These instructions might seem lengthy but they are thorough and most people appreciate that. This install should take about an hour to perform. Also, these instructions ONLY apply to the dieselgeek.com Sigma Shifter that went on sale on September 1st, 2009. These instructions will not work on any other shifter in existence and are COPYWRITED material and pictures!
Tools needed:
3/8 drive ratchet
10mm and 13mm (1/2 will usually work) socket in 3/8 drive size
Long extension (12 inch to18 inch is best) in 3/8 drive size
Channel lock pliers or special hose clamp pliers for MAF clamp (TDI, VR6,
2.0)
Regular screwdriver for 1.8T MAF clamp
3/8 box end wrench (10mm will work)
All-purpose lubricant such as WD-40 or equivalent
1. Always work on a cool car. These engines get hot! You will burn yourself
otherwise.
2. Park car on level ground, set hand brake. Daylight really works best for
seeing what you are doing. Pull hood latch and open hood.
3. You need to remove the air box to do this install. The air box is
held in by two 6mm bolts (with 10mm heads), one behind the battery box and the
other behind the air box. Unplug the mass airflow sensor electrical plug (there
is a catch in the middle that must be pressed to release the plug) and loosen
and remove the hose clamp for the mass airflow sensor (MAF) with a regular
screwdriver (1.8T) or a pair of channel lock pliers or specialized hose clamp
pliers (all other engines). Remove the passenger side vacuum hose (TDI) or air injection hose
(1.8T, VR6, 2.0) from the air box by gently but firmly squeezing where the serrations
are on the outer ring. It is sort of thin and brittle so do not get ham
fisted with it or it might break. Tuck it in front
of the battery box to make room for doing the install.
4. Looking down to the left hand corner of the battery at the bottom you
will see the stock
shift linkage with two shift cables running back towards the center of the
car. You can look at the new dieselgeek.com short shift parts and visualize how
the new parts go in place.
5. Detach both of the shift cable ends from the shift cables by pulling
their knurled
plastic rings toward you and against the coil spring and turning it
clockwise (or counter-clockwise depending how you look at it) against its stop
to unlock the cable ends. This will allow you to slide the
cable ends off of the threaded cables.
6. On the left-most shift bracket, (the one painted black) undo the shiny metal clip with your fingernail that secures its pivoting shaft to the transmission housing. Be especially careful not to lose this clip as it secures the side to side shift bracket to the transmission. The VW/Audi part number for the shiny clip is N 908 159 03 in case you do lose it and you do not have spare clips holding on your old OE cable ends.
7. Slide the black sheetmetal bracket towards the passenger side
of the car (Left hand drive). There are two round white plastic
pivot bushings on this bracket. Make sure that both of the round white
plastic bushings stay in the aluminum tube that is attached to the transmission.
Remove the round white plastic bushing from the stock black shift bracket and
replace it in the aluminum tube if it happens to come out with the stock black
shift bracket. The shifter will not work properly without both of these
bushings being in place! The factory part number for these bushings is 1J0
711 067L if you lose one.
8. Using a 13mm socket and ratchet (plus 12-18 inches worth of extension
bars if you have them), remove the 13mm nut holding the golf club-shaped
chrome shift bracket to the transmission. The shift mechanism will rotate
counter-clockwise into gear as you loosen this nut. This is not a problem.
After you remove it, discard the 13mm nut as it is not reused.
9. Use leather
gloves for this step! After the 13mm nut has been removed, you will need to put
the selector shaft in the middle position (neutral) and pull up to remove the
chrome shift bracket from the splined selector shaft
of the transmission. Use some control since you might hurt yourself
when the bracket does finally come free of its shaft. Sometimes it helps to get
both hands on this bracket so you can pull up evenly (and repeatedly, if necessary).
Also, while grabbing the chrome bracket, you can wiggle it side to side while
pulling up on it to free it from the splined shaft. For really new cars, some
people have used a battery terminal puller
(or a generic two jaw puller) to remove the chrome bracket from the selector
shaft. This can be sourced from most auto parts stores for around $4.00. If the
splines are new and tight and it will take a few minutes to get the bracket
off.
1. With the supplied L-shaped Allen
wrench and a 3/8 box end wrench (10mm will work), tighten all ten of the Allen
screws of the two aluminum cable ends until they are almost snug (very
slightly loose). This will make the install easier. Be careful though, if you
over tighten them the shift cables will not be able to be inserted into them.
