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Wed Jul 02, 2014 3:36 pm

ok i have a 66 bug and bought the seal and bushings for the nose cone... well it doesnt have any seal. i have a few more trannys .one has the reverse switch and the seal , and another tranny i have has the seal but no reverse switch. will either work??

second question
i had this bug running when i first got it and drove it around the yar but thats it. it went thru all the gears fine and seemed ok. after pulling the nose cone off i noticed the big nut on the upper shaft seems loose. it has the washer with the bent tab on it still but it turns back and forth a bit by hand. ??

Wed Jul 02, 2014 7:20 pm

Depends on part numbers of the nose cones in question.

Pretty sure the lock washer is supposed to keep the nut from moving. Try to bend the lock washer a tad more to lock it completely.

Wed Jul 02, 2014 7:29 pm

Do you mean will the nose cones interchange? Yes they will if they are all ~'61-'72 Beetle.

AFA the Mainshaft nut, it's not torqued to a very high value when new, only 30-36 ft lbs. The fact that is a little loose means there has been some wear or compression of the stack up of gears, spacer and shims on the shaft. How much is an unknown.

That said you are on your own.

Can't recommend it as 100% correct, but if it were me (cheap haha), I might bend the tab back and re-torque to the nut to the lowest value ie 30 ft lbs (you will have to counter-hold the mainshaft with either a clutch disc fixed solid to the trans housing) and bend the plate back on another flat of the nut (you have your choice of 5 other spots). Either that or take the nut off to clean the threads and apply some Blue LocTite before re-torquing.
The above would be done in hopes that the play taken up in the Mainshaft would not upset the gears and shift fork adjustments, which in the worst case might cause it to pop out of one gear or another. If the nut doesn't turn more than a few degrees before it snugs up call it good, if it turns over half a turn forget about it.

Best wishes for the desired result :)

Thu Jul 03, 2014 2:43 am

Thanks..
on the nose cone, the one I have has a seal but no switch.when did they start reverse lights in bugs? I know buses were 67. If bugs are the same wouldnt all nose cones with a seal have a switch? Just want to be sure sombody didnt jam the seal in an older nosecone or somthing

Thu Jul 03, 2014 4:43 am

Yes, '67 was first year for reverse lights on Beetles too.

Not sure exactly when, but they started putting seals on the nosecones a little earlier than that, so yes you may have a nosecone with a seal and no switch.

A Bus nosecone will look visibly very different because the hockey stick comes out lower (or higher, don't recall), and will have a 211 part number cast into it.

Thu Jul 03, 2014 1:51 pm

61SNRF wrote: Yes, '67 was first year for reverse lights on Beetles too.

Correct, but not all 67 and later cars had backup lights. Some cars into the 70s were without since backup lights were not a legal requirement.

Thu Jul 03, 2014 5:46 pm

got it ! thanks!
the nut barely turned to get it tight. i marked were it started then tightened it up