85euro928

Bob,
OR buy one of Hans' shifters and ditch that silly front coupling completely and just replace the rear shifter coupling. I replaced them both and then went ahead and "upgraded" to a lizard shifter and got rid of the front unit anyway. Either way good luck. BTW changing the TB/WP, etc on Shelley's A4 today and was wondering if you've ever done this job. Service mode, PFFT!

voskian

voskian

I was able to pop the front coupler back onto the ball using a heavy metal coat hanger with a bent hook shaped on the end. At first it didn't want to budge, but a quick/hard pull and it popped back on. (glad the lift bars held the car steady). Unfortunately I screwed my back up twisting under the car so I'll have to revisit it next week and put the "McGyver" zip tie to insure it stays put. I ran the shift lever through the gears many times especially reverse and 1st where there is a longer throw to see if it stayed put...it did.

merchauser

[QUOTEI was able to pop the front coupler back onto the ball using a heavy metal coat hanger with a bent hook shaped on the end.][/QUOTE]

the front coupler had just detached, and you did not need to replace the bushing??

how about a pic of that coat hanger; glad you got it back in (sorry about your back) but that sounds easier than its been explained in the past.

voskian

I bought a new bushing, but tried to get the coupler reseated first before I got heavy into dropping the exhaust, etc. The car only has 44K miles and I figured it was worth a try. I'll probably have to replace the bushing at some point, but for now, I'm back on the road. The coat hanger "hook" was made from one of the "old" style hangers, not what you get from the cleaners. I doubled it up and made a hook end. I bent the other end into a handle and put a stiff styrofoam pc in the handle so I could get a firm grip and not screw up my had on the wire when I yanked down. McGyver to the rescue!

merchauser

success is great news!! congrats and thanks for the info.