TheSamba.com :: View topic - Shift rod bushing

Tue Aug 08, 2006 4:25 am

I just replaced the shift rod bushing in my 65.

When replacing the shift rod, I tilted the shifter cup to the left (drivers side) but it got jammed. Got it back out, this time tilted the shifter cup to the right (passenger side) and had no problem.

It took an hour and a half for the whole job, half of which was removing and replacing the bumper ..crappy fitting after market bumpers :x .

I find the shifting a bit tight, hopefully it will loosen up a bit.

Sat Aug 12, 2006 4:26 pm

so i went to go change out my shift rod bushing on my newly acquired 67 today, when i had bought the car i DID notice an odd misplaced bolt poking through both sides of the tunnel...and the extremely sloppy shifting...yea, i know now, tell tale signs of something wrong. im new to type1s, but obviously learning quickly. so, that bolt thats in that tunnel...turns out to be the hanger, with the top half of the actual hanger intact, the shift rod sits between the bolt and what was the hanger.. a good quick fix to get you back on the road, but not something i want to live with. so i got screwed on the car...and i need to know how to change the hanger out. i know its a pain in the butt, ive heard, but i need to know exactly why. Can anyone help.

Fri Sep 08, 2006 2:08 am

Hey NOTW, i just replaced the bushing and whatnot too, my hanger is very thin and will probably break soon. I KNEW that thing went in too easy! I also need info on how to replace the hanger. AgH!

Wed Sep 13, 2006 10:18 am

Well, I just finished replacing my shift rod bushing and also the coupler on the rear. I did it alone and it took me a bit over three hours to complete. There was no need to remove the front bumper. The old bushing had almost disintegrated and was no longer doing any good at all. Thank God the hanger was still in good shape. The most difficult part was getting the shift rod started back through the new bushing. A coat hanger and a broom handle are invaluable. It is amazing how much difference this made. The shifting is tight now, with no slop at all. Thanks for all the good advice in this thread.

Wed Sep 13, 2006 11:53 pm

My dad just bought a fiberglass buggy used, when we drive it there is a loud knocking noise that we can't find. It seems to be inside the tunnel, and the shifting is really sloppy and hard to find gears. Could this be the shift rod beating around in the bushing hanger? has anyone heard this knock coming from theirs when the bushing was bad?

Thu Sep 14, 2006 3:04 am

One way to find out... remove the shifter and see if the rod is loose.

Thu Oct 19, 2006 10:26 pm

I am going to reinstall my shift rod tomorrow and was wondering when i insert the rod into the car point the neck towards the passenger side and how do i oreint the shit rod to get it all the way to the back without getting stuck underneath the rest of the lines in the middle of the car.

Sun Oct 22, 2006 3:11 pm

I posted this a few years ago, Hope it helps:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=54193&highlight=

Dave

Fri Oct 27, 2006 10:05 am

KantDriveFast wrote: bikerbrain wrote: The bottom half of the circular support is torn and the circle which the shaft goes through is only a half moon now.

Dayum! How does that even happen??? :shock:

Rod peening. The rod is vibrating around inside the hanger, banging out the inside radius. On one of the posts which shows a failed and new bracket, you can see how much larger the inner diameter is on the old bracket.

My '64 used to make a metallic rattle when cruising at top speed. You could put your hand on the shifter and feel the peening activity.

Wed Nov 01, 2006 2:56 pm

Just did mine...

Course it was easy out of the car - and the access plate I have..

Sun Nov 26, 2006 3:29 pm

My experience with this - I replaced the bushing a couple of weeks back but didn't have the clip, just the new plastic bushing. My old one was in pieces so I was expecting great things from this procedure but was dissappointed when the shifter still felt pretty sloppy even with the new bushing in place.

I went back last weekend and repeated the exercise but this time including the clip and wow, what a difference. The clip is important and contributes largely to the 'just-like-new' feel of the shifter. My 2c worth.

Mon Feb 26, 2007 8:01 pm

Hey for us who are vision can anyone post pictures for the whole job of the rod bushing,front of car to rear? With the wire tricke etc.thanx. :o

Tue Feb 27, 2007 5:50 pm

Rick Higgins has a pretty good write up at the www.SuperBeetles.com site.

Here are his pictures:

Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:23 am

I have installed two shift rod bushings. My 67 bushing had broke apart and fell off the hanger to the bottom of the tunnel. I replaced it and WOW what a difference. I then noticed that my 69 was a little sloppy. I took the shifter off and found that the original bushing was still installed in the hanger in one piece. Curious, I removed the shift rod and removed the bushing and installed the new one. After assembly it was a huge difference! So, even if your original bushing is in place on the hanger, CHANGE it anyway to get back the original nice tight shifter feel.

Sat Apr 07, 2007 10:52 am

I started to do this yesterday and the problem I ran into was getting the shift rod out of the front hole. Would be nice if my hands were a little smaller!

Mon May 21, 2007 7:19 pm

sooo :? ,
the shift rod is supposed to have a couple bends in it ,right?

Mon May 21, 2007 7:20 pm

stowellka wrote: sooo :? ,
the shift rod is supposed to have a couple bends in it ,right?

Correct

Fri Jun 01, 2007 5:42 pm

Driving home from work a week ago.....suddenly I couldn't get 1st, 2nd or reverse! Only 3rd and 4th......

I knew the shifter was getting sloppy, and I knew what it needed.....heck, I even had the parts on hand! But did I do the job before the coupler failed? No!

Limped home in 3rd and 4th, and have since done the work (bushing & coupler). Why, oh, why didn't I do this a long time ago? The thing shifts like a brand new car, now! I had no idea that a stock VW shifter could feel this way.

Pretty straight forward job...no problems other than large hands that needed to go into small spaces. Did I just get really lucky, or are most shifters not a problem to re-install properly? I had expected adjustment issues, but I re-installed it to the lines I scribed before removal, and it works great! :D

Tue Jun 05, 2007 8:28 pm

This is kind of interesting...............

I installed a new bushing into my stock 67. It lasted 2 months before it "shattered" and broke in three pieces! :shock: It was well greased too. I didn't think plastic would do this. It was installed in a brand new hanger and the edges were not sharp. Has anyone else experienced this?

Oh well........... 1 1/2 hours later I installed a second one. I hope this one lasts!

Tue Jun 19, 2007 9:26 pm

I've got the same problem in my 66. I'm going to have to do this this weekend. What a great site! Reports on difficulty and number of beers required will be forthcoming.