DIY - Replacing the shifter rod on a MKIV 12v VR6

[einvwyzz]

I got the ones from http://www.gruvenparts.com.

Followed their DIY and now all is quiet!! FINALLY

[porksoda]

I had ordered pauls bushings... came in fast great service.. asked him questions and everything...

after i recieved the bushings i found my rod was old style so i ordered some and it took a couple of months to get in.. finally installed it this weekend. most of my rattle is gone but there is a bit of a tiny minute rattle still comming..

i think my intake has taken a bit of a beating and is kinda messed... i had to use a bit of pressure to pop the rod in but it was not SUPER hard....

either way the huge amount of rattle gone is a huge plus here and car is a bit different too.. whether thats just a placebo effect or reality im not too sure.

[phatvw]

Just replaced my shifter-rod bushings withe the gruvenparts.com bits. After only 42,000 miles, my intke manifold was making quite a racket. The new bushings work as advertised and took all of 10 minutes!

[a2t2]

Right on.

[TheOrange]

just installed my gruvenparts bushings a few minutes ago! VW had replaced the whole intake runner about 12,000 miles ago, and the rattling came back, so i ordered these. they work great! i was a little scared about jamming the rod back in, but it went in fine with a little effort! well worth the $45

[Alaska]

orderd both the new Rod and bushing's from http://www.gruvenparts.com/ can't wait to NOT hear the fluttering rattle!

[The.Refused]

My rod is back to rattling again, even after installing the GruvenParts bushings. I'm so sick of it, I am going to remove the rod completely soon, as soon as I find something to seal the hole with.

[thisismike]

how would it run if i took all that crap out?

[Alaska]

Quote, originally posted by The.Refused »

My rod is back to rattling again, even after installing the GruvenParts bushings. I'm so sick of it, I am going to remove the rod completely soon, as soon as I find something to seal the hole with.

how many miles are on your car?

[The.Refused]

140 000 km's. So I think that's like 85 000 miles?

[The.Refused]

I took the rod out again this morning and took off the GruvenPart bushings. I cleaned them all up, and before I put them back on, I cut a thin strip of electrical tape and wrapped it around the rod once, then put the bushings over top of it. This made the play in between the bushing and the rod go away, but the slick surface of the tape still allows the bushing to rotate. I put it all back together and just came back from a test drive. No more rattles, and a nice smooth transition when the valve changes over. So far so good!

[Alaska]

well damn I just hit 58,000 today and did the install plus the thicker bushings.

And WOW not more rattle. When I first bought the car I thought it was just the was the VR6 sounds. Now it sounds soild with no more rattle going on. Very Nice

I did have to force the damn rod in fairly hard since the bushings were soo much larger though. Only took 2 min's though.

[6RVITG]

I'm ALMOST having the same problem with this noise. From reading most of the posts, it seems like most people are having the problem at around 3k rpm. Well my car is making this noise right before 2k rpm, and as soon as it hits 2k, the noise goes away.

At first it started like a rattle, and then it slowly changed into what sounded a little bit like a BOV or a turbo spooling Also, my car only does this while in motion and it does it every gear. If it is sitting still and you rev the motor, it makes no noise at all. Is this the same problem or does this have something to do with my drivetrain instead? Thanks guys!

[detenator]

Dumb question......
I'm having a rattle inside the engine and i always thought it was a valve, i guess it could be this piece.... anyway.. Is this piece found in newer engines only or do older (1995-1997) and OBD 1 engines also have this setup?

[6RVITG]

Quote, originally posted by detenator »

Dumb question...... I'm having a rattle inside the engine and i always thought it was a valve, i guess it could be this piece.... anyway.. Is this piece found in newer engines only or do older (1995-1997) and OBD 1 engines also have this setup?

The MKIV's were the ones that had the "2 step" intake manifold. MKIII and lower, did not.

[BIGNICKSGTIS420]

Quote, originally posted by 6RVITG »

I'm ALMOST having the same problem with this noise. From reading most of the posts, it seems like most people are having the problem at around 3k rpm. Well my car is making this noise right before 2k rpm, and as soon as it hits 2k, the noise goes away. At first it started like a rattle, and then it slowly changed into what sounded a little bit like a BOV or a turbo spooling Also, my car only does this while in motion and it does it every gear. If it is sitting still and you rev the motor, it makes no noise at all. Is this the same problem or does this have something to do with my drivetrain instead? Thanks guys!

different problem

[Helicon Twist]

Quote, originally posted by ubergolf98turbo »

Get one what? You dont need a whole intake rod, just the mod'd bushings.

My POS intake rod decided to break a slat about 2K miles after rebuilding it with these new bushings.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2898678

I'd rather give VW my middle finger than my wallet again. What happenes if just remove this troublesome part, and keep it out? (And drop-kick it off a cliff.)

[stu_vortex]

Purchased a set of Paul's MkIV VR6 AFP shift rod bushings. Installed them in April and at the time, what a difference! Nice snug fit in the mani . Silence and better performance. However, recently the rattle came back worse than before. Checked the rod today all lose in the mani. Tried to extract the shifter rod to check the condition of the bushings but won't come out. Seems hung up on something inside the manifold. Afraid to yank too hard in case the bushings have come unsnapped and one of the halves drops into the manifold. Going to put it all back together and drive it as is for now. Anyone ever had the bushings spit apart inside the manifold?

Any suggestions?

[VgRt6]

One of the bushings might be caught up on one of the between runner dividers. If it were my car, I'd remove the manifold and check the bushings from below. You can see them pretty easily with the mani out.

[stu_vortex]

Any DIYs for removing the manifold?

[VgRt6]

There is one by FaelinGL. It should be in the DIY/FAQ thread.

[Black00vr63]

Mine is rattling again after installing Pauls bushings. I have ~ 80000miles. should I pull the rod, reinstall same bushings and try again or buy new ones. It was fine for like 15,000

[Lncrzy]

VgRt6 do you know if the replacement of the intake is covered under the 100,000 miles/10 years powertrain warranty?

[VgRt6]

It should be. If the dealer says no, then call VWoA and complain.

[TRiZZlE5790]

It says in the DIY that i need the new version of the rod, how do i know if i have it or not?

"newer version of the rod, VW Part# 021 133 653"

[VgRt6]

Your car should already have the newer version.

[sworksguy]

Quote, originally posted by The.Refused »

I took the rod out again this morning and took off the GruvenPart bushings. I cleaned them all up, and before I put them back on, I cut a thin strip of electrical tape and wrapped it around the rod once, then put the bushings over top of it. This made the play in between the bushing and the rod go away, but the slick surface of the tape still allows the bushing to rotate. I put it all back together and just came back from a test drive. No more rattles, and a nice smooth transition when the valve changes over. So far so good!

I did this step as well, and it seems to work great!

When I pulled the passenger end cap off, I could move the rod up and down what seemed about 3 or 4 mm...... not good.

Here's the few points that concerned me during the process:

1. I REALLLLY had a had time convincing myself that I had to install this using a few light taps with a rubber mallet. That made no mechanical sense..........

2. I barely could turn the rod once it was back in; if I can't, how's that wimpy little vacuum advance thingy going to do it?

3. It wouldn't come back out; now I was COMPLETELY convinced I had to pull off the upper mani.

I forged ahead, replaced all the o-rings and bushings using the rebuild kits from VW (the bushing in the passenger end cap was not in either of my rebuild kits, so I used the old one) and reassembled........

WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!!! The car is quiet, feels smoother, accelerates better, can't really tell if it's any better performance-wise, though.

Based on the points above, does anyone think that I messed it up, since I can't get the rod back out?

Thanks!

[TRiZZlE5790]

ok, i am preforming this DIY tomorrow installing pauls bushings, any last minute advice?

[VgRt6]

Put a little bit of loc-tite or glue on the pegs that hold the bushings together. I think the problem that some people have reported with the rods getting stuck is because the bushings spread apart a little when the manifold is really worn. They catch when the rod is trying to be removed and gluing the pegs should keep this from happening.

[sworksguy]

Quote, originally posted by VgRt6 »

Put a little bit of loc-tite or glue on the pegs that hold the bushings together. I think the problem that some people have reported with the rods getting stuck is because the bushings spread apart a little when the manifold is really worn. They catch when the rod is trying to be removed and gluing the pegs should keep this from happening.

I wish I had thought of / read this a few days ago.....

Oh well, maybe I will sell the ride before I need to do this again!

[VgRt6]

I'm going to add the glue step to the DIY.

[porksoda]

my rattle is fairly annoying to the level where i want to just buy a new intake or just remove the shifter rod... but i know i would suffer in performance if i removed the rod....

What do you guys suggest to do.. i have the new style rod with pauls bushings and it rattles like mad at 3k.

[VgRt6]

Removing the rod will likely cause a noticeable loss of performance AND you'll need to find a good way to seal up the hole in the driver's side of the manifold where the rod pokes through.

The best option would be to get a new manifold and use Paul's bushings from start. That would be expensive though. A new manifold costs US$400+ AFAIK.

[porksoda]

Quote, originally posted by VgRt6 »

Removing the rod will likely cause a noticeable loss of performance AND you'll need to find a good way to seal up the hole in the driver's side of the manifold where the rod pokes through. The best option would be to get a new manifold and use Paul's bushings from start. That would be expensive though. A new manifold costs US$400+ AFAIK.

Funny thing as per my other thread related to oil... after filling up the oil the chatter is gone so i think it was for sure cam chatter and being low on oil... the rattle is 70% less it was cam chatter for sure at 3ish k.

I wonder if other users having oil related cam chatter or was i the only one.

p.s i will take the mani out in the summer and see what i find and maybe do the glue trick and tape trick n such

thanx

[BIGNICKSGTIS420]

What glue and tape trick