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Tue Jun 23, 2020 1:11 pm

I found this hunk of metal but it's not magnetic. Any ideas? I drained the transmission oil but I wasn't having any transmission problems. It was shifting just fine. Could this be a gear? Wouldn't I be having problems with something like this broken?

Tue Jun 23, 2020 1:31 pm

I think the synchros are brass, and possibly the shift forks. Yes, I think its surprising that its all working fine.

Tue Jun 23, 2020 3:31 pm

Doesn't look like a synchro ring, but I'd agree, my guess is shift fork.

Tue Jun 23, 2020 5:00 pm

tip end of the brass shift fork. The trans I cut apart to build my test stand had the same piece laying in there. You have transmission troubles in your future.

Tue Jun 23, 2020 5:05 pm

You are not alone !!

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=628084&highlight=brass+shift+fork

Tue Jun 23, 2020 7:12 pm

Well Sh!!!T... I guess I'll just have to address this. It really was shifting fine. I pulled the motor out to replace the seals and decided to drain the tranny since it was nice and roomy.

Wed Jun 24, 2020 1:38 pm

Yes, tip of probably the 1st/2nd brass shift fork. Mine had a bit bigger chunk broken off, and the car would pop out of 1st. I just fixed that on mine, by replacing with a steel one. Mofoco has them, but they have to order from the foundry, took almost 6 weeks to get mine. In the interim they'll try to sell you a brass one.

Wed Jun 24, 2020 2:08 pm

I would think it's hard to do. Was it something you did easily? I dont mind working on the engines, but the transmission looks very busy.

Wed Jun 24, 2020 5:16 pm

Back in the early 70's I pulled the gearbox apart on my Dad's 4 year old Beetle to replace the second gear synchro ring. He was such a trusting father. But we were relatively poor so taking it to a shop or the dealer was out of the question.

All I had was youthful experience, (read ignorance and bravado) a workshop manual and some mechanical aptitude. Fast forward to now and the gearbox is still as I repaired it nearly 50 years ago. More of a fluke than good engineering skill.

Nowadays in my late 60's I spend hours on end trolling the SAMBA to get simple answers to problems I would have just got stuck into in my earlier years. - PARALYSIS by ANALYSIS.

Yes the fork replacement is not such a big deal, but depends on your level of competence. I would think if you can work on an engine you should be able to have a go. Look at the workshop manual and for some posts on here and see if you are still confident. The worst you can do is bugger it up which means it will have to be rebuilt anyway.