Bought a used Tanoga short shifter years ago, installed it this past Spring and I was EXTREMELY uncomfortable with how much extra effort I had to use to get it to go into gear given the weak synchros (my trans was rebuilt twice before 50k but still has the old parts).

After trying it for 6 months I un-installed the Tanoga and re-installed the stock shifter. I followed the instructions backwards and thought I had it right. Now the reverse lock-out is gone (shifter moves to the left and forward into Reverse without pushing vertically down on the shifter).

Any ideas what I did wrong?

2002 S4 so I assume the "newer" model shifter if that makes any difference.

Note1: I did not install the 4 quarter inch brass spacers under the shifter mechanism, I thought these were not stock and came with the short shifter. If these are stock parts and should be there, this might be the problem.
--Can anyone confirm?

Note2: When I installed the C clip to put the stock shifter lever back in the mechanism it seemed like the spring that you compress to engage reverse is already VERY compressed, so that even if you needed to push down to engage reverse that it would not allow much vertical motion (also it seems like A LOT of pressure is on that tiny little C clip even in the neutral (non-depressed) position).
--does this sound normal?

I'd like to try to figure out what I need to fix/change before I tear it apart again. Any info or suggestions on what to check are appreciated.

TIA!
J.T.L.

 

It sounds like the spring mechanism is compressed/locked in the down position. When I installed the JHM short shifter I tossed a few stock components that came with the factory shifter. Unless you kept all of the clips and spacers I would go back to the short shifter. It is possible that you are missing a small but vital component of the stock assembly.

Either way,you need to disassemble the shaft. The spring should not be under that much compression when in a "neutral" state, i.e when you are not pushing down to get to reverse. Also, IIRC you are correct, the brass spacers are not stock.

 

Does your shifter have spring leverage still? It is possible that it isn't picking it up enough to keep it in lock out mode.

 

I thought I kept all the stock pieces in the Tanoga box, but I really didn't have a clear workspace so I might have missed something. I'm working at my cousin's shop and I think there are 1 or 2 S4s sitting around that should still have stock shifters in them. I think my first step for Saturday is to take one of those apart to compare.

Thanks for the reply!

 

the vertical spring is way compressed so it's pushing up hard on the c-clip/lever. Maybe I've got the c-clip clipping the wrong thing so it won't let the lever go high enough... will try to compare to an un-modified stock one this weekend.


I'm a happy ECS customer by the way -- I have your 10mm wheel spacers on the Audi and also euro headlights+fog harnass and rear fog on my 01 Jetta.

J.T.L.

 

Glad to hear it! Thanks.

IIRC there are two spots where you could mistakenly attach the spring stop portion to. Check those, I can't imagine anything is really broke so much as misaligned!