1957 Shifter Rod, Coupler, Transmission alignment

[Blanman]

Working on a new project to restore a 1957 Ragtop Beetle that has been garaged for the last 40 years!!! When I got it home the Gearshift coupler failed and other issues arose when fixing the issue.


Original Shifter Couple, before it fell apart at the rubber ring.

After removing the old Coupler I discovered that the Shifter Rod was reamed out or ovalized. So I ordered a new shifter rod from Wolfsburg West.

New Shifter Rod and Coupler installed, BUT...

Now the Shifter Ball doesn't align properly. I can't even install the shifter to test or shift gears because of to much overlap with the tunnel flange.

Has anyone experienced this before?

The only "maybe" issue I can see is that the new gearshift rod I ordered appears to be the correct item "GEARSHIFT ROD, 1956-1964 Beetle" but there was a slightly more bend in the new rod than the original but no much. I wouldn't think this would be the issue???

It appears that the swingarm transaxle is the original but if you look at the second photo the alignment divot from the trans is pretty far to the right. is this normal?

This is the first time I've replaced a sifter rod in any of my VW's so I at a loss here.
Any Advise would be helpful.

Thanks

[VW_Jimbo]

If I was to guess, I would bet your transmission mounts are tired, or worn out. They also can be positioned a small amount in all directions to allow for proper alignment. You may need to drop the engine and loosen all the mounts. Then push, pull and pry the transmission into proper alignment.

That would be my guess. Any obvious exterior damage at the body panels? Like from a rear end accident?
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[Bub]

How many miles on the bug? Parked 40 years means it was running almost yesterday! I mean in the 80's. Weird huh-? The 80's was 40 years AGO!!
Check the mounts and such of course, but doubt it's tilting the trans off that far...
I bet trans swap/ repair of some kind and that's why that front shift rod was re-dimpled. It was put back together with a later hockey stick. Honestly...easiest fix is just to do what they did before to get it right. Super sneak would be to fill the original hole and drill one new dimple. Not a detail that would ever be noticed even for a concourse car. Put trans in first gear and line up shifter in 1st and mark the spot there.
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[esde]

pull the rod back out and take some pics comparing it to what was in the car. If something was modified before, maybe nothing wrong with it, but I would dig a little deeper to figure out why.
Personally, I think maybe a bad rear trans mount, or bent frame horn. Something happened to put the dimple that 10-20º off of straight up. Also, the nosecone appears to be slightly to the drivers side in the first pic.
I think jacking the car up and looking from underneath should be a priority.
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modok wrote:
Bent cranks are silent but gather no moss. I mean, ah, something like that.

[Blanman]

Thanks for your replies and here are a few things i looked at and discovered;
The Trans mounts seem in good shape and not collapsed or cracked, they look replaced from original.
There is no visible sign of damage on the horns or the rear of the car.
The trans is not a split case, and as i understand it, 1957's still had split cases, let me know if I'm wrong on this.


I pulled out the new replacement Shifter Rod and reinstalled the original one, then installed the coupler to the added misaligned dimple to the right of the original (see photo 2 above). Shifting was perfect after this!!!

As "Bub" stated, ...Trans swap... put back together with later hockey stick...
i think you may have hit the issue on the nose. Now, do i pull the trans and replace the hockey stick or fill the original hole??? Decisions, Decisions...

Question, the number on the swingarm transmission is "1078 069", no leading "A" or "B". Any idea on the year of this transmission?

Thanks Again;

[Bub]

Personally-- I'd probably redo the dimple. You could fill the one that's there with that *steel stick* or tank repair putty, That stuff hardens seriously. And if lined up properly drill a new one and be on the road. That's me, I like easy straight forward solutions if they don't turn out like a COMPLETE hack.
A second idea...might be? To cut the shift rod back there in front of the coupler a few inches and get stub in the coupler and lined up in 'R', put the shifter in 'R' and spot weld it, see if it all lines up and shifts then tack in in place.

I would think you *should* be able to swap in a later front shift rod that would've been correct for the trans, but again very likely it's not the *exact* right length or some other dimension, and then you're right back where you started.
I used to know all these little details, what worked with what and such...but it's all dusty in my brain in my old old old age.
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[pig-pen]

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=756055&highlight=shifter+coupling

cross referencing this thread... could your hockey stick be wrong (ie not curved) when the later trans was put in the car... causing the same issue as in the above thread?
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1954 L227 Type 113
1964 L31 Type 265

[Blanman]

Thanks "Pig-Pen", I pretty sure is the issue I'm having with my transaxle.

[bugnutt]

I had this problem with my 58 when the original coupler failed. The new replacement gave all the problems you have, and I think I can see you have the same problem. Your new coupler looks defective, those two screws on it should be exactly in line, otherwise, even if a little off, it causes shifting problems.

[esde]

When swapping a later transmission into an early car, you have to use a bus nosecone and bus Hockey stick. The bus hockey stick is drilled 180° different from the beetle ones, so for the swap you have to re-drill the dimple in the hockey stick. Looks like they got it drilled a little bit wrong when they did the swap on your car, and now you are dealing with the result
Re-drilling the dimple on the shift rod is probably the path of least resistance to get your shifter to line up again. Wolfsburgwest makes an aftermarket hockey stick that comes drilled for the dimple on both sides, so this isn’t a possibility. But when using original parts, making the dimple is left up to the mechanic and accidents happen…..
_________________
modok wrote:
Bent cranks are silent but gather no moss. I mean, ah, something like that.