TheSamba.com :: View topic

Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:52 am

Before I go out of town with my 85 Westy, I need some advice....

When Shifting from 3rd to second or 4th to second when slowing to turn corners, I have trouble finding the 2nd gear. Often 4th is where 2nd should be and I end up lugging the engine. Also, I noticed that the down push for reverse seems to interfere with finding 1st at times.

3rd and 4th are the easiest to find, no problems there.

The clutch also seems jurkey when the van is cold.

Should I be worried about the trany oil, the linkage?

Any advice would help!

Thanks
thinair

Thu Dec 22, 2005 9:01 am

Check and Adjust your shift linkage, they are know for causing problems, also how hard is it to push in the clutch?

Thu Dec 22, 2005 9:12 am

The clutch feels normal, moderately stiff. Softer than my jeep, harder than my toyota. The shifter is quite sloppy!

Thu Dec 22, 2005 9:21 am

check the linkage, worn out bushings I would guess, check the front and back where it is connected to the transmission. you should be able to find where the slop is. I just got mine to where it shifts nice.
http://www.bus-boys.com/shifter8391.jpg

Thu Dec 22, 2005 6:40 pm

On my current 1980 Westy, I just had my mechanic grease the shifter joints underneath the van (as I was having some of the same problems you are having) - she shifts as good as new now. I barely have to touch it and the thing shifts.

I had a 1981 Westy that had the exact same problems as yours. I could never get it into reverse (so I always parked where I wouldn't need to use reverse). I evenutally took it into my mechanic and he cleaned and greased all the linkages. It shifted into reverse nicely after that. He told me that I was missing a boot that protected one of these linkages, and it happened to be a boot that they don't make anymore. :? FYI.

Good luck!

Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:18 pm

Best to renew the bushings sooner than later. On Buses and Vanagons both It's possible over time to bend the transmission's shift forks because you don't get a complete rotation of the fork assembly to align from 3&4 to 1&2 gears when hunting around for a gear. We always used to braze reinforcements to the forks on the bus boxes in sand cars but none of this is needed if the shift assembly is kept up to shape. Many models also have a rubber boot to keep road grime away from the guide bushing at the aft end of the shift rod. These are the first to go south. Replacing this boot as well will give the new bushing a longer life and minimize the attention you'll otherwise have to give it down the road. SuperLube is a good product for this kind of thing. It's a clean Teflon-based medium viscosity grease that repels water better than most greases, and will not harden or dry out with age. It comes in spray, tube and tub.

Fri Dec 23, 2005 12:00 am

... had lost a nut and a washer on the connections inside the shifter box below the gear shift. My friend the gearhead was going nuts trying to adjust the spline before he figured that out. He's deliriously happy about the improvement in shifting, I've no standard of comparison since I haven't driven Winston since the test drive, after which I discovered his rear heater core to be leaking.

Replacement of that tomorrow. Bulletins as events warrant.