HOW TO: shift rod bushing replacement

ok heres the $9 + 2hr way to completely transform what your VW is like to drive
ask anyone who has done this simple little repair how much the difference is amazing
most people assume that vw gearshifts are just naturally shitty cos this job rarely gets done so most average VWs have nice sloppy gearshifts

it seems like a fairly scary job to someone who hasnt done it b4 which is why im putting this howto up so people can see its really not that bad and certainly well worth the effort
im doing it to my 74 Lbug but all beetles, type3, KG are the same and even kombis are fairly similar to from memory

i already replaced the gearshift bushing in my bug about 6 years ago
but i learned the hard way dont lubricate the new bushing with ordinary wheel bearing grease
only use a white lithuim grease
anything else will cause the rubber to deteriorate rather quickly as i found out
ive got a 20mm quick shift kit in my bug so i hadnt noticed any slop but the rattling when i accelerate through the gears was shitting me no end

so get yourself a new bushing and it may pay to check the condition of the coupler as well as this can also have a dramatic affect on shifting quality too

ok first step is rip out the seats
u could do it with them in but it would be a PITA to work around them and they would surely end up covered with lots of greasy hand marks
also the base of the back seat needs to be removed too.

VW never really changed their shifters much in aircoolers, its the same overall design in most models
now b4 u go loosing the bolts THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is to put a few reference marks on the housing so u can bolt it back down in the same spot
if not u will pull your hair out trying to re align it so u can get all gears easily
one of the biggest problems is when they're to far to the right it causes 2nd gear and reverse to bind
which gives a lovely grinding on 2nd gear downshifts that the whole district can hear happening
pull the 2 bolts and the shifter, retainer, spring and shift gate will come off
take notice of the position of the shiftgate
its what locks out reverse until u push down

its hard to see cos the hole is so small but my bushing has split in 2 at the groove where it rides in the hanger
check the condition of the hanger too
quite often through years running with no bushing, the round hole elongates or in extreme cases wears completely through.

under the backseat you'll see the access panel that covers the coupler its held down by a phillips head screw.

with that gone the coupler needs to be d/c from both the gearbox and the shifter rod
you'll see there's a square headed grub screw that locks it to the input shaft coming out of the gear box
these have a hole through the head and originally had a tie wire going tho them so they wouldn't undo
you'll need to cut this if there's still one there
there's also usually a tie wire through the coupler bolt as well
it has a stupid square head thing at one end
i just hold it with a pair of pliers and undo the 8mm bolt through it
pull these out and the whole coupler can be moved out of the way

Heres where i learned the most valuable lesson when i did this the 1st time
tie some strong string the the holes on the end of the rod
this will help when u pull it back through to make sure it follows the right path

now heres where the steps can change depending on what model vw u have
in S and L superbugs u can just keep sliding the rod all the way forward till its out of the hanger, theres enough room inside the tunnel
but in all standard beetles it will hit the front beams mount before its out of the hanger
so u have to remove some inspection plates in the spare wheel well

first 2 pics show 2 of my standard bugs and which plates u need to remove from the spare wheel well
its harder to see on the red bug cos some idiot has painted over the inspection plates
they are both 74s but all 68 on standards are like that and pre67 6 volt beetles have a hole just below the hood catch that it comes out






then theres one more plate on the frame head u get to under neath the car
luckily my other 70 bug has a radiator so the spare wheel wells been removed and u can see the plate on the frame head between the 2 torsion bars




If you need to remove the rod from an S or L bug you will first need to remove the crumple zone/deformation plate



once its out the hole the rod comes out of will be exposed.
The rod will come out under the apron.

depending on the life your car has had the shift rod might be in a pretty sad way
if its heaps rusty it may pay to remove it from the car and clean it up with emery tape or a wire brush so its not so hard to get back through the new bushing

ok to remove the rod first u need to spin it 180* so the shifter cup is facing down
it will get caught up on things facing up or sideways

if u have skinny arms like me u can push it for a bit through the couple hole at the back
but once its out of reach u will have to inch it forward using pointy nose pliers through the shifter hole

its important to that u keep the metal snap ring visible through the hole as you'll need to pull this off the end of the rod and use it on the new bushing
i slide the rod forward a few inches at a time then move the snap ring back abit over and over till finally the end comes through the hanger

some people make a wire hanger to keep the rod at the right height once its out of the hanger but i don't bother but ive only done it in superbugs b4
standards it might fall to the floor once its free and would be a PITA to get back up high enough to get back through

well heres my old bushing or should i say pieces of next to the new one sitting ontop of the white lithium grease ive bought to do the job

ok so fish the retainer ring off the end of the rod
the beauty about the string means you cant drop it
feed it over the new bushing
this is the direction it needs to be facing:

feed it down the string and slip it into place on the hanger
the joint needs to face the drivers side (RHD cars)
and give it a good dose of grease

now for the most funnest part of the whole job
feeding the rod back through
grease up the end of the rod and line it up with the hole in the bushing
take the slack out of the string and with a pair of pliers force it into the bushing
it might take a few goes but once its through just keep feeding it through a few inches at a time and keep tension on the string
thats so that it takes the right path through the jungle of obstacles in the tunnel

heres a nice list of things it will get caught up on

fuel line
clutch cable
accelerator cable
handbrake cables x2
heater cables x4
seatbelt mounting bolts
and anything else thats found its way in there

