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

[sebich1]

i have changed my shifter rod on my Jetta after 73 000 miles..it was really worn ...i had some noises around 3000 rpm!!!
my car is VR6 of february 2000 with an AFP engine but the shifter rod was the new model (021 133 653). Because mine was really worn i bought a new one at 1stvwparts.com and paul's bushings at gruvenparts.com.
i installed everything in 10 min and "magic" ..no more noise!!!!!!!! thanks to Gary !!!!!very good write up!!!
seb

[Spindle]

Bump for a "Thanks for this thread!"

Mine has been rattling for the last 30K mi (has 80K on it now).
I bought a set of Paul's bushings 2 years ago & finally put 'em in last night. They rock!. No more rattle & throttle response *seems* better, but that could just be me enjoying the result of my labor.

It took all of ~ 30 mins.

Some notes:

- Getting the old rod out required some tugging. I was afraid I'd snap something, but it finally came out intact.

- Getting the newly rebushed rod in was even harder. The new bushings hung up on the lip of the manifold hole. I put a little graphite on the bushings and it went in with moderate force. It will snap into place when properly positioned.

- Once in place, tightening the actuator housing screws all the way caused the rod to bind. I ended up shaving about .5mm off the orange bushing. After that it rotated freely. (in pic below)

Quote, originally posted by norcalmanvr6 »

..... The only thing that scares me is putting on Paul's bushings and having to use super glue to keep them from coming apart.

I didn't use super (or any) glue. The new bushings snap together tight enough for re-assembly. And, once in, they're not going anywhere. Hopefully I'll never be in there again so I wasn't worried about them separating slightly and preventing future rod removals!

[SpaceGhost711]

I just did mine last night. What a great DIY. No more rattle, which I thought was my valvetrain, between 2500-4000 and I too *THINK* I am getting better throttle resonse.

At first, when I received my little Phenolic bearings I was like "I paid $50 bucks for this?! But when you think about it, this proceedure, along with the improved bearings will keep you from having to 1. Buy a new rod that will just fail again or 2. wear the plastic manifold beyond repair.

[jint]

can anyone post a site where to purchase pauls bushings?

[jettamkIVvr6]

my car makes this weird ticking sound at idle. but not when i rev it up. Can it be the intake shifter rod?

[laker10925]

I have a 2001 VR6 12v GLX and it has 64,000 miles. I have read the post and ordered and replaced the shifter rod. The new rod went in pretty loose and did not have much resistance. I can still hear the rattle and was concerned that it still may be a timing chain. I went to a local VW service center and the mechanic said he was over 95% sure that it was not the chains but the Shifter rod being loose in the runners.
What are my options to getting rid of this rattle?
Can i get over sized bushing, or do i need to order a new intake.

What is the 100% sure fire way to see if its the Shifter rod? If i take it out completely, and put the end caps back on and start the car it should not make any noise, am i correct? if quiet i can rule out the chains.
My son is going to take the car off to college and i want o be 100% that its not a chain.
Please, any help will be appreciated.

[veedubgolf00]

i highly doubt that your intake is shot with 60k on it. my old vr had like 110k and i never replaced the rod. like you said take the rod out and plug the hole up and see what happens. if it makes noise then it might be your timing chains if it doesn't i guess you need a new intake manifold.

[snboarder89]

Its funny that this DIY surfaced right when I'm trying to figure this out. My vr6 has about 96000 miles on it, and at 3k rpm i start hearing a weird noise , its hard to describe kind of an air-sucking noise kind of thing not a distinct rattle, and no where near the rattle to that extent in the youtube vids. I haven't taken it off yet to see which rod I have. I guess it can't hurt to do this now.


Modified by snboarder89 at 4:06 AM 10-12-2008

[laker10925]

I had Pauls Bushings overnighted to me. I removed and installed the new bushings, and this time it was a tight fit!
The Shifter Rod noise is gone. All you hear is the normal VR6 normal noises that make it so distinct.
Thanks Paul at gruvenparts.com for helping another VR6 owner.
I would recommend that all give him a call and buys these today.

