Hey,

Well I just bought my first VW. It's a 1999 (MK3) with a standard transmission and seems to be in really good shape. Unfortunately I have pulled a bone head move and need some advice regarding my issue. Since I know very little about cars at this point please forgive me for not fully knowing how to describe the issue. I will give as much detail as I can, but I don't know if I have troubleshot the problem at all.
I know you're going to be shaking your head the entire time you read this. I'm one of those "just get it done" kind of people, and I really should have looked into this procedure thoroughly before starting. I won't do something like this again.
Ok, so I decided the shifter was too high and looked out of place (I didn't realize that there were kits to shorten the shifter). A friend who used to have a low rider truck when he was 16 told me to just chop the shifter. I did just that, I took a hack saw and literally cut 2 inches off the shifter rod. At the time I didn't realize that you couldn't just unscrew the shifter rod, so I also played around with a hex key in the plastic clasp surrounding the shifter rod.
So, in more detail, I took off the shifter housing. Removed the ****. Tried to unscrew the shifter rod (so that I could cut it outside the car) but couldn't so I relieved tension on the plastic clasp thinking that doing so could assist me in getting the rod out. When the rod wouldn't come out I then tightened the plastic clasp again (without calibration because I thought its only purpose was to hold the rod in place) and cut 2" off the actual rod. Afterwards I used super glue (thinking that I wouldn't be putting to much stress on the ****) to attach the **** and the rod together.
...............
The job looks good but who cares because my shifting isn't the same. Reverse, shifting from 1st, and shifting between all other gears is fine... but I believe shifting into first is a lot harder then it was before. Since I've only owned the car for 2 days I don't have too much to base the previous shifting condition on, but sometimes it feels like I'm pushing against a wall when I try to shift into 1st. From the trials that I have made I can shift into 1st with only a little hesitation if I'm under 15 kmph, but at any other speed with the clutch fully in I seriously can't shift into 1st.
..............
Since the problem began I have researched the issue and am guessing I ****ed up the shifting linkages. I also have found out that the tool that one uses to adjust the shifting linkages only fits non-chopped shifting rods. At this point I'm bummed, and ashamed of my methods....as I should be. If I had made one phone call to a shop before doing what I did there is no way I would have followed through with my plan. Now I'm left with a new-used car that is in great condition except for the ****ed up shifting caused by yours truly.
So I'm reaching out to the VW forum world for assistance in this matter.
Is there an easy way to fix my mistake?
Does my explanation sound like it caused the problem, or is the issue not from shortening the shifting rod?
Do VW golf transmissions not like shifting into first until they're almost stopped??? Maybe I'm just not used to the gearing of this particular car!
Does anyone have pictures of the shifting linkage in a car of similar design and year?
I would appreciate help in this matter if anyone can assist me. I have learned a huge lesson and am now hoping that doing so hasn't caused me serious car issues.
Thanks for your help,
Bluenote99

 

Can't say for sure, but just talking over the fence, When
you shorten the gear shift leaver, you took away some
leaverage and that will make it shift a small amount harder.
Most stick shift trannies don't like to go into 1st gear unless your almost stopped if the tranny is in good shape
and tight, a worn tranny may shift into 1st a lot easier.
You may go back and check on that plastic clamp and see if the shifter has to move in it some, could be a little
tight. One trick we did on the old VW beetles, was we
added about 1/2 can of STP oil treatment into the tranny
oil, they were hard to get into 1st gear when they were
new or almost new, the STP made them shift with ease.