nomead

Hey guys,

I just inherited a 2001 with 325k as a the second C5 I've had. Needless to say it needs some attention...

Hoping for help with the shifter, I can row all the gears fine and the car drives fine, but while engaged in any gear, I can pull the shifter further than necessary in the selected gear. For example, put it in fourth and pull down with a little bit of force, and the shifter goes another inch or so. The problem is that I have to "adjust" back to center by forcing in 3rd in order to get reverse to engage. My other C5 6MT wasn't like this and assume something is worn. Pulled the shifter cover and the assembly could use a refresh but I don't want to throw money at it without knowing it will fix. My fear is that it's a bushing on the tranny side...is there any way to check without dropping the tranny?

georgeb944

You can check the relative play by jacking up the car and having an assistant "row the gears", then force the shifter as you descibe your problem. If the problem is at the transaxle, you should be able to feel the motion on the driver side connection to the shift selector. There is a ball joint there and a bolt that connects it to the shift selector.

Oh, yeah, use jackstands while you are under the car. Jacks have been known to fail.

CRuby

Wow, 325K is certainly getting up there in mileage. I'm a little past 1/2 that on my A6. Someone(s) must have taken care of it well enough for it to get this far.

Might have wear in the shift ball linkage or bushing. I overhauled my 6sp just to change syncros & 1-2 shift collar. Didn't have the play you mention so not certain of the cause.

nomead

Sorry for the delay in reply, your responses are greatly appreciated.

I'll take a look this coming weekend. I think the ball joint is spent allowing the additional flex. Do you know if anyone has successfully replaced the ball joint without dropping the transmission?

@Cruby
Did you do the overhaul yourself, and how much was it in parts?

georgeb944

I just recently did a clutch on my 2001 A6 2.7T 6MT, and it seems that replacing the ball joint can be done without dropping the transmission. It might help if you disconnect the half shaft at the trans, to give you a bit more room to maneuver.

CRuby

~ $700 for syncro & 1-2 shift collar kit from JHM motor sports. Good thing with them was that he provides a step-by-step video showing how to disassemble & reassemble the trans. It was extremely helpful & well done. Will need a press, various snap ring pliers, large 2 jaw or 3 jaw pullers, clean workspace to layout parts & keep things in order, and probably other misc. stuff I forgot. I also did clutch, flywheel, slave cylinder, rear main seal, rebuilt turbos, and lots more, since I had engine & tranny out. I don't have overall tally for all the replacement costs. It made for a good project for father-son bonding, so that part was priceless.

nomead

@CRuby - That's not too bad for rebuild. I'm waiting for my son to come back from college to test the shifter linkage. Unfortunately, we have been kicking around other project ideas, so I doubt he would be interested in tearing down a transmission. This car belonged to a good friend...I can't say he took good care of it, but I can say he got himself an S5 in 6MT and didn't want this C5 to get hauled away. I'm therefore left applying the paddles and yelling at this C5 to "stay away from the light". Thus far, control arms, EGTs, O2 sensors, variety of seals and hoses, most of the interior plastic, all 4 door latches, 2 window regulators, 2 window motors, and a strange boost condition developed. I also went to replace the signal stalk and found that someone stripped the airbag screws, so I might need to cut the cover away and replace it. I think the cam chain tensioner seal might shot too, but will wait for timing belt to replace. Also needs bodywork and bumpers resprayed.

@georgeb944 - will keep my fingers crossed and check this weekend.

Thanks again, and will advise after I have a chance to check out the ball joint.

monkeybird747

Had something similar happen with my MT allroad. Two things: there is a shifter adjustment procedure on this board and in the Bentley manual. It is very straightforward and uses an angle gauge to set so many degrees back, and so many degrees right. Pop the dust cover off the shifterand see if any of the hex bolts are loose. There is a u-shaped plate that is hex-bolted to the linkage that goes forward and then to the gearbox. If that is a little loose you could wind up with what you are describing. Search for the shifter adjustment procedure and you will see the piece I'm talking about.

My actual problem was that a nut and bolt had come loose underneath the car. It held some of the shifter linkage attached to a cross brace. It acted as a pivot point/stabilizer, and when it came off I could only get 1-4 or 3-6, but not both.

monkeybird747

Here is the link to the shifter adjustment thread. There is a good video in there too. If nothing else it will familiarize you with what is going on under that shifter dust cover. Best of luck!

How to adjust shifter?