Improve your MK4 and early MK5 VW Shifter Performance by shimming your ball socket.

[@TennesseeArborist]

I can’t believe I’ve never seen this. You are one intelligent man my friend

[@Mk156]

Just did this mod on my 2003 Seat Leon Cupra 1.8T after watching this clip.. I used a piece of plastic from a blister-type package that I had laying around. Cut a strip of 8 x 2 cm and slid it in place.. and that's all she wrote!! It really tightened up the movement of the shift-lever nicely.. and it's a FREE mod!! Thnx for this great tip, Jim!!

[@2728Alexis]

Made a small difference for me, but something I've never seen a video for is to shim the circle clip on the right hand side. Trim down a credit card and squeeze it behind the round metal clip you can see facing us in this video. Takes out any side to side slop and made a massive difference to my shift.

[@vdubsterw2516]

im going to try that! good looking out!

[@dieselgeekdotcom]

Single layer wrap of scotch tape on the od of the forward pivot bushings works well.

[@mylesnotmiles2207]

Excellent advice, love the sandals

[@NeuroPulse]

Definitely tightened mine up a bit. Thanks!

[@martini9974]

might i add that the front cover of a plastic binder is MUCH easier to stick in the gap than anything paper based. its also thicker. my 2cents

[@martini9974]

+Alexander Cail great vid btw saved me about 40$

[@silureswarrior6045]

Subbed, a watched a pile of your vids, legend

[@angelzagoya1249]

thanks for your support from mexico

[@KM-bu8ec]

Superb insight!! Great result!!

[@jonfoxx9745]

I will do thanks for the reply. Basically i had no 1st gear. Person i bought it from said needs new linkage. Had all gears incl reverse and all smooth but trying to get 1st was impossible whatever the effort. I fix bicycles and know most every fault and know when things cant b adjusted anymore and parts need to be replaced. With gears its all new to me even tho in distant past ive changed old golf clutches etc but was literally taking old part and replacing with new etc. I want to learn and in this case need to as no longer works at all. Basically i dont recognise parts and what they do. Cheers

[@mjt-ew8rs]

this is a cool idea. will check my cars and see if they would benefit from this upgrade. im curious, how well does the card board hold up over time? would plastic work better?

[@thomaspinkowish2610]

How long does the cardboard last and what happens when it deteriorates? What material would avoid this? Thanks.

[@IJMacfarlane]

Is the ball greaseable, and if so, what type do you recommend?

[@BrandonKraemerbk]

Does it matter if you're in a particular gear before doing this? Same if you have a Sigma shifter?

[@rapsinfor0131]

Hi there, need help with a 2005 vw mk4 9n polo bojwa the reverse gear won't go in its been a while now, please what can I do to slove the problem

[@ivanram3402]

Great video. I have a 2004 2.0 jetta some times is really hard to put it on first gear. it doesn't do it all the time a Mechanic told me it was the clutch. Can i send you a video of what i m talking about please let me know if you could help me in advance thanks.

[@ivanram3402]

Thanks for the information

[@bobsguns1154]

thanks for the shifter adjustment video. that was a big help. mine also seems stiff from side to side. is that just how they are? or is there an adjustment for that? its an 02 golf

[@suhy9861]

My 2001 has crazy side to side wobble thats about half the length of all the way left and right in neutral but in every gear, but i do know that yours shouldnt be stiff, it should be silky and smooth

[@hectorsparadise]

But my golf MK4 1999 don't have that ball?

[@dariuss7923]

Can i put some WD40 directly on ball? Because mine is making squeaky noice

[@dieselgeekdotcom]

A light smear of multi-purpose grease would be better. And we really emphasize light because excessive lubricant just attracts dust which tends to exacerbate wear.

[@noahvargas3551]

What about a peice of like 26 gauge sheet metal will work

[@dieselgeekdotcom]

The cardstock is the right thickness, free, easy to with, and you already have it. This is all in the cabin so it doesn't degrade either.

