Thanks Joel...another couple questions on the quick shift....does it make a lot of difference to the normal throw of the stick, and where do I get a kit?
Cheers mate!
Scarab (aka:Paul)
Scarab wrote:Thanks Joel...another couple questions on the quick shift....does it make a lot of difference to the normal throw of the stick, and where do I get a kit?
Cheers mate!
Scarab (aka:Paul)
Hi Paul, with the ones I have used the quick shift kits reduce the gear throws quite dramatically, and most VW parts suppliers dealing in aftermarket parts sell them. A great mod for about $10.
Burgo wrote:Thanks for the guide, helped a tonne.😀
BUT BUT BUT BUT, dont bother with attaching string to the end of the gear rod! It (no joke) added 3+ hours to my bush replacement, because 1. If you drop the string, it becomes a major distraction trying to fish the bloody thing back up agian.
2. when you attach a knot at the end of the rod, it is very very very hard to get the rod through the tight bush hole. (ended cutting it off at that stage- thus defeating the purpose of the string.
and 3. The string often is the thing that gets snagged upon stuff in the shaft- and has a high chance of snapping if its rubbed too much and wears thin.
But apart from the string- i wouldnt have been able to do it myself and would have forked our $$$ to get some other dude to do it,
Thanks!
Just though I would add to Joel's 'how to' thread.
Instead of string I used .8mm mig wire. Nice and thin and flexible. It went through the new bush with no problems. The rod kept snagging on something on the bottom of the tunnel so with out the wire attached it would of been a real PITA to get the rod back through. The whole job took less than an hour.
Cheers ,Brad
OK we did this job on the weekend. It was certainly fiddly and the shift rod was a very snug fit in the bush.
We ended up abandoning the string in the end and were able to pass the shift rod through without really snagging anything. We found that the cup that the shift lever fits into caught on a few thing, but by simply rotating the rod. you could avoid the snags, like the nuts that hold the shifter to the transmission tunnel.
On my 76 Beetle, we also found tha it was unneccessary to remove the 2 covers in the spare wheel well.
Anyway, this has alleviated the rattling from my gear stick during acceleration. I get all gears fine when upshifting, but changing down into 2nd is a bit of an issue. Any thouhts on this would certainly be appreciated.
Hi
the reason You are having problems selection 2nd gear is the plate under the gear shifter base needs to be moved slightly..
this can take 5 minutes to 5 hours...lol
if you are in a hurry.. the longer it takes...lol
unless you have had practice before hand...
I did My first adjustment in 1962...
I didn't think i'd ever get the 4 gears back.. before my father woke up... lol.... I was only a kid...
Well, My gearlever vibrates during acceleration
so it looks like that is another job to do....
is it possible.... to install that bush with out taking the shaft out
or dismantling the end of the rod/coupling...
I have thought of just putting the bush over the rod...
and using a piece of wire instead of the ring???
[after taking the old one off naturally....]
any thoughts??
LEE
PS: Don't forget to grease the gearshifter base and plate etc
as it gets a lot of use... lithium based Moly grease..
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---
Lee you need to remove the shift rod to fit the new bush. It definately wont go in the bracket with the shift rod still in there. The wire ring isn't such a necessity, but better if it's there.
Matt Berry Motorsports...air cooled advice, repairs and mods Ph 0408 704 662
OFF-ROAD,CIRCUIT,DRAG,STREET,ENDURANCE
Hi Lee
Check that you seat belt bolts aren't too long and are touching the shift rod, they were on Davids car and made a horrible noise.
Steve
Didn't Your beetle already have that spring on the shifter rod??
Mine did, but then its an auto...
but basically most things are the same...
Funny thing -
I have heard of two vw owners who pulled the shift rod out and noticed it had a bit of a curve in it...
so, they straightened the rod....
When they were installed.... [as the rods were now longer]
they couldn't select Gears...
so the bend had to be put back in...
LEE
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---
i just fitted my new coupling and it seems to have a bit of side to side play if i hold the end of the shifter rod from moving...is this normal or this is the cause of a sloppy shifter...