2.
Back in the engine bay; pull back the front to back cable rubber boot and
plastic ring to expose all threads of
this cable. (This is the cable on the right, or driver side (
3.
Start with the front to back bracket
first. Before you try to put the shift bracket back onto the splined
transmission selector shaft, spray the front to back shift cable
with WD-40 or equivalent light weight lubricant. Then slide
the aluminum cable end onto the lubricated and partially threaded shift cable.
You must slide the shift cable into the aluminum cable end until the threads of
the shift cable are even with
the opening of the aluminum cable end. Do
not insert the cable any further than this. This is extremely important!
4. At this point it is extremely important to note that there is a keyway or joined spline on the selector shaft on the transmission. The correct corresponding keyway to use on the front to back shift lever is a keyway marked with a permanent magic marker mark denoting its position. You cannot easily push the shift bracket onto the transmission selector shaft without these two elements lining up. It is very important that you do not install the front to back bracket in the wrong position. Once lined up, however, the shift bracket will push pretty easily onto the selector shaft. Another easy check is that once the shifter is fully assembled, the white plastic slider of the side to side bracket will be in the middle of the front to back bracket while in neutral. The white plastic slider is also engraved with "Sigma 5 Top" on the top side.
5. Next, thread the supplied new
OE 13mm lock nut by hand onto the shaft and then tighten it with
your ratchet but do not go crazy with it (The Bentley service manual says
tighten to 18 foot pounds but this accuracy is hard to achieve since the
extensions alter the torque wrench reading). Do not
reuse the old locknut that you removed from the stock shifter. While you
are tightening the
new locknut, the selector shaft will rotate clockwise before the nut gets
tight. After the nut has been tightened, rotate the shift bracket
counter-clockwise to the neutral position. In the neutral position the front to
back shift bracket can be moved up and down.
6.
Clamping the front to back bracket cable end to the shift cable: Make
sure one last time that the front/back shift cable threads are
exactly even with the opening of the aluminum cable end. The
back of the aluminum cable end must be even with the endpoint of the threads on
the shift cable. Next, tighten all 5 of the Allen
screws for the cable end with the supplied 4mm L-shaped Allen
wrench and your own box end 3/8 wrench (10mm works depending on your particular
wrench) to hold the lock nuts. Tighten the Allen screws evenly as you
are clamping down on the cable. Tighten the Allen screws until the slots in the
sides of the cable ends will barely allow either a credit card or two playing cards to
fit in the gap. Once the screws are fully tightened, the front to back lever
has now been properly installed and is fully adjusted in the front/back
direction.
7. Next, make sure that both of the round
white plastic bushings are in the aluminum pivot hole in the
transmission. One bushing should be on either side
of the pivot hole and the factory part number for these bushings is 1J0
711 067L if you have lost one. The shifter will not work
correctly unless both of them are in place.
8.
Position
the side to side bracket cable end back just far enough to expose all of the
shift cable threads. Next,
slide the side to side shift lever longer pivot shaft through the hole on the
transmission meant for it from the engine side. As you are slowly pushing the
silver bracket to the right, push its aluminum cable end slowly onto the
threaded section of the cable. This is little bit of a ballet act and under no
circumstance should you force anything. You just feed the bracket toward the
right and rotate it backwards onto the cable at the same time slowly and
carefully. As you are sliding the silver brackets pin through the hole, engage
the slot of the white plastic slider
with the front to back bracket. Another
check is that once the shifter is fully assembled, the white plastic slider of
the side to side bracket will be in the middle of
the front to back bracket while in neutral. The white plastic slider is also engraved
with "Sigma 5 Top" on the top side. This should face up.
9. After the silver side to side bracket is fully engaged into the pivot hole, replace the small shiny metal clip on the silver bracket pivot shaft. The VW/Audi part number for the shiny clip is N 908 159 03 in case you lose it and you do not have spare clips holding on your old OE cable ends.
1. Lock the transmission into its "home" position. Right
now, your black L-shaped locking lever
is in the rest position and should point to the left, just like in the picture.
In the engine bay, make sure that the transmission is in neutral
(in neutral the front to back shift bracket is free to move up and down). With
your right thumb, push down on the front to back lever approximately 1/3 of an
inch and then with your forefinger turn the small black L-shaped locking
lever on the transmissions shift tower clockwise while pushing
it in. The tip of this black locking lever will end up pointing straight
up when the shift mechanism is successfully placed in the locked
or home position. You will also not be able to move the
front to back lever up and down if the transmission is locked into the home
position.
