just got my rego today, car ran like a dream, but had a little bit of trouble shifting. 2nd took a little bit of jiggling often either on the way up or down, and third (which i believe is a little slow on syncro engaging) was also difficult on the way down. is this likely to be just a shiftplate adjustment? 1st and 4th were beautifully easy.

I was just about to start a similar thread, so I'll hop on this one if that's okay! My kombi can be pretty darn hard to shift between gears at times, from just selecting first to pretty much any downshifting. Generally its not a problem shifting up. I find the problem is sometimes worse if I've not driven it for a while, though I don't know if thats because I'm out of practice or they have really stiffened up? Is there any maintenance or amendments I could do to improve the ease of shifing?

Thanks
Alex

Could be the shift rod bushing... if kombi's have them??
They're about $3 and comepletely transform the shifter feel.
Dont know how hard they are to replace on a bus but they are relatively easy on a bug.
On a bug it is held in a bracket just behind the shifter inside the tunnel, id assume it would be simmilar on a bus?
I'd replace it anyway...

Thanks Chewy, sounds promising, especially the price!

go to type2.com and search the easy to use library for the shifter bushes. Will rock your world. Micks sell the lot with an alloy quickshift for about $30 bucks the lot! :beer:beer:beer:beer

I love it when problems are easy and cheap to fix! Thanks guys.

hope thats all it is but the synchro is a common culprit, having just had to deal with my clutch and having a full service including having the gear box oil changed, even after that oil was changed it made a big difference, i have same problems in 2nd as you do, i have also had the compression plate changed, this has improved it again, still not perfect, but better. I have noticed that if i wait to shift down with the revs are "just right" it slips in much better, this tends to lead me to believe it is the synchro...hope that helps

if it is up then i doubt it is synchros

Also check the rear coupling. Not as cheap as the bushing buy around $50 for part.
The bushing is more of a rattling gear stick problem.
If the plate is out of wack it will cause problems as well. Loosen the plate and shift it a bit while stationary until you get all gears and tighten it up.

while changing your gbox oil put a tube of molybond in there it works wonders on worn syncros .dont use the imitators get moly in the tube its pure graphite in suspension and it works its about $15

I was quoted about $16 retail for the kombi shift rod bush!
Since it is just a badly cast piece of rubber/plastic I declined at that price.
Then again my kombi shifts well and the bush is not even there. Just causes a bit of extra slop which I'll live with until I become less of a tightass on the cost of some VW replacement parts.
Anyway my point is that it's possibly your gear shifter alignment, your shifter coupling in front of the g/box or the box itself.
Cheers!
Toby

[Edited on 11-5-2005 by type3lover]