I've got a 1975 914/4 and I haven't been able to shift into first gear for quite awhile. I got under the car and tried doing it manually and was able to do it so I know first gear works. But for the life of me, I can't seem to adjust it to shift into first. Every time I try shifting into first gear, it grinds until I quit trying. And it's such a hassle to crawl under the car and shift into first at every stop light .
I've followed the suggestions in Kevin's post but I still can't seem to make it work. Has anyone else had this problem? It shifts into every other gear without any problem.

if it grinds, i suspect your clutch needs adjustment ...
Andy

so is it that you can shift it into first with the engine off only/and only by at the shifter consul [under the car at the tranny]?

can you shift it into first with engine on from under the car?

I only tried it with the engine off. What would it mean if I can (or can't) do it with the engine on, would that mean the clutch needed adjustment?

yes, that or linkage adjustment. but most likely clutch.

understand that when the engine is idling and the flywheel is spinning, so is the clutch and pressure plate.
if the clutch is not fully dis-engaged, the input shaft is still spinning and the gears will tend to not go into gear.

another cause can be the pivot ball, which is screwed in the transaxle housing, has seen it's last days and is need of replacement.
symptom of this is that you will see that the clutch fork is hitting the transaxle opening and the clutch is still not dis-engaging.

More clutch travel.
If the shifter goes to the gate then quit messing with it. ie. can you go into reverse? then the 1st gear gate is right also.

If reverse is easy to get into then the clutch is also good.
and the bad news is the doge teeth and/or synchro ad screwed.
Fortunately these are the easy ones to fix. don't even have to drop the transaxle to remove and replace.

I'm not sure what you mean. It goes into reverse easily.

ahh, then joe is probably right.

if its the clutch you should be able to shift to first with the engine off from the shifter in the car, if it's the syncro's and dogs you might be able to get to first by going to second or third first then first. or it could be all the above, clutch, shifter bushings, shifter adjustment, dogs and sycros, even the clucht cable tube tube.

Clutch travel was my first thought and I've adjusted that, but it didn't fix it.

not always true.
i had a similar problem, reverse would grind instead of first. and it turned out to be the clutch ...

i'd try adjusting the clutch first. undo the double nuts and turn them in two or three full rotations and see if that makes a difference ...
Andy

like troy said, if it isn't a clutch problem, you cna shift into second or third gear first, then quickly into first.
if that doesn't do it then it is probably the clutch.

I'll try that tonight.

First thing, you cant shift a VW into first while moving...all of them are like this.

I would ask this question.
What have you already adjusted?
You may have either a clutch adjustment issue, or your clutch tube may be broken...if that is broken, it will always flex during that last little bit of pedal movement.

Clean out under the bottom of the pedal, and get the clutch so tight that it slips a little bit.
If you can get into first then, just back it off a little bit till its perfect.

Rich

Thanks. I will try that tonight, also.

At some point you will have to face the facts. and quit adjusting and picking a the easy cheap stuff.

When you have had enough remove the transaxle rear cover and get a look at 1st gear.

At some point, the daily driver has to ask him(her)self; How important, really, is first gear? If first gear was really that important, wouldn't all of the gears would be first gear?

This probably isn't much help...

Never mind.

1st gear is notorious for worn syncros and dogteeth ... however, there are a few other things mentioned here that can be a factor and should be checked first.

- clutch adjustment
- broken clutch tube
- shift coupler cone set screws (one at the transmission end, one at the firewall)
- worn shift bushing
- worn pedal cluster bushing, bend arms
- shift linkage adjustment


all of which are cheaper to repair than new 1st gear slider and syncros ...
Andy

andy the eric was making a joke, sorry to say it does'nt look like it translated to german humor very well.

Sorry; Most of my humor doesn't translate to any language...

As DaimlerChrysler Chairman Dieter Zetsche ("Dr. Z") said; "it's a joke!"

oh, i understood the humor perfectly ... that's why i added that little smily face under his quote ...

Andy