first time vanagon owner here about to sound like a serious novice.
i apologize for the length and lack of parts knowledge used below.

my 87 has had gear problem since purchased.  at first the problem
seemed to be serious as the shifting was all "off" and getting into
first required pushing the stick down like you do normally for reverse.
basically, it was nearly impossible to run through the gears and although
it was a nice anti-theft device, it needed to be more functional.  so....
this was "repaired" by our mechanic who added a washer to set the
spacing correctly.  although cheap and somewhat of a simple remedy,
the shifting was much smoother and was a huge improvement until the
recent problem.

currently, if i shift into gear i am unable to get the van out of first,
third, or
reverse.  i followed the drivetrain? to beneath the engine and the ball
bearing
type joint (CV joing???) there seems to be the issue.  the ball portion that
attaches
to the transmission (i think) seems worn on one side and it seems that the
bearing
portion is not sitting up high enough for the ball to rest in it properly.
after much dirt and grime, i was able to figure out that i could manipulate
this entire joint by hand so can manually shift through the gears.  however
when
it is in 1st, 3rd, or reverse (all when this joint is pushed to the rear)
the ball and
bearing are not locking enough to shift.  into and out of 2nd and 4th is
fine.

thanks for any help.

*********************
nicole.constandis@uvm.edu
(802) 656-0958