| I am posting this note in the event it might help anyone with diagnosing manual transmission shifting problems. For some time my ’90 TT has been difficult to get into reverse and first gears with the engine running. It felt just like the clutch was dragging and not releasing all the way. I went thru the “usual suspects” by doing a good bleed job on the clutch, checked all the peddle height & throw adjustments and nothing really helped. The whole clutch assembly was only about 20,000 miles old and no bearing noises were auditable, however I was beginning to think the pilot bearing was dragging on the pilot shaft. Then about a week ago the real cause came up and bit me; under the center console, over the shift mechanism, is a plate call a shift support assembly. Molded into that plate is a rubber mounting for the third suspension point of the shifting mechanism (with the first two mounting point being on the transmission case). It seems that mount had been torn for awhile, causing misalignment when the shift lever was moved full left or right, which in turn caused improper selection of 1st and reverse. The rubber finally broke thru making shifting next to impossible. I am unsure how to attach pictures of the support assembly before and after.... The entire repair can be performed inside the car after removing the center console and the part is less than $50.
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