no one? Is my problem because the welds broke or should I check underneath for something else? If it's just the welds I could probably get that fixed easily

 

Have you done a gear shift reset, where from under the bonnet you lock off the gear levers and fix the gear stick in one position then release, have a check on YouTube for it, this will hopefully ensure your gears are ok and it should help with selecting all the gears.

Stevie

 

Have you done a gear shift reset, where from under the bonnet you lock off the gear levers and fix the gear stick in one position then release, have a check on YouTube for it, this will hopefully ensure your gears are ok and it should help with selecting all the gears.

Stevie

I have seen how to do this yes, but I figured this wasn't my problem because it started after I installed a new shift knob. I am getting desperate at this point so I will attempt it! Thank you for your suggestion
Also, do you guys think this rebuild kit works with the TT? Everything looks good except the rubber nipple end is missing and the tip of the gear shaft looks different than the normal one?
http://www.urotuning.com/Shifter-Rebuil ... t_8pcs.htm

EDIT: To help others, I recently just came across this:http://www.dieselgeek.com/VW_shifter_repair_bushing_p/shift-figg.htm Essentially, the rubber nipple I mentioned above starts to break after time, this piece replaces the rubber entirely and allows for more leverage to engage first gear easier (Some of you may experience this as having to push into first hard for it to slip in, that's how mine was). So this should in theory solve my problem because i think it's the bushings that were all broken on the inside, I'm going to report back once I have it installed to see if this fixed it, if not I'm going to look into getting that top metal piece welded entirely :x

 

So just wanted to update, super happy right now!

I'm 99% sure the problem was the small nipple on the end of the ball joint that had torn off (from all the twisting of the new knob most likely). The small piece actually is supposed to be on top of the two holes in the first picture, and it broke off with the twisting too. I will probably have the top welded in the future, but at the moment it's working just fine and the play has been reduced significantly. The first gear getter is fantastic to say the least. Smooth shifts, barely noticeable first gear stubbornness and that's because I have yet to do the shift cable reset. I also went ahead and replaced the rubber seating where the ball join sits, part number: 1K0-711-699. This cost me roughly $8 including shipping and has completely eliminated any shift play, the car shifts like it's brand new. The FGG and the new rubber seat for the ball joint have completely solved my problems and then some! Really hope this helps someone, as I had a nightmare tracking down the parts since very little people rebuild their shift towers.