[laker10925]

http://www.gruvenparts.com
or call 404-556-6663 Paul answered when i called.

[Steehz]

rattle again.........

[sebich1]

me too!!!

[andrewL30723]

payed way too much to have my mechanic replace the rod at 87k and the noise came back (94k) so i decided to do it myself this time...i put in the gruven parts bushings and there is a noticeable difference so we will see how things hold up...

[FRESH-VR6]

replaced the bushings with pauls bushing the first time, Didn't do much, went to VW today and got a new shifter rod for $101 +tax? Anyways, put it in, the rattling is completely gone, feels like I have better throttle response, just my 02 cents. If aftermarket bushings don't work , try getting a new shifter rod.

[BlueMk3VR6]

just wanted to see if anybody needs one, since I had a spare replacement when I had my Mk4 Jetta. You can double check, but it should also fit 12V VR6. I no longer need it, so it's for sale.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4085091

[bOOst_BoY02]

just what i needed...thanks

[JZRIRL]

sup.

replaced bushing... 600 miles later rattle came back. replaced again 600 milkes later rattle came back.

took to mechanic he replaced "plastic" timing guide tensoners..

still have rattle.. does Shrik make a performance manifold for the 12v MK IV VR????

problem started at 115K currently @ 130K

[VR6ix]

JZRIRL the problem is that, if the shifter rod rattles long enough, the loose bushings will wear grooves into the plastic intake manifold. Once you have grooves, even the GruvenParts bushings will not help, because the grooves have worn into the manifold and there is no real easy way to correct the problem.

Your best bet is to find a low-mileage VR6 at the wrecker yard (aka without groves worn in) and swap the upper intake manifold. Put the GruvenParts bushings into the "new" manifold, and you should be golden for a long time.

http://gruvenparts.com/website...d=259

Hot Tip: if you *very very* lightly round-off the leading edge of the GruvenPart bushings, it makes it easier to install the "tight" bushings into the manifold. Just a little bit of sandpaper to break the hard edge will do the trick. It takes you from "whack it will a mallet" to "tap it force-fully with a mallet" kinda deal. Look at the shape of the bushing, you will see the lobes that benefit from the relief treatment.

[JohnJP27]

Hey Gary -- if you have a minute it would be great to hear your opinion on this shifter rod question.

If I have rattling that's clearly audible inside the cabin **at idle**, even with 3-year-old gruvenparts bushings, should I just replace the upper intake manifold? Or do you think I might be able to get by with a new set of gruvenparts bushings? Here are some details...

It was perfectly quiet on Wednesday, then just started making all this noise yesterday. I bought a new VW shifter rod today and installed it, but it seemed loose when I slid it in, and I don't hear any reduction in the rattling.

Car is a 2000 GTI VR6 with 119k miles. I installed the gruvenparts bushings a few years ago, when I first heard the rattle (didn't wait more than a week). Back then, I could barely hear the rattle in the cabin (not at all like it is now). The gruvenparts bushings worked great until yesterday. Seems really weird to me that it went from perfectly quiet to ridiculously loud in a day.

If you have a few minutes I'd like to hear what you think -- thanks!

[VgRt6]

It has to do with the ambient temperature. The rattle gets much worse when it's cold out. It was much warmer on Wednesday. That's why you didn't hear it then, but did today.

[JohnJP27]

Hadn't thought of the ambient temperature -- I guess that could be it. It didn't make a sound all winter, even when temps were down in the single digits, but who knows. It's definitely fitting too loosely now, for whatever reason.

I guess I'll try another set of gruvenparts bushings first, and if that doesn't fix it I'll pick up a used upper intake manifold. Thanks for your thoughts Gary.

[VR6VR6]

I know this is old.. but I just did this tonight and I have a question.

I'm super paranoid because my mechanical aptitude isn't fantastic.

