difficult 1st gear

[was]

Just picked up a '91 8v mk2 with 120k. 1st gear is always difficult to engage, (notchy?) requiring a fast flick of the wrist. My dad can't get the hang of it!

All other gears are fine if a bit notchy compared to other cars, and theres no crunching noises.

The previous owner told me it had all linkage bushes changed recently. There is no problem with differentiation between 1st and reverse.

Any ideas?

[Veedubgt18v]

prob got the mechanisms out of adjust,ment get a gauge or take it to a good garage and ask them to check it

[free]

as far as i know its bit of a prob, what most mrk2's get

[Gambit]

it just needs aligned. there was a post recently where i described what needs done. ill dig it out

[Gambit]

read thru this

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=12992.0

[was]

oh right - so the ball and cup thing isn't usually changed with the linkage?

You reckon thats whats causing difficulties even though the push down reverse operation is fine?

[Gambit]

if you need to push down to select reverse then your ball and cup is fine

it the alignment that need sorted so that 1st isnt so hard to select. its detailed on the 2nd page of the thread, you need to adjust the little clamp

[was]

So I need to:

first off you need somebody to hold the gearstick in the neutral position if you dont have the special VAG tool for doing this

then, if you look in the engine bay where the actual rod comes out of the tunnel you will see a small clamp on the end of it. loosen it and turn it slightly towards the driverside of the car. tighten back up then go feel your gears. you just need to keep on playing with this till you get it where u want it

I'll give it a go when it stops raining! Cheers. You guys seem to be the VW oracle.

Is is usual for an 8v to not really get going much until 3500 revs?

and what would a slightly hesitant (jumps from 200-300 revs) rev counter be caused by?

[Gambit]

yes you need to do that

it should pull well all thru the rev range. 3.5k is when it hits max torque so will be pulling at its hardest then.

give it a decent service
oil & filter - buy from VAG
plugs - buy from VAG
fuel filter - buy from VAG
clean up the dizzy yourself, clean contacts etc

then just set it up correctly, its as simple as:-

1. start engine. When at normal operating temp (at least 80 degrees on oil temp), disconnect BLUE plug from water pipe on front of cylinder head. Rev engine PAST
3000RPM 3 TIMES. (This resets the ECU).

2. Alter the idle using the screw in the throttle body. Set it to
850/900 RPM. When happy, re-connect the blue plug.