68 VW Autostick Shifter pops out of cup

[FallyFire]

Hey everybody, I posted over on Vwar (After browsing this forum for a while from google results etc over the past few months) but that site is very much, sort of a ghost town.

I am trying to re-install my autostick shifter after installing a new shift bushing, but for whatever reason, whenever I shift around, it pops back out of the shift rod cup. No matter what I do, or how I orient the plate (even in the correct orientation with the lockout towards the top left for the autostick). I'm not sure what to do, but it's been an incredibly frustrating experience. I don't know much about VW's and have just been learning for the past 3 months or so online, and in the manual since October. Any help would be appreciated! I don't even know if I pull on the transmission if it's even in the correct gear or not..

Thank you if you can help me!!

[sb001]

Just to confirm, when you are talking about the lockout plate orientation, are you referring to the diagonal corner with the bent lip being at the top left (driver's) side position? If so that is wrong, the diagonal corner goes in the bottom right position as shown in this diagram #17):

Also take a look at that exploded view and see if you happen to be missing any pieces...? There is the diamond shaped lockout plate at the bottom but ALSO a diamond shaped retainer plate above it (# 14 in the diagram) just making sure you have both of those.
_________________
I'm the humblest guy on this board.

1969 autostick sedan, family owned since new
1600 SP engine
Solex 30 PICT 3 carburetor
Bosch 113905205AE autostick distributor

[FallyFire]

[sb001]

Well the sloppiness in the shifting & not knowing which gear you're in is probably due more to the missing spring at the shift coupler than anything else, but I have no idea why the shifter ball is popping out of the cup. I've never had to mess with pulling the shift lever out of the cup-- looking at the diagram it looks to me like the shifter ball has a "peg" on it that is supposed to lock into the cup and prevent that from happening, or is that just an alignment peg? Sorry I could not be of more assistance.
_________________
I'm the humblest guy on this board.

1969 autostick sedan, family owned since new
1600 SP engine
Solex 30 PICT 3 carburetor
Bosch 113905205AE autostick distributor

[Cjschriver]

I've had the same problem with mine. I tore it down to get it painted and replaced the contact in the shifter just like you did while I had it out. And I've got the same issues of the shifter popping up when I reassemble it and it feels sloppy. I also have the blue manual. I'm getting my car back next week, and if you haven't solved it by then maybe we could figure it out together. I'll keep an eye on this thread

[FallyFire]

[Cjschriver]

I bought mine last July and it shifted fine when I drove it home, lol. I'm using the same lockout plate it came with, and the symptoms sound a lot like yours. From my admittedly short experience on The Samba, I believe it's pretty rare to be the first person who's ever run into a problem of any particular variety with a big. There's some pretty experienced people around here, we'll get it figured out

[sb001]

Just FYI, I have read another thread on here (can't find it right now) that said that the autosticks with the Park feature (added around mid-late 1973) used the same lockout plate as the manuals. Also, starting somewhere around 72, it looks like VW switched to a lockout plate with more squared off ends vs the rounded off ends on the earlier models.
Take a look at the difference between these two autostick lockout plates from bug city:

https://www.bugcity.com/shop/shop.lasso?pquery=autostick+shift+plate

Not exactly sure why... or if it would make any difference which one you were using.
Curious to see what you all find out!
_________________
I'm the humblest guy on this board.

1969 autostick sedan, family owned since new
1600 SP engine
Solex 30 PICT 3 carburetor
Bosch 113905205AE autostick distributor

[FallyFire]

So I went ahead and installed the spring in the back, luckily got it in there. The shifter does not pop out of the cup in this position anymore, HOWEVER. The lock out plate I think is backwards, as shown in this photo and video. This is the only orientation I was able to feel like the car was shifting correctly.

The small tab on the drivers side, and the larger tab on the passenger side results with this:

Link


If I install it the opposite way, it just pops out of the cup (I will take a vide of that another day.) Thank you guys for keeping up with the thread while we try to figure this out! I do have to push down to get it into reverse (Top left position).

[Cjschriver]

I'll be picking mine up and bringing it home either tomorrow or Wednesday. Then I can start messing around with it see what I can get cooked up on my end

[FallyFire]