[V8] 5-Speed Shifting

[Buchholz, Steven]

... I don't know for sure, but this sounds like the ball and socket that
Ingo was referring to earlier ... which might well be a problem.  The
thing is that there are several other bushings that can wear out and
make the shifter sloppy ... before buying parts you might want to pull
up the boot inside the car and check out the mechanism there for worn
parts ... and then check out the tranny end of the linkage ... check the
bushings on the locating arm that goes from the linkage to the top of
the bellhousing and the ball and socket joint at the shifter input (the
parts you indicate below) ... 

If you need bushings on the locating arm are not obviously available
separately (i.e. they are not individually called out on the parts
diagram for the V8 ... Audi would rather that you blow $100+ for a
complete arm ... but I know that I found the socket pieces under one
variant of the linkage and replaced them ... it was probably the urq.  

Steve B
San Jose, CA (USA)

> I'm new to V8 5-speeds and think that the play in the shift 
> mechanism is a little excessive. I'm comparing to the newer 
> A4 and allroad manuals. Someone even said that the press 
> reported in a V8 5-speed review that, "The shifter felt like 
> it was connected by bunge cords."  I just want to make my 
> 5-speed shifter as tight as possible.
>  
> I did some more investigation and found a part in the parts 
> bible. It does not spell out part numbers for the components.
>  
> Shift kit under Repair Kits - 
> 4A0 798 151
> Repair Kit for
> Shift Mechanism
> Components:
> - Ball
> - Socket
>  
> Has anyone purchased and installed this repair kit?  What are 
> your findings after install?