristically worn-out after 107K in the Fla sun, but I doubt it. Everything was worn out. Worst of all, the "golf ball" was just a worn out core. In my case, selective replacement would have meant throwing good money after bad. If you've got 100K or more miles, overhaul the whole thing. I replaced everything in June of '98, and my car has shifted like new since then. I say treat yourself! Mike's kit also includes the alignment tool and a bag of synthetic grease. HTH, Chris Williams [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [SMTP:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2000 10:42 AM To: Patrick Schmidt Cc: [email protected] Subject: Shifter Busing rebuild >> Another purchase I'm planning on is a shifter bushing rebuild kit. Who has the most complete kit? The one for sale at parts4vws.com seems to have everything I'll need. Is there another distributor I should consider? Thanks for the 411. << Ive been fortunate to find a local VW repair shop (Gene's - Broomall PA) that sells OEM parts at much lower costs than the dealer. They do something similar to what Adirondak does. http://www.germanautoparts.com/ Heres what OEM means.. http://www.germanautoparts.com/oemdef.html Anyway - I rebuilt the shifter in an A2 with a GX engine - although from what I can gather the shifters are the same. There are several "kits" that I have seen. Bushing Kit - 191-798-211A (I paid $6) This is all the bushings for all the linkages in the under hood area. It does NOT include new linkages (like the "dogbone") or the "rubber ball" item. For some reason, this DOES include a new bushing for the shift rod that is in the shifter "box" in the center tunnel. Weird in that if yer gonna do that much work (aka drop the exhaust) you might as well get: Shifter Kit - 191-798-116A (I paid $10) This has the "ball" that goes in the bottom of the shift rod. Its this ball that "locks out" the reverse. If you can shift into reverse w/o pushing down on the stick, or you get first/reverse/third mixed up - this will help (unless you also broke the "ear" off of the shifter rod). Some other "kits" include the "dog bone" and other links. For example - the plastic "dog bone" is listed as Front shift linkage - 171-798-211B ($1.49) in Rock Mountian Motorsports Catalog Now - if yer rebuild the linkage - it makes sense to install the short throw kit at this time to as the labor is the same. (if thats what you want) However - the "all inclusive" Techtonics kit is $110!!! Deducting the $45 cost for the short throw kit still means that over $50 of linkage parts - many of which are probably still servicable. (i.e. the dog bone etc) Autotech also sells the "delux" kit seperately from the short shifter. Part # 10.715.100K They charge - $70! And the picture does NOT show the all important 191-798-116A parts that are required for the shift rod thats in the centeral tunnel!!! It appears that Autotech packages: Bushing Kit - 191-798-211A (I paid $6) Front shift linkage - 171-798-211B ($1.49 from Rocky Mtn) Shift rod, long angled - 191-171-574 ($4.95 from Rocky Mtn) Trans relay shaft with ball - 191-711-173B ($39.75 from Rocky Mtn) Also, the "main shift rod bushing" that Autotech claims comes as part of a $25 bracket but they get it special for you - comes with the Bushing Kit - 191-798-211A that I mentioned before as being kinda weird because of the work it takes to fix that... There is also a "shift linkage alignment" tool that you can get from the VW dealer for about $15 or from Techtonics (VW part #3104) for $12. It isnt necessary if yer replacing the "ball" thats under the shifter (Shifter Kit - 191-798-116A) becuase the linkage will be stiff enough that it will stay in place; or if you have a second person to hold the linkage for you. Be aware that do to the shifter ball in the central tunnel (aka to install 191-798-116A) you have to drop the exhaust - a real PITA (I happen to be replacing the mid muffler at the time so I had it out anyway) My recomendation - get the two "ceaper" busing kits and you'll find a world of difference... EWong _____________ List Sponsor: http://www.netsville.com To remove yourself from this list, send mail to [email protected] with 'unsubscribe a2_16v' in the body of your message See us on the web at http://www.a2-16v.com Visit the 16V Homepage at http://www.gti16v.org _____________ List Sponsor: http://www.netsville.com To remove yourself from this list, send mail to [email protected] with 'unsubscribe a2_16v' in the body of your message See us on the web at http://www.a2-16v.com Visit the 16V Homepage at http://www.gti16v.org
