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 November, 2005. 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 inch will usually work) socket in 3/8 drive size
Long
extension (12 to18 inches 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 usually work)
#2
Phillips screw driver (normal size)
All-purpose
lubricant such as WD-40 or equivalent
Magnetic
retrieval probe may be helpful but is not required
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 and VR6) 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 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.
The next step is to remove the shiny metal clip for the silver side to
side shift bracket. (Click
here for picture). It has a small catch
in the middle that is best undone with a fingernail. Try not to lose
this clip. We have provided an extra clip if you lose it.
6.
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.
7.
Slide the smaller silver sheetmetal bracket towards
the driver side of the car (Left hand
drive). There are two
round white plastic pivot bushings on
this bracket. Make sure that the round white plastic bushing on the
driver side (LHD) slides out of the aluminum tube with
the silver side to side bracket. Remove the silver side to side bracket
from the car. Remove the round white plastic bushing from the stock
silver shift bracket and transfer it to the new Dieselgeek silver side to side bracket.
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 large
flattened 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, place the 13mm
nut in a safe place as it is 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 or neutral
position (in neutral, the chrome piece can be moved up and down) and
pull up evenly with two hands to remove the chromed 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 the selector shaft. For really new cars, some
people have used a battery
terminal puller to remove
the chrome bracket from the selector shaft. This can be sourced from
most auto parts stores for around $4.00. I have never needed one
myself. All I can say is that on stubborn brackets, the piece will
come off! If the splines are new and tight and it will take a few
minutes to get the bracket off. Needless to say, this step generates
the most tech help calls for us.
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 left, or engine side that was
attached to the chrome shift weight.) These rings can be very tight and
some people have had success with pulling the plastic ring toward the front of the car
to break them loose. After it has been broken loose, slide it toward the rear
of the car to expose all of the threads and smooth cable.
3. Start with the bronze colored
front/back bracket first (has dieselgeek.com engraved on it). Before
you try to put the shift bracket back onto the splined transmission selector shaft,
spray the front/back shift cable with WD-40 or equivalent light weight
lubricant. Next, make sure that the small Phillips screw on the
aluminum cable end is just barely threaded as it will block the full
insertion of the cable. Then slide
the Billetshift 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 disappear
into the aluminum Billetshift cable end. If any threads are still
visible after you slide the Billetshift cable end onto the shift cable then you need to push a little harder
on the cable so that it bottoms out inside the Billetshift piece. This
is extremely important!
4. At this point it is extremely
important to note that there is a "key" on the splined shaft on the transmission.
The correct corresponding keyway to use on the bronze front to back
shift lever is a large,
rounded key way
with a permanent magic marker mark or an engraved arrow denoting its
position. You cannot easily push the bronze shift bracket onto the
transmission selector shaft without these two elements lining up. It is
very important that you do not install the bronze 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 guide of the side to side bracket will be in the middle
of the bronze front/back bracket while in neutral.)
5.
Place the supplied large 1/2 inch metal washer (there is a 1/2 inch
hole in it) on top of the bronze shift lever,
centering it on the threaded selector shaft that rises straight out of
the transmission. Then thread the 13mm 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). While you are tightening the nut, 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
bronze shift bracket can be moved up and down.
6. Clamping
the bronze front/back bracket cable end to the shift cable:
Make sure one last time that the front/back shift cable threads are not visible.
The back of the aluminum cable end will be even with the endpoint of
the threads on the shift cable. Once these elements are aligned, fully
tighten the Phillips head screw
on the aluminum Billetshift cable end. (This screw will likely not
thread in if you have not fully pushed the cable into the aluminum
cable end) Next, tighten all 5 of the Allen screws
for the Billetshift 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, spray the remaining shift cable with WD-40 or similar lubricant.
Then take the remaining silver side to side shift bracket and engage
the lubricated shift cable with its attached aluminum cable end. Make
sure that the shift cable slides freely in and out of the aluminum
cable end by cycling it many times in and out of the aluminum cable end
(This will remove any burrs inside the aluminum cable end.) This free
movement is crucial to the proper adjustment of the shifter as
described below.
8. Next, make sure that one of the round white plastic bushings is still on the silver side to side bracket largest pivot pin. Slide the silver shift levers longer pivot shaft through the hole on the transmission meant for it. There are two round white plastic bushings in this aluminum pivot hole on the transmission. Make sure that both of these bushings are in place as you install the silver shift lever. (One should be on either side of the pivot hole and the factory part number for these bushings is 1J0 711 067L if you lose one.) As you are sliding the silver brackets pin through the hole, engage the slot in the bronze front/back shift bracket with the silver shift bracket white plastic guide.
