manual transmission: can't shift when engine running

[Geraint Lloyd]

Andrew,

So just to confirm; you have a 96 passat with a 2L 8v and front wheel drive
through an 02A / 02J geearbox?
I have a golf 2 with an ADY block and CTM gearbox so not too different

If you can't change gear with the engine running but can with it off, it
sounds like the clutch somewhere.

I have a similar issue with the golf having converted it to hydraulic clutch
operation; however the gearbox was off recently without moving the clutch
"known good" so i know that it's the hydraulics.

Are you loosing brake fluid?
When you press the clutch with the engine running does it make any nasty
whirry scraping noises or pulsing vibrations at the pedal?
Is the master cylinder original?

If you park the car on an incline (slight), what happens if you put it in
gear, release the handbrake, then depress the clutch?
If it rolls, or at least starts to then i would suspect that you have a
failed master / slave cylinder, that can't overcome the friction of spinning
clutch disks. 
Failing that, what happens if you put it in gear and start it with your foot
on the clutch (and the other one firmly on the brakes just in case)? Does
the car try to jump forward or does it stay put until you release the
clutch?

I am assuming that the black plastic thing that you replaced has been set up
properly. It is the side to side adjustment piece for the gear lever so the
trick is to either use the vw tool or fiddle with it so that 1st and reverse
are set right: lever has to be pushed down and across for reverse, but just
across for 1st

I am also assuming that you can select got lots of gears on the linkage
tower on the transmission with the engine off

You say that you can barely change gear with the engine on, but if the
clutch was dead then you wouldn't be able to change gear at all with the car
not moving so i think that you have either the master or slave cylinders
that has almost died. I am thinking that this would be a progressive
failure, but for now has got past the point where it's functioning. HTHLW
(Had That Happen Last Week). I would also suggest that the fact that the
black plastic thingy that broke in the selector linkage might mean that you
had to use progressively more and more force to change gear and this
component finally gave in. Then again HTHWAEGW (Had That Happen Without
Anything Else Going Wrong)

Geraint 

-----Original Message-----
From: quattro-bounces at audifans.com [mailto:quattro-bounces at audifans.com] On
Behalf Of Andrew
Sent: 05 February 2009 21:05
To: quattro at audifans.com
Subject: manual transmission: can't shift when engine running

Hi folks,

I know this isn't exactly Audi but I used to getting an expert advise
here when I had a 4KQ, so hopefully someone would give me an advise on
my problem with a '96 Passat.

The car in question is 1996 Passat GLS, 2 L engine (code ABA), manual
transmission (code CRU).

Yesterday on my way to work I found myself unable to get the
transmission out of the 4th gear to neutral when slowing down to a
traffic light. Luckily, I was only a mile from home, so I pulled over,
shut of the engine, opened the hood, put the car in the 1st gear from
under the hood, turned the engine on with the clutch pedal depressed,
released the clutch and crawled back home in the first gear.

I partially disassembled the shifting mechanism and found that the
shifting link labeled 49 at this picture
http://s1.ipicture.ru/uploads/090206/15611/ybSH1nx5mO.jpg (here is a
photo from a different siteL
http://s1.ipicture.ru/uploads/090206/15611/a9dlr3jEoB.jpg) was worn.
The steel bolt originally molded into plastic was falling out freely
and I thought that was the reason of the shifting failure.

However, after having this part replaced (wondering why it was plastic
rather than metal in the first place) I still have a shifting problem
in the car.With the engine off I can easily switch between gears but
with the engine on I can only shift with a considerable difficulty if
at all.

The clutch pedal is solid and goes all the way up as it should but I
bled the clutch anyway, which did not help with my shifting problem.

The only other thing I feel needs to be said, that the failure from
normal smooth shifting to my current situation was sudden rather than
gradual deterioration. It was not like shifting was becoming
increasingly difficult lately until it became impossible today. It was
all fine and smooth and suddenly failed today on the road and became
completely impossible.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
TIA,
Andrew
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