88 jetta, no reverse, all else works fine

[BullzEye]

I have an 88 jetta. great condition, engine and everything works great. Except I can't go in reverse! All the forwards gears work fine, except what should be reverse is acctualy first gear. This was the way it was before I bought it, so I dont have the best knowledge of how it happend. Apparently the linkage all came undone on a bump or something, but when reattached, reverse didnt go with it. Any help would be great

[boschmann]

There are two metal rods with plastic ends that clip onto the trans that enable the shifter to move the shift levers. The shorter one usually will break at the plastic end & flex causing loss of reverse. Watch these rods while someone tries to shift & you will probably see it bending at the plastic end.