3. My customer's A-4 is very difficult to shift into fwd gear. Once it does, operation seems to be normal. Is the effort with which you can shift affected by the adjustment of the fwd mode? Could it have been over-adjusted to make up for worn plates?

It's entirely possible that your customer's forward clutch adjustment is needlessly tight, although this would have nothing to do with worn clutch disks.

I would rotate the forward adjusting collar one notch in a counter-clockwise direction (as you would face the engine from behind). One notch should make a very noticeable change in the amount of force required to engage the forward clutch "detent", and as long as the forward clutch assembly does not slip at high power settings, you can leave the adjustment in that new setting.

When reseating the threaded forward adjusting collar retaining pin, be very sure that the tip of the pin is definitely in the next notch. If the pin contacts the outer diameter of the collar, you run a great risk of breaking out a piece of the threaded hole in the fragile pressure plate. - Updated: February 5, 2004