My '86 GTI build

[KevinGale]

Why is it that the machine parts that are just pure art are always buried where no one can see them.

[Mopar 151]

The same thing Karen P. said when she saw a set of JE pistons....

[walterclark]

I finished up the shifter and tranny installations over the weekend, and with a short window of decent weather where the driveway was dry this AM, I test drove it to make sure everything was put back correctly.

While everything was out I replaced the cam-cam chain on the engine which I noticed last year had some slack. The engine runs and idles a bit better at low RPM.

I was able to shift up and down thru all the gears and try out the reverse lockout. The tranny (which is one I thoroughly rebuilt in 2002), changed to the 3.92 R&P, works great and the shifter is precise and smooth, at least under modest loads. The Dick Shine built tranny that I removed was by comparison notchy as all get out and getting it into most gears required patience and persistence. I think that is why I had so many shifter issues this season - in trying to force the syncros I was bending and breaking the remaining stock shifter bits.

This is a pic of what can be seen from all that work on the shift linkage:

[sachilles]

What is the thing that looks like a cb antenna cable for?

Looks good.

[walterclark]

What is the thing that looks like a cb antenna cable for?

Looks good.

Left over wiring from the 2M ham rig I carried when it was a rally car. The other end is still in the roof. That small compartment you see was where the 2M, APRS and GPS were located. Nothing there now except the power converter for the camera and the serial cable from the data logger.

[dsldubn]

nice work on the shifter/linkage. I remember having a conversation about this at Philo. Cool to see that you got it done.

driving a vw without a sloppy shifter must be quite a change...after about 9 years of rabbit ownership I'm so used to the crap linkage I can't even imagine one that is smooth and precise

I hope to do some work to rabbit linkage over the winter as well.

[walterclark]

I got to test the finished linkage at Ascutney. It is more precise. I needed to relearn shifting with it, and I accidentally left the bolt and clamp that lets me adjust the shifter neutral position just slightly too loose so it moved around a bit on Saturday when I found myself hunting for gears. Both contributed to a couple missed shifts on Saturday but I got it worked out and I settled down by Sunday. The re-learning was interesting. The greater precision lets me put the gear selector input shaft on the tranny exactly where I want it, but that means I HAVE to put it in the right place. The 2nd-3rd shift in particular can get caught if I dont line up the 3-4 gate (fingers) in the tranny and it wont go until I let go and do it again. The sloppier shifter often compensated for this allowing the fingers to align with the centering spring, and then it sometimes did other things...jammed, 1st, 5th, etc.

There is a spring in the top of the tranny that is supposed to help center the shift shaft in the 3-n-4 position. It is fine for normal driving but I think it might be too soft for racing and I dont feel it trying to help enough when I shift quickly from 2-3. I plan to pull it from a spare tranny and see if I can locate a stronger one to try from someplace like McMaster-Carr.

[walterclark]

Burke was a bit more eventful for the transmission.

On Saturday The reverse lockout pin cable began to get difficult to operate - harder to pull and not returning to its normal position when released. Once it cooled off Saturday night the cable froze up. It must have overheated because of its proximity to the exhaust downpipe despite both it and the downpipe having heat wrap. I have a replacement cable coming that will be routed away from the exhaust, thru the cockpit, despite the added complexity of having to disconnect it when the drivetrain is removed for work.

Speaking of removing the drivetrain for work... I noticed a couple times at Burke the 2nd gear syncro hub chattered (e.g. "grinding") as I put the tranny in 2nd. I was doing routine checks last evening and when I turned the wheels looking for excess play or noises in the CV's and final drive, I felt something in the final drive or pinion shaft clicking accompanied by a small jolt felt in the shaft I am turning several times per revolution. I need to do some more analysis but it doesnt seem to be a CV and I might be swapping the tranny out for the Dick Shine built one I ran last year since tearing these down and rebuilding them has not proven to be a 1 day adventure for me.

[sciroccohp]

of all the transmissions we have had built over the years for the scirocco, Dicks are the only ones that last.

[walterclark]

Well now I feel dumb....The noise when turning the wheels was from the fact that I left the shifter about half in reverse so it was the reverse gears not quite engaged and the edges chattering on each other. Once in neutral, everything looks, sounds and feels normal including the gear oil so the tranny will stay in place.

My Dick Shine tranny is painfully hard to coax into gear, the syncros to match and the hubs engage in use. It is easy and free when nothing is spinning at speed. I figured it would free up some last season but it did not.

That is why over the winter I pulled out my rally tranny that I rebuilt back in 2002 with lots of advice and a little help from Dick, and I ran up until last season. There was nothing wrong with it but the final drive ratio and the R:P play felt a little loose. I swapped in a more hilllclimb friendly 3.92 R:P in place of the 4.64 and put in a couple new syncros. Since Dick isnt as available as he used to be I also bought one of those budget busting blind bearing race pullers so I could shim the R:P properly. This tranny shifts smoothly and fast with little effort and I hated the idea that I might have to tear it down.