[@noahvargas3551]

@@dieselgeekdotcom ok thanks for the video & fast reply 👍

[@AnthonyvanHamond]

what do is use to "grease" the ball? can i use graphite powder or do i need to use something like ballbearing grease?

[@AnthonyvanHamond]

@@dieselgeekdotcom Thank you for the extremely fast response. i'm going to buy some wd40 lithium grease. I have another question. Do you have distributors in the EU? i would like to order a shifter and bushing kit but don't want to be slaughtered by EU VAT and import taxed and handling fees .

[@FloresEsteban1979]

can this be done while installed and if so, is there anything that needs to be disconnected/removed other than the metal top plate? thanks!

[@d3vj1p]

Is it the same for the mark 6?

[@angelzagoya1249]

Hi, can you tell please what kind of screwdriver you ? I can't the screws, thanks foyr your support

[@johnfitbyfaithnet]

these screws have a torx head on them a ratcheting screwdriver is nice to use with a torx bit

[@squackd]

Hi, I don't have a plate on my mk4 that I can remove to gain access, it's all one plastic outer shell, have you seen these? presume it won't work? thanks

[@JoseMora-py1is]

when I try going on reverse my car goes into first gear but all my gears work perfectly what can It be? or could it be my first gear getter?

[@SFlores1979]

I have a 99.5 MK4 jetta but the shifter does not look like this. can it be replaced with the newer style shifter like you have here?

[@SFlores1979]

dieselgeekdotcom i would love to see that video! Thank you!

[@SFlores1979]

@@dieselgeekdotcom I finally did it! Was about to be done with the swap, but didn't realize I was missing the super slider...it's in the mail! Thanks for your nice products! Sigma5 might be my next upgrade

[@ЈованВулетић-у3с]

@@SFlores1979 hey Steve, i have different shifter too,without little springs,just ball when you looking from upside,the one with 23mm diameter, not like on video with 12mm,is there any solution for short shifter or make him more firm?

[@SFlores1979]

Јован Вулетић oh man! I’m not sure what you have. Where are you located?

[@ЈованВулетић-у3с]

@@SFlores1979 Serbia, i can send picture of shifter on email or somewhere else

[@thamerendyck1795]

can you put a shirt shifter on a 00 golf?

[@cartertufts0401]

if its a mk 4, yup

[@fitzgerald1337x]

Would this be similar to the shifter in a MK6? Mine is a little loose, but I haven't started taking things apart yet.

[@edbeadel]

Hey diesel geek. I have an issue in my 6speed. V6 4 motion. The shifter had really stiff side to side movement which I managed to loosen up but on doing this and releasing the cables. I'm having trouble now getting it into reverse. Revered is 1st gear. The rest seem normal. Which is the part of the linkage which engages reverse? On a side note I had to re position neutral with out the pin in gearbox end as the pin would not go into the slot.

[@edbeadel]

@@dieselgeekdotcom Hi, Thank you. i did actually fix the stiffness using this video, worked a treat! but it's getting into reverse i'm now having trouble with. i think it's because i can't find neutral properly as i can't seem to get the little black pin into position. I can select reverse via the gearbox itself but not by the gear lever in the car.

[@edbeadel]

Nailed it. There was too much slack in the cable when I first do it.

[@rickybob4384]

I have a hard time getting first gear and overall shifting is tough. I have the short shifter kit installed. Would this be the key problem solver or which bushings would be needing replacement?

[@herdpm1]

Have you adjusted the linkage? I had the same problem on my stock shifter and adjusting the linkage solved my problem. Dieselgeek has a video on the adjustment.

[@xesior]

What you are describing is a classic case of needing to lubricate and tightening the linkage in the hood section of the car.

[@adivarso8175]

A plastic milk carton provides a great shim, who said milk isn't good for you!

[@____stu____]

Not sure I trust anything a guy wearing sandals like those tells me😳

[@user-dn6qy1ou1f]

Generally I'd agree. But dieselgeek has a plethora of knowledge and they have great products. I've gotten a few things to repair the TDI shifters and they have been flawless!