1. Lock the transmission into its home position.
In the engine bay, make sure that the transmission
is in neutral
(in neutral the bronze front/back shift bracket is free to move up and
down). Push down on the bronze lever by 6/10ths of an inch (almost 5/8)
and then push in the black
locking plunger/pin on the transmission shift tower
(#2 in this pic). The locking pin will push into a hole in
the transmission selector shaft inside the transmission and will lock
the transmission into a home position only used for adjustment
purposes. See Picture 1,
Pic 2, Pic 3.
It is not easy to see in these pictures but this locking pin is at the
tip of a shiny metal cylinder that has 58A
stamped on it. Pushing this pin toward the passenger side of the car
(LHD) will lock the transmission shift mechanism in place. The locking
plunger is a black 1/4 inch pin that sticks out
toward the driver side of the car (LHD). The tip
of the pin looks like the head of a small black nail or a pellet rifle
pellet. It is very important to note that the 2004 and later
Quattro/4Motion cars have a different locking pin than the earlier
cars. The locking lever is a black plastic L shaped lever
(pictured here with yellow paint) just above the two wire electrical
plug for the reverse switch. It pushes in and rotates upward
(clockwise) to lock the mechanism in place. Since this new style of
locking lever is plastic instead of metal like the earlier one it can
be damaged if it is left in the locked position and the shifter is
actuated by the driver. See red
heading at bottom of install manual if you suspect that your plastic
locking lever is damaged.
2. Expose the shift linkage inside the car.
On all but the GTI 337, 20th, R32 and Audi TT,
while working inside of the car, pull the elastic band
at the rear of the base of the shift boot toward the rear of the car
and then 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 GTI 337, 20th, and
R32, squeeze the sides of the chrome trim around the shift boot to
unclip it from the center console. On the Audi TT, remove the eight
Torx T20 screws in the aluminum ring surrounding the shift boot. Lift
up the shift boot but do not remove it. On MKV cars from Mid-2005 on,
reach into the shift boot like
this and grasp the plastic structure
holding the shift boot. Then simply lift the structure upward and it
will pop out of the center console to expose the shifter base.
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 cable has everything to do with the proper adjustment of the
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
(shown outside of car) 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 bronze front/back bracket, pull out the
transmissions L-shaped or nail-headed locking pin to the right until it
hits its stop. It will come out 1/4 inch toward the left side (driver
side in
6. Unlock the mechanism inside the car from its home
position. Go back inside the car and remove the special bent
nail tool from the shifter mechanism.
7.
Check the shifter action by gently
cycling through the gears (remember, you only have tightened one of the
five Allen screws clamping the cable). Make sure that first and second
gear engage smoothly without too much effort. Also, make sure that
reverse gear is easy to engage. If first and second gear are not where
they are supposed to be, loosen the middle Allen screw of the silver
bracket and do the adjustment procedure over again starting at step #2
in this adjustment section. (Make note that the shifter will always
work its best with the engine running and the clutch pushed in.)
8.
If all gears are easy to engage, tighten the remaining four Allen
screws. Tighten the Allen screws until the slit in the side of the
aluminum cable end will barely allow either a credit card or two
playing cards to fit in the gap. Once the
five Allen screws are tight, the side to side lever has been properly
installed and adjusted. It should never need to be
readjusted unless it was done incorrectly.
9.
Reinstall the shift boot onto the shift boot frame ring inside the car.
On the GTI 337, 20th, and R32, slide the front
of the chrome shift boot frame ring into the center console and then snap the rear of the frame
downwards into the center console. The New Beetle Turbo S shift boot
just pushes straight down into the aperture. On the Audi TT, reinstall
the shift boot onto the shift boot frame ring inside the car. Reorient
the folds in the shift boot and align the shift boot with the locating
lug in the boot and center console. Replace the 8 Torx T20 screws.
10.
Reinstall the air box. Reattach the flexible duct to the mass airflow
sensor with the screw clamp (1.8T) or spring-type hose clamp (all other
engines). Plug the electrical connector for the mass airflow sensor
back in until it clicks. Reattach the engine side vacuum line for the
air box (TDI) or reinstall the flexible air injection feed hose for all
other engines. A positive air hose connection often results in one
little click.
12.
Enjoy and tell your friends about how much you love your dieselgeek.com
Sigma 6 Short Shifter!
If you
have a damaged black plastic L-shaped locking lever:
If
you have a damaged plastic L-shaped locking lever (the transmission
will not lock into the home position) then you can place a stack of 9
U.S. Quarters (or your local coinage equivalent
to .600 of an inch or 15mm) under the bronze shift lever like this. After the stack of
coins is in place and the bent nail is installed (Step 3), have a
friend push down on the bronze lever until it rests on the stack of
coins. Then tighten the five Allen screws for the silver bracket cable
end. After removing the bent nail tool your adjustment should be
complete.
If you
cannot get 1st or 2nd
gear or Reverse:
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.