2. Expose the shift linkage inside the car. On Golf and Jetta, while
working inside of the car, pull the elastic band
at the rear of the shift boot toward the rear of the car and lift up the rear
of the shift boot. Do not to remove the shift boot completely as it requires
you to remove and reinstall the plastic rectangular shift boot retaining ring
if you do. On New Beetle, grab the rectangular ring at the base perimeter of
the shift boot and pull it upward. It will unsnap from the center console. Then
lift the rubber sound deadening boot from the shifter aperture. On the Audi TT,
remove the eight Torx screws in the aluminum ring surrounding the shift boot.
Lift up the shift boot but do not remove it.
3. Lock the mechanism inside the car into its home position. Do this
by inserting the expensive and rare special tool
we supplied with the kit into the hole at the lower left of the shift
lever and push it through and into the corresponding hole in the
shifter base until it bottoms out. This will give the appearance that the shifter
is in second gear which is exactly correct. Also the shift lever
inside the car WILL NOT MOVE if you have successfully put the nail
through both holes. If you do not have the nail tool we provide with our kits,
the special tool was made from a 4 inch long, 20d Bright Common nail with a 5
mm or .195 inch shank diameter and a 30 degree bend 2.5 inches from the tip of
the nail to clear the shift knob.
4.
Once you have locked the transmission into its home position (Step 1) and also
installed the adjustment nail through both holes inside the car (Step
3), you are ready to tighten one Allen screw that clamps the silver
bracket aluminum cable end to the shift cable. This IS the adjustment
for the short shift kit! Where you clamp the side to side cable has everything
to do with the proper adjustment of this shifter. Unlike the front to back
cable end, SOME THREADS WILL BE SHOWING on the
side to side cable end! If you did not follow all of the preceding steps
exactly then do not tighten the Allen screw until you do. If you are
confident that you followed all of the steps before this one then you can
finish the adjustment procedure by simply rotating the aluminum cable end to
make it perpendicular to its mounting pin on the silver bracket (its top slot
will face straight up). Then, tighten the middle Allen screw on the cable end
with the supplied L-shaped
Allen wrench and a box end 10mm or 3/8 wrench to hold the lock nuts. Tighten
the middle Allen screw until it will barely allow either a credit card or two playing cards
to fit in the gap. This is pretty tight.
5. Unlock the transmission from its home position. While pushing down
slightly on the front to back bracket, pull the transmissions L-shaped locking
pin to the left and rotate it counter-clockwise until it comes back out to its rest
position stop. It will move toward the right side (engine side) of the car
by approximately 1/2 inch. (You are not removing the pin completely.) It is
very important that you pull this pin back to the normal rest position
since your shifter will not work with the pin in the transmission home
position! Furthermore, you will permanently damage the pin if you
forcefully try to shift the mechanism with the pin pushed in! Please do not
forget to release the pin after adjustment. The shift mechanism will still
function perfectly if you damage the plastic pin. The part number for the locking pin is 02J 301 358C
and is available at your dealer for about $5.00. It is a pain to install,
however.
6. Unlock the mechanism inside the car from its home position. Go
back inside the car and remove completely the special bent nail tool from the
shifter mechanism. Save the adjustment nail with your stock shifter parts.
11. Start the engine and go for a ride. You are finished with the install.
12. Enjoy and tell your friends about how much you love your New Dieselgeek
Sigma 5 Short Shifter!
Note: While we do not recommend using a B&M shifter in conjunction
with our Sigma Shifter, if you are attempting this install the Sigma Shifter on
a car that has a B&M short shift kit installed then none of the
instructions above apply. Your adjustment procedure is trial and error since
the B&M shift lever does not have the factory alignment holes to set the
shifter in its home position. To give you an approximate adjustment
measurement, there should be .472" or 12mm worth of threads showing on the
silver brackets shift cable when the shift cable boot is pulled back to expose
smooth cable. (This applies to the procedure below as well.) The front/back
cable end will have zero threads showing.
Please loosen the five Allen screws for the silver side to side bracket
cable end and repeat the adjustment procedure. You simply missed something
during the procedure.
If you ever need to remove a cable end from a cable and it
does not want to move:
Clamp a Vice-Grip next to a fully loosened cable end and pry it
off with a flat blade screwdriver.
