02M 1st & 2nd gear not working. Is she safe to drive?

[Zach610]

I got in my car this morning and 1st and 2nd didn't engadge (acted like it was in neutral). R and 3rd-6th work, so I drove to work using 3rd-6th. My question is- was this safe? My thought (and I don't know much) is that if it is just the teeth (not sure if that is the correct terminology) on the fork, I should be fine. However, if it is the 1-2 shift rod itself and that drops into the tranny then the wheels lock up and I'm toast. I drove 30 miles to work mostly on the highway with no issues. I have 145,5xx on my first clutch and I know I can't get away with 3rd-6th for too long. Any thoughts? I live/work in the Boston area, anyone have an recommendations for what I assume will either be letting her go or a tranny rebuild Thanks.

[TANGO DOWN]

had this happen to me a few years back, youve droped your shift fork to 1st 2nd gear. if you have a VR 24v you can high rpm it in third to start ut u can kiss ur clutch goodbye for sure. Looking about 14oo in repairs at a shop, if you go this route, just go on and have do a full rebuild, should be about 18oo at a good shop, or if you know a friend whose good with trans, better get some beers. and if you do use 3rd to start get a new clutch as well.

[TANGO DOWN]

common issue right around 85 to 90k, also take a look at your 3rd gear synro as well. 3rd gear in these trans are prone to blowning out on you usually arounf 115 to 120k. Some sort of design flaw, and thats comming from a certed VW tech, especially if you drive hard on it

[Zach610]

had this happen to me a few years back, youve droped your shift fork to 1st 2nd gear. if you have a VR 24v you can high rpm it in third to start ut u can kiss ur clutch goodbye for sure. Looking about 14oo in repairs at a shop, if you go this route, just go on and have do a full rebuild, should be about 18oo at a good shop, or if you know a friend whose good with trans, better get some beers. and if you do use 3rd to start get a new clutch as well.

Thanks, Tango. I have the VR24v and this is what I have been doing. Not the high revs, just a nice loooong feather until 3rd is engaged. Is there any risk that this dropped fork could get caught up in my gears, further damaging the transmission and potentially locking up the wheels?

[TANGO DOWN]

I am no transmission expert, but from my ordeal with it, no. It is the linkage to the fork from the gear select, that has gone bad/ broke. Everything should still be "in place' however the sooner the better. And as far as 3rd gear starts go, it really doesnt matter how you drop the rpms on it, your clutch, oem/ oem replacement/ stage1 wasnt designed to hanndel that kind of load off the line. I had and upgraded clutch, and fly wheel in mine at the time, and it was shootie boom botty by the time I took it in, which was about 1 week later.

[vrsexmike]

Hey i have a 24v/02m combo
Im currently at 119000
Can anyone help me source any sites for parts or rebuild kits.
This just happened to me today.
Thanks,
Mike

[Scrubbs]

Stop driving it, get it fixed. Or pay more. That what i usually tell people.

[make_it_rainn]

Yeah part of the fork actually broke off and it's floating around in your trans. This happened to me like 3 days ago and I finally got it back in the car today. Hit me up if you need any advice. It's easy to do yourself!

[Tom@APTuning]

I know this post is old but as stated by the people above, but to those that come across this problem I would not drive the car. The problem is you literally are taking the gamble of a couple hundred dollar fix to the point of possibly trashing everything inside the trans. Not to mention kill the clutch trying to pull out in 3rd gear.


We have the upgrade forks as a kit. Made from steel instead of brass, so replace them once and never worry again.

Click the picture to order: