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Tue Oct 27, 2009 12:49 pm

Hey all, so I toured the west coast of the US all summer and on the last leg of my journey, from Salt Lake City to leavenworth WA I lost the ability to shift out of 4th gear. It shifts fine from 1st to 3rd, downshifting included. But when I put it into 4th I lose the ability to downshift unless I stop the bus and rock it out of gear.

This made for some harrowing dashes through construction zones and I rallied up hills I didnt know was possible in 4th...In about 400 miles I only had to stop and downshift like 3 times.

When I got home I checked out the steering linkage and the coupling at the rear of the shift rod but it seems like something internal. I didnt hear any noise when it happened, but after the first time it seized, we rocked it out of gear and started driving again and for a couple of miles I could downshift, that didnt last long though and it sticks in 4th gear everytime now

The bus took me through 6 states, death valley, hwy 101, over the sierra nevada's like 4 times, I had a distributor go out, a wheel bearing seized outside of yosmite, and my muffler fell off, but it got me home!

Has anyone heard of this happening and know whats up? I searched but didnt find anything like this, thanks everyone

Tue Oct 27, 2009 3:30 pm

the donut inside the hockey puck may be worn out or you can have a bad shifter fork. I am not familar with VW trans inside but on many trans the 3rd 4th fork are the same and since you aren't having trouble with 3rd it is unlikely to be the fork. On some trans the 4th gear locks the shafts together so the energy goes straight through. If the bearings are worn then the shafts may not align perfectly and cause issues. If it were me I would pull it out and check the donut inside the nosecone. Also check to see if the bearing has spun into the nosecone. Then call Richard at Long Enterprises in Santa Rosa CA and speak with him about what you find. He can guide you from there on what to do. There is also a transmission shop some people in Bend Oregon like. Or, you can just go to someone like Avery's Aircooled near Vancouver Washington (not BC) and buy a used one and hope for the best. There was a big auction of buses and beetles last weekend in Seattle. You might find out what happened because all had to go out of one wrecking yard. Maybe you can pick up a trans cheap there.

Tue Oct 27, 2009 4:05 pm

Sure sounds internal to me, usually it's the opposite and it won't stay in 4th though. I guess you tried all sorts of power on/off stuff while pushing the shifter to see if it would come out of gear.

You may try contacting Samba member Bruce, he's the local trans guru here in the Vancouver BC area and can tell you if you are wasting your time and need a rebuild.