03 Citi Golf stiff/hard gear changing.

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Gerpan ZA
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03 Citi Golf stiff/hard gear changing.

Post by Gerpan ZA »

Hi Guys,

I have been driving my citi golf 1.4i for a while now and have been curious about how normal this stiff/hard gear changing is.

When the car is stationary, hot, cold or driving the gear changing is hard. It is an arm workout. However I recently drove through a massive puddle of rain water in the road that thoroughly splashed the under carriage of my car and immediately afterwards when changing gears it was so unbelievably smooth and effortless but only for a minute or two.

I'm guessing the rain water lubricated something but what? A part is worn and needs replacing and lubrication?

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks

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panic-mechanic
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Re: 03 Citi Golf stiff/hard gear changing.

Post by panic-mechanic »

yes look under the car and there is a bush that the shift arm runs in - start there. There are bush recon kits available from goldwagen
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Gerpan ZA
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Re: 03 Citi Golf stiff/hard gear changing.

Post by Gerpan ZA »

Hi Panic-Mechanic,

I will have a look at that, will have feedback as soon as I make progress.

Thanks for the help!

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Gerpan ZA
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Re: 03 Citi Golf stiff/hard gear changing.

Post by Gerpan ZA »

Worn out? Need lubrication? Both?ImageImageImage

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Re: 03 Citi Golf stiff/hard gear changing.

Post by panic-mechanic »

Impossible tomsay from that photo.. But follow the rod forward, there is a ball under the steering rack, that one is often worn and can be part of the problem.
You kind of need to take the links off and see where it becomes stiff. Section by section
Stephan van Tonder - Jhb - Putfontein Benoni
'05 Audi A6 3.0L TDI Avant
'09 Touareg 3l TDI
'13 VW CC 2l tdi (repair project)
'05 Touareg v10

Perfect Power dealer. I do dyno tuning.
-=sT3V3=-
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Re: 03 Citi Golf stiff/hard gear changing.

Post by -=sT3V3=- »

My old man car has the same issue.
The little donut near the steering rack gets grotty and stiffens everything up.

climb under the car and Q20 each bush one at a time till you find the issue. Once you found who was the drama lama inspect for replacement.
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Gerpan ZA
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Re: 03 Citi Golf stiff/hard gear changing.

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Thanks guys, will use that method to troubleshoot!

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Re: 03 Citi Golf stiff/hard gear changing.

Post by VAG Fan »

I found on my Mk1 and my Fox that it's mostly the rubber ball that sits on the shift arm. I think that this is what Steve meant by "donut".

I do hope that the recon kits from GW have improved in quality. The one I used a few years ago didn't last very long. The bushes that mated the shift rods to the levers popped out or disintegrated. In the end, IIRC, I bought a kit from the agents.
Mark R.
- - - - - - - - - -
2004 VW Golf TDI, type 1J, AHF, 317k (2016-current) --- daily
1990 VW Fox, type 16, HM, 304k (2005-current) --- spare runaround
Previous:
1992 Audi 500 SE, type C4, AAR (2001-2020) --- nice while it lasted
1983 VW Golf GTS, type 17, FR (1992-2005) --- most fun car I've ever had
1978 Audi 100 GLS 5E, type 43, WC (1991-92) --- died in the side of a Rekord who cut me off
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Gerpan ZA
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Re: 03 Citi Golf stiff/hard gear changing.

Post by Gerpan ZA »


VAG Fan wrote:I do hope that the recon kits from GW have improved in quality. The one I used a few years ago didn't last very long. The bushes that mated the shift rods to the levers popped out or disintegrated. In the end, IIRC, I bought a kit from the agents.
Okay, I will have to take the quality into consideration aswell. The stiff gears really ruins the driving experience.

Thanks

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Gerpan ZA
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Re: 03 Citi Golf stiff/hard gear changing.

Post by Gerpan ZA »

Hi Guys,

As you said, the problem was the ball/donut rubbers and links below the steering rack!

I cleaned that area, coated it thoroughly with Q20 and the gears was so smooth.

I am going to monitor the feel and if/when it gets stiff again I will replace.

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