68AutoBug wrote:the reason You are having problems selection 2nd gear is the plate under the gear shifter base needs to be moved slightly..
this can take 5 minutes to 5 hours...lol
if you are in a hurry.. the longer it takes...lol
I see dead threads.
This is a very good writeup! Thanks for putting the time in to do it Joel.
I have one question. Which way do I need to move the plate under the shifter if I'm having trouble selecting second on third-to-second downshifts? (The syncros work fine and there are no crunches.)
Cheers,
Brett Nicholson
Melbourne, Victoria
1974 VW Superbug L - Olive 😎
1971 Morris Mini Moke - Mopoke
1966 Austin Mini - Audrey
1965 Morris Mini Traveller - Trixie
2007 Land Rover Freelander 2
2009 Nissan Pathfinder
Well written joel.I am sure it will help a lot of people who were unsure just what is in the tunnel and how to replace the bush. Cheers Les
It sounds like a big scary job when read from a service manula with no pics.
Paul, the shift plate just needs to move the opposite direction of the gear pattern.
If your having trouble getting 1st or 2nd nudge it to the right abit.
2nd or 4th, nudge it forward etc
But your problem sounds more like the gearbox itself, I'll bet the problem almost goes away once the gearbox is nice and warm which takes a good 30kms or so.
you could try adding that nulon treatment, I hear it cures the problem it alot of cases
Joel wrote:It sounds like a big scary job when read from a service manula with no pics.
Paul, the shift plate just needs to move the opposite direction of the gear pattern.
If your having trouble getting 1st or 2nd nudge it to the right abit.
2nd or 4th, nudge it forward etc
But your problem sounds more like the gearbox itself, I'll bet the problem almost goes away once the gearbox is nice and warm which takes a good 30kms or so.
you could try adding that nulon treatment, I hear it cures the problem it alot of cases
Hi,
In my case, the selecting second problem is constant. There's no crunching or jumping out of gear, so that's why I suspect (and hope) it's the shifter. New bush , coupling and plate adjustment is worth doing anyway.
The box is a little noisy when idling in neutral with the clutch engaged however.
EDIT: I pushed the plate to the LEFT a couple of weeks ago, which I now realise was the wrong way!
Cheers,
Brett Nicholson
Melbourne, Victoria
1974 VW Superbug L - Olive 😎
1971 Morris Mini Moke - Mopoke
1966 Austin Mini - Audrey
1965 Morris Mini Traveller - Trixie
2007 Land Rover Freelander 2
2009 Nissan Pathfinder
Just mark really clearly where its all mounted now and have a play with it, see if you can get it better, that way if not you can always put it back to where it was
A whine with your foot on the clutch is actually the throw out bearing not the gearbox
Nice easy fix if you dont mind dropping the motor
good guide mate wish i had this a year ago.😂
"A car for the people, an affordable Volkswagen, would bring great joy to the masses and the problems of building such a car must be faced with courage."
Adolf Hitler At opening of 1934 Berlin Auto Show
I have been reading the sermons of BOB Hoover who dies last friday in the USA...
Bobs Sermons about VWs.. Beetles and Kombis are excellent..
I came across the replacement of the bushing that joel replaced
He mentioned to use lots of grease in the bush and on the guide/shaft and plenty on the lockout plate and gear shifter etc
lithium based moly grease of course ..
He used to grease the lock out plate bush etc to stop wear..
something no one would do...lol
cheers
Lee
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---
jjwebb123 wrote:good guide mate wish i had this a year ago.😂
Well it has been here for 2 and a half years
😂
Lee, Ive seen some pretty worn shift plates over years
one had the reverse lockout ramp almost completely worn away.
Damn drivers always resting their hand on the gearstick
🙄Joel wrote:jjwebb123 wrote:good guide mate wish i had this a year ago.😂
Well it has been here for 2 and a half years
😂
Lee, Ive seen some pretty worn shift plates over years
one had the reverse lockout ramp almost completely worn away.
Damn drivers always resting their hand on the gearstick
🙄
I didn't realise it was here all that time Joel...
I'm looking for a spare lock out plate for My semi auto as I don't have one..
the lip on the left is curved on the semi auto...
cheers
LEE
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---
Joel wrote:A whine with your foot on the clutch is actually the throw out bearing not the gearbox
Nice easy fix if you dont mind dropping the motor
The whine is when the clutch is engaged, as in my foot is off the clutch pedal in neutral. So it's input shaft bearings I reckon.
I drove 50km yesterday and selecting second was just as bad when I got to my destination. So I'm sure an adjustment is worth a try. (With original position marked.)
Cheers,
Brett Nicholson
Melbourne, Victoria
1974 VW Superbug L - Olive 😎
1971 Morris Mini Moke - Mopoke
1966 Austin Mini - Audrey
1965 Morris Mini Traveller - Trixie
2007 Land Rover Freelander 2
2009 Nissan Pathfinder
Ah righto I get ya, was just to me engaging the clutch has always been foot on which I know technically is disengaging the engine and trans but yea thats input shaft bearing like you said
TO KNOW IF THE LOCK OUT PLATE IS WORKING
You need to push the gearshifter DOWN to select reverse...
If You can select reverse without pushing down...
its not fitted correctly, usually the problem,
OR the plate is worn out?
or the nylon bushing in the tunnel is worn out...
LEE
bnicho wrote:68AutoBug wrote:the reason You are having problems selection 2nd gear is the plate under the gear shifter base needs to be moved slightly..
this can take 5 minutes to 5 hours...lol
if you are in a hurry.. the longer it takes...lol
I see dead threads.
This is a very good writeup! Thanks for putting the time in to do it Joel.
I have one question. Which way do I need to move the plate under the shifter if I'm having trouble selecting second on third-to-second downshifts? (The syncros work fine and there are no crunches.)
Cheers,
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---
Thanks for posting the pictures. Invaluable when putting my gear stick back in.
Hi Joel, you have done excellent job of explaining here with photos hows done...I'm about to do mine here but bush i received from usa its cut,when i got it on shaft it doesn't goes completely around shaft like yours... i have noticed yours hasn't been cut...did i get wrong bush or they made it so it can be replaced without pulling shaft out and using old wire clip that's on shaft??? Cheers Dean with 1974 T1 FBJ
I also got a bush from the USA and it was crap. After it split trying to put it in and then going to Vintage Vee Dub (free plug) you can see a big difference in quality and also the lip that stops it pushing through is bigger ;-)
Kev
I thought rebuilding a VW would be cheap - Shit I was wrong, just don't let the wife know !!!!
Click here for my (slowy) modded 1961 Beetle build.Hi Kev, thanks for reply here. I have found that bush from usa is to soft and they are split bushes from what i see in photo too..i will get another bush from my local supplier here in adelaide...
I AM JUST WONDERING HOW DID YOU GET YOURS IN AND WHICH TOOLS DID YOU USE ... cheers
Getting it in there can be a pain if you have big fingers
I;m pretty sure I dropped mine atleast once and used a welding rod with a hook on the end to fish it out.
I think mine was German, my supplier back then only got German parts where he could
Your welcome, hope it helped.
I was the only tool used 😂
Tied string to the end of the shaft as mentioned by Joel, pushed the shaft all the way out the front, inserted newer bushing onto the bracket inside tunnel with the spring clip already attached, gave the shift rod a good clean with very fine wet and dry (sand paper) and then greased it up.
Started sliding shaft back in and pulling slightly on the string until rod came to bush, then a little firm push and I was in (that sounds good). Once through the bush it was easy and then used a broom handle to push once it was inside the tunnel and all went smoothly.
Basically follow Joel's directions, he did a great write up.
Kev
I thought rebuilding a VW would be cheap - Shit I was wrong, just don't let the wife know !!!!
Click here for my (slowy) modded 1961 Beetle build.Hi all, I have completed replacing my shift rod bushing with no problems, i folloved instructions no jaming in tunnel and its lovely to change gears now one more thing thanks to Joel and others giving me all info here cheers Dean
The last poster sums it perfectly. I have a question though.. I got everything back together, I noticed that my brake lights are stuck on. Is it possible that I did something to cause this or is it just a coincidence?
I'd think coincidence
“We all pay for life with death, so everything in between should be free.” Bill Hicks
the chaos project - click me
