I'm talking about the bushing that is in a welded bracket straight above
the fuel tank that the shift rod passes through - not the center bushing
within the shift linkage itself. That can be removed/replaced without
dropping the tank by pulling the rod out. The Bently says that the fuel
tank must be removed for the bushing that I am talking about, however, if
you are ever under a van with the fuel tank removed - this will be
obvious.  Since, VW just told be that the bushing is obsolete, so this
part is not available.  I tried to get a coupon for a new MV since my van
is obsolete, but no go.

Happy Trails
John

From:         Leon Korkin <korkwood@SURFREE.COM>
Subject:      Re: Center shift rod bushing
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Sorry, but can't agree with this.
When i serviced mine it was very easy and sure didn't need any tank
movement. Bushing itself was in perfect shape, just old grease dried out
and
needed to be cleaned off and replaced with new grease.
Leon
85 Subwagen Westy

JOHN REYNOLDS wrote:

> Note to anyone dropping their gas tank - the center shift rob bushing
is
> only acessible after you have dropped your tank.  I am talking about
the
> bushing that is in a metal bracket hanging from the bottom of the van
> that the shift rod passes through.  Therefore, I recommend having one
of
> these bushings on hand, so if it needs replacement you can do it while
> the tank is out.
>
> Mine is starting to degrade, so I'm heading to the VW dealer today.
>
> John