mine jammed twice
once on the seatbelt mounting bolt
and once near the end when it tried to go under the rear footwell heater cables when it needed to go over

best thing for the job is a light and a small mirror down the coupler hole to see whats going on
the string line will help u see where its supposed to be heading

once its all the way through
the coupler can be reinstalled on the rod
when bolting it back to the gearbox input shaft make sure the grub screw goes down into the locating hole on the shaft as seen in this pic

whack the cover back on and thats done
now for those that forgot how the shiftgate sat its like this:

bolt the shifter back down just fairly firmly aligning it with the marks u made and run through the gears inc reverse
if its all good do the bolts up tight if not your gonna have to try moving the shifter around a bit till u get it right
it pretty much works in the opposite direction, if u cant get reverse try moving the shift to the right, if 1st and 3rd are a prob try moving it back and so on

and thats it go for a blat out the road and enjoy a dub that shifts better than most new cars do these days

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!

Typical of the advise given here

wrong
🙅

😀

Oh Do f@#k off Brian

Just don;t drop the string next time and you;ll be right .

maybe i just fluked it with the string this time as it was the only time ive tried it that way

that first few times ive done it was without and it was a f88king nightmare trying to get the rod back through without hooking up on things in the tunnel

Thanks Joel. just did mine successfully using your instructions.

It wasn't that bad hey!
Mind you, its easier with the body off the pan no doubt :P

top stuff!

I am going to have to try this. This thread resolves a problem that my bug is experiencing.

Just shows how a bit of research is worthwhile, and how valuable this forum is.

Hi Joel

Very good writeup.

I just pulled shift rod apart again thinking that the bush was gone, it was replaced about 3 years ago.

The bush was fine but I changed it anyway, but when I was putting it back together I noticed that the new seat belt bolts were touching the shaft, no noise now.

I also fitted a spring on the shift coupling, pulls the shifter of to the 3rd & 4th side of the neutral gate.

Extra holes are from when I was trying to get the spring pressure just right.

Steve

1303Steve wrote:Hi Joel

Very good writeup.

I just pulled shift rod apart again thinking that the bush was gone, it was replaced about 3 years ago.

The bush was fine but I changed it anyway, but when I was putting it back together I noticed that the new seat belt bolts were touching the shaft, no noise now.

I also fitted a spring on the shift coupling, pulls the shifter of to the 3rd & 4th side of the neutral gate.

Extra holes are from when I was trying to get the spring pressure just right.

Steve

Forgive me if this is a stupid question Steve but why use the spring for 3rd and 4th?

Hi

No stupid questions. When you go up through the gears it pulls the stick over ready for 3rd, like most other cars on the road.

Steve

nice idea Steve, mine did do it till i put the quickshift kit in

1303Steve wrote:Hi Joel

Very good writeup.

I just pulled shift rod apart again thinking that the bush was gone, it was replaced about 3 years ago.

The bush was fine but I changed it anyway, but when I was putting it back together I noticed that the new seat belt bolts were touching the shaft, no noise now.

I also fitted a spring on the shift coupling, pulls the shifter of to the 3rd & 4th side of the neutral gate.

Extra holes are from when I was trying to get the spring pressure just right.

Steve

Nice idea Steve. Can you tell me what sping you used, so I can copy an d hopefully create the same spring tension without having to drill loads of holes?

Hi

No idea what the spring is from, I found it in my tool box. I tried the spring that later bugs have on the heater box flap, it was too soft.

Steve

1303Steve wrote:Hi

No idea what the spring is from, I found it in my tool box. I tried the spring that later bugs have on the heater box flap, it was too soft.

Steve

Steve, do you use a quickshift kit?

Would this spring foul with a quickshifter?

Hi

The quick shift is under the shift lever so the spring doesn't interfere at all.

Steve

awesome write up, thanks heaps! While i don't have to do it yet, I will be doing it when I restore my floor pan.....I'm sure it will make things easier with no body in the way 😀

on the subject of the quick shift, is this something that is readily available for type 3's do you know?....and if so, where can I spend my hard earned to purchase one?

cheers guys!

Scarab (aka: Paul)

type3 and beetle use pretty much the exact same shifter
the quickshift kits fit both

cam070 wrote:Nice idea Steve. Can you tell me what spring you used, so I can copy an d hopefully create the same spring tension without having to drill loads of holes?

the spring has quite a bit of tension...
its impossible to pull it open with Your hands... [using pliers etc]
it only moves a bit when you are changing gears...

I don't know if My spring is original or one i found??? lol

but the shifter rests next to My left leg.. lol

cheers

LEE

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..

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.

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

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,

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,

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.😂

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

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

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,

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,

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

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

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

dude, i could kiss you! ok not quite that but close, but you know the best bit, i get to take it back out & shorten it! yaaaayyY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT.

I did this job this morning. Thanks to this guide it was all very easy and only took about 90 minutes including a coffee break.

I did not use any string or wire, instead I used a boroscope down the tunnel from the rear end (stop sniggering you!) to track the progress of the rod back through the tunnel. It didn't hang up on anything because I could see what to avoid. I also found a million spider-webs in the tunnel and a worn out bush from a previous replacement, before I owned the car.

The shift is soo much nicer now. 🙂