New owner Hard to shift into first

[skullfreak]

Took the buggy out for a little spin it was pretty cold out 40ish
It was really hard to shift into first didn't matter if I was taking off or down shifting
No other issues in any other gears

This is my first buggy I was reading up on the problem I read it could be the stop plate or my the cable adjustment.

I haven't checked anything out yet am totally new to this.
Bought the buggy a month ago I was hard to shift when I bought it but the coupler was broke when I test drove it the guy fixed it and it seemed ok on the drive home.
Sense the day I bought it I only drove it once around the block until yesterday.

Any other help would be great.
thx mike

[MacLeod Willy]

Does it shift ok when not running?
Does it grind in reverse?

I would recheck the installation of the coupler

[skullfreak]

[MacLeod Willy]

Check and adjust the angle of the stop plate under the shifter and the coupler for loose set screw

[skullfreak]

[skullfreak]

[vwracerdave]

When was the last time the transaxle gear oil has been changed? It should be changed every 5 years or 30,000 miles. When it is 40* out the gear oil is thick and can be hard to shift. If it gets easier after driving 5-6 miles it is time to change the gear oil. If adjusting the shifter or coupler and fresh gear oil doesn't help then your shift forks inside the transaxle are bent or out of adjustment and the trans will have to come out to be rebuilt.

I like Valvoline Durablend semi-synthetic 80W-90 for all my street VW's
_________________
2017 Street Comp Champion - Thunder Valley Raceway Park - Noble, OK
2010 Sportsman ET Champion - Mid-America Dragway - Arkansas City, KS
1997 Sportsman ET Champion - Thunder Valley Raceway Park - Noble ,OK

[skullfreak]

[MacLeod Willy]

Like racerdave said could be the oil but if it shifts all other gears easily, it may well be the shift fork.

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I lived for years with a transmission that was hard to get into first.

I either had to shift into first before starting the car
or
shift into first with the car at idle and the car rolling at walking speed
or
from a stop shift into second and then quickly shift into first.

It was just about impossible to get into first at anything except stopped, or walking speed.

Went on for years. The transmission finally crapped out, turned out to be a bearing seized on 4th gear. The rebuilt transmission is wonderful. I am still in the habit at a stoplight of putting it in second an then shifting to first. Those couple of years of driving it like that did not hurt a thing.