My 63 Subhatch Flipseat

[crofty]

[Thompson2]

[crofty]

[Thompson2]

[Eric&Barb]

[Thompson2]

First hurdle getting this thing ship-shape. Need to replace all of the shift rod bushings and boots.

I cut the shaft coupler apart because the head of the set screw was long since gone. Soaking it in PB Blaster for a few days and slotting the stub didn’t suffice to get it loose.

Coupler is off, but the two shafts are still firmly attached to each other. There’s not a lot to grab onto to twist and really nothing obvious to tap/pound on to slide the front half away from the back.

Any super stealth moves to get this moving?

As a side note, the steering pin replacement is going smoothly so far (knock on wood). I’ll post some pics of that later. I installed the bushings a bit differently than I had seen in other posts.

[crofty]

[crofty]

[Eric&Barb]

You could soak those ends with phosphoric acid at least over night. Would need a thin pour able kind like Ospho, not the gel type like Naval Jelly. So it will work its way via capillary action into the joint and eat out the rust that has swelled up in there causing a press fit that will need way too much force to pop loose. Would paint the joint with the acid, and then wrap a section of paper towel over the joint to be painted over that with the acid. To keep the acid from drying out and hardening like concrete, wrap tightly with Saran wrap. Take off the acid wrap to inspect and see if loose about every 6 to 12 hours depending how hot and dry your climate is. Then if not loose, reapply the acid and wrap.

Those shift linkages are hollow tubes with steel plugs just in the ends. Applying force with toothed wrenches especially offside of the end plugs can soon result in the need to buy new parts. New parts that might not be as well made as the OG ones.
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[Thompson2]

[crofty]

I think most of the things your going to run into have been covered. check the FAQ section or search keywords. Theres a ton of info on here.
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Your Vanagon sucks, Stop waving at me.

[Eric&Barb]

If a particular question comes up for you, do a search for such info. Then post in that thread that covers that question as best as possible.

If no luck with your search results, post in your present thread, and post that you did this and that for search. Likely someone will probably have either the thread in mind that you need or the other search words need to find such, and will respond back with that.

Only should post a new thread on the toughest nuts of questions or something brand new like a newly released item like a fire suppression system, or bus movie or lookie at the new VW I got. Otherwise the forums are flooded with questions like "How to tune up?", or "What oil to use?" Which have been gone over for dozens or even hundreds of pages.
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[mdege]

I slotted my front shift tube and then I was able to pull them apart. I then placed a piece of brass inside the shift tube and then I closed the slot by welding it.
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- Michael

1965 21F: Restoration of a former '65 firetruck
1963 Typ3 Notchback project
1988 Multivan Magnum 112i
1984 Standard: My son wanted a bug for his first car

[Z]

[oakman]

[Thompson2]

[Thompson2]

I was able to get the shift rod apart without heat. These were my weapons of choice. I used the anvil to back up the rod so that I wasn't pounding against something that likely wasn't supposed to see that sort of abuse. It was actually pretty simple.

I'll be adding this method to someone else's thread, when I find a good one.

The rear coupler I got from WW didn't fit when I went to install it. There's a lip inside on end that keeps the shift rod from sliding in to the depth it needs. I'll be following up with them today.

I did find that a 5/16" 8-point socket is the bee's knees for getting those set screws out. The little 8mm wrench was just slipping off. Although you have to be careful with the front rod coupler... it's apparently not as stout as the shift coupler and I think I stripped it out. Not looking forward to taking it apart again.

And as with most new tasks, I learned a few things along the way.

First, when you need to cut off the shaft coupler, two cuts on either side of the set screw will make it easy to remove since the set screw is the only thing holding it in place.

You can't do the rear shift rod bushing without pulling the transaxle, or maybe you can slide it out the front if you've got everything apart to replace the center link pin. I won't know because I had finished the link pin before I re-tackled the shift rod. The reason you can't swap it is because there are "nubs" inside the bushing that have to go into a hole in the shift rod that's about a foot back from the end (I'll have to upload the pic of the hole later)

Oh - and be careful when you separate the front and rear shift rods. You might meet a lesser known cousin of Beetle Juice... Bus Dust.

[Thompson2]

And the center link pin went in pretty smoothly.

Learned a few things with this one too:

-A 6" C-clamp had plenty of space to compress the parts together, so you'll be okay if you don't have an 8".
- An alternative to the Hazet tie rod tool is an OTC 7315A. I'm sure it's available from other vendors as well. (pic below)
- If you can remove / disconnect the front shift rod, it'll make life easier. If you don't you'll have clearance issues when you try to install a puller and also when you ream the new bushings. It also makes it easier to correctly set the C-clamp to compress everything.
- You *may* be able to remove the rear shift rod while the center link is out. It'll be close, but I think it's possible.

I went a bit backwards from what I had seen and installed the lower bushing first, then pulled the top bushing in to the right height.

The new top seal is very different than the original oring. It works nicely and went in fairly easily (after a soak in boiling water).

Oh - and when I put the upper bushing in, I used a sharpie and a triangle file to mark the location of the U so I could orient it correctly (facing the front of the beam). I had problems initially with it moving/falling off and struggling to keep it aligned right. Don't use just a sharpie since it will wipe off pretty easily f your hands are greasy (which they probably will be.)

A clean room is a sign of a sick mind, right? I guess I'll be okay.

[Major Woody]

Looking good, man. You should have seen my face after a day of cleaning the underside of my bus when my friend let me use his lift. I looked like I had been buried in grease and dirt and had to claw my way to sunlight. I had crap coming out of my ears for a few days afterward, too.
Looking forward to seeing how that thing turns and shifts when you're all done.

[Clara]