How would I know if my shifter rod wasn't rotating? I can't tell if the car has lost power or if its because the motor was just SO noisy.. and now I don't hear the engine building in RPMS as much so it just throws me off..

Would the loss in power be extremely significant? How can I check to see if its functioning correctly.

Sorry guys.. I'm a dumbass.

[VRamateur]

u can turn it by hand or press down on the vacuum (the black stick thing that turns it) if thats able to move u shud b golden if not the rod is either not sitting correctly or sumthn.

[VgRt6]

Quote, originally posted by austinjennings »

How would I know if my shifter rod wasn't rotating?

Remove the small engine cover piece with the VW logo on it. Have someone rev the engine while you watch the drive unit. It should rotate at approx. 1400 RPMs on the way up and back at approx. 800 RPMs on the way down.

If you look closely, you can actually see it rotate from the driver's seat if you get your head really high.

[VR6VR6]

Quote, originally posted by VRamateur »

u can turn it by hand or press down on the vacuum (the black stick thing that turns it) if thats able to move u shud b golden if not the rod is either not sitting correctly or sumthn.

Should it be fairly hard to turn... snug? Or should it turn super easily? I can barely turn mine with my fingers... I was able to get it to turn with plyers.

Quote, originally posted by VgRt6 »

Remove the small engine cover piece with the VW logo on it. Have someone rev the engine while you watch the drive unit. It should rotate at approx. 1400 RPMs on the way up and back at approx. 800 RPMs on the way down. If you look closely, you can actually see it rotate from the driver's seat if you get your head really high

I'll try this on my lunch break if I can get someone to go out with me. I doubt I can get my head high enough

Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.

[VRamateur]

if u cant turn it by hand, then it wont be able to turn, you probably put it in too far to one side, just take off the ends and tap it over until it can turn easily, its probably too far to the passenger side and pinching itself against the cover piece. give it a slight tap and try again.

[VR6VR6]

You're right. I had it in too far. It turns freely now. I had someone rev the motor while i watched it after I freed it up and it didn't move... but she only revved to 2500RPMs so maybe not high enough.

[VR6VR6]

I am stumped. The rod spins freely by hand and I can push down on the (rod on the pump) and it will rotate... but it isn't functioning. I had someone watch while I revved to 4000rpms and back down and it didn't move. Nothing looks broken..

I need help. If I can't do something as simple as this correctly, I shouldn't touch my car without someone to help me. haha.

[VgRt6]

Sounds like you have a vacuum issue or drive unit issue. Is there a vacuum hose attached to the drive unit? Is you suck on the fitting of the drive unit, does it operate?

[VRamateur]

Quote, originally posted by VgRt6 »

suck on the fitting of the drive unit, does it operate?

Haha

Freal tho when i did mine i accidentally popped the hose off somehow? But i got it back on and it works fine, dont give up on workn on ur dub just yet.

[MK4=LIFE]

i just recieved a pair of the aftermarket bushings in the mail, pulled my shifter rod out, found out i had the older version (021 133 697A) what can i do????????????????????????

[VgRt6]

You need to buy a new-style rod with part number 021 133 653.

[VR6VR6]

Buy the NEW style shifter rod from this guy!! $45 shipped = GOOD DEAL

I was supposed to but I backed out and now I feel guilty. haha

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4085091

[VgRt6]

THe shifter rods for the AFP (021 133 653) and BDF (022 133 653) have different part numbers. You would have to verify that they're identical. I don't know if they are.

[DJP944]

im confused because i did the afp gruven bushings and the sound went away for a while. then one day i was driving it came back and it was loud!

i picked up another manifold to throw the bushings and newer shifter rod in, but for the last 2 weeks the noise just hasnt come back.

yesterday when i went to install the new manifold i couldnt even get the shifter rod out because it was so snug! i figured i would leave it alone because the noise hasnt come back, but i cant seem to understand why it would sound awful one day and then two days later the noise is gone and hasnt returned!

i want to sell the manifold, but i dont want to sell it and have the noise come back


Modified by DJP944 at 2:14 AM 4-6-2009