69 bay Not shifting

[new_age_hippie]

Hey,

So I am driving from Colorado to California and am broken down in Elko, Nevada. I was on interstate 80 in 4th gear and came to a hill and tried to down shift into 3rd. It wouldn't go out of 4th gear and I ended up pulling over and not being able to get it to go into any other gears. I got towed back to Elko no thanks to AAA. I have messed around with the shifting plate that usually does the job but this time nothing. I have a brand new coupler so it isn't that. I took off my shifter and removed the front rod. I did order a new front bushing for it but I do not think that is the issue. There aren't any shops around here that can help. Does anyone have any ideas or is anyone around here and doesn't mind helping me out?

[SGKent]

does it come out of gear when the engine is off? If not the problem is likely in the trans and to repair it the engine and trans need to come out. You may have to pull the axles and tow it home or flatbed it. I don't know how the CHP and Nevada troopers feel about a car being towed backwards with the rear on a dolly otherwise. If it will come out of gear with the engine off then it may be the clutch or pilot bearing in the gland nut which can be replaced just by pulling the engine.

It is 420 miles to Sacramento, and only 230 miles to Salt Lake. You could find a place to store it there and fly home for probably about the same as it would take to tow it to one of the shops here. No one here does transmission work so they would have to ship the trans to someone to go thru it unless it is something simple in the nosecone. I don't know if there are any VW shops in Winnemucca NV but it is only 124 miles to there. There is a VW air cooled shop in Reno/Sparks, called Scudders Performance. You could call them and ask if they know of anyone out towards Elko. It is 285 miles to Reno/Sparks.
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[new_age_hippie]

[creative native]

Did you visually inspect the new shifter coupling? Considering the low quality of some aftermarket parts, it could have failed you. I wish I had more suggestions. Best of luck to you!
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"The holy land is everywhere." ~ Black Elk
1979 Westfalia P27, California FI emissions spec. 100% VW fleet: '79 Westfalia, 2013 Touareg Lux (Toffee Brown/Cornsilk Beige), 2005 Passat GLX.

[airschooled]

[SGKent]

I am hoping that before you began towing someone at least moved the shifter forwards and backwards while you watched the shaft going into the transmission to be sure it was moving. If the shifter is frozen, are all the rods in place?
_________________
“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[aeromech]

There’s stuff inside the nose cone that can break. These parts can be welded back together but you have to pull the engine and transmission to do it. Better than replacing the entire transmission as just about any garage could do this repair. I can furnish pics if needed tomorrow
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Capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound

[Wildthings]

Could be the 3-4 slider, they fail with no warning.

You might be able to use two AAA 100 mile tows to get you to where you can get it repaired.

I pickup rental truck and a dolly can get you most anywhere without too much expense.

[SGKent]

status update please if you can
_________________
“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin