Bret, there are three wear areas of the linkage that can be involved in
this problem.

 Near the center of the long shift rod is a bushing where the rod passes
through a crossmember at the rear  of the fuel tank. This bushing may be
worn badly enough to aggravate this problem. Hopefully not, as it is no
longer available.(The 83+ watercooled models use a different bushing for
a larger diameter shaft  and it is available but no help for older models)

At the tranny end,  the shift rod fits over a long guide 'bolt' of sorts
and that bolt has a nylon ring on the end that the shift rod is supposed
to slide and rotate against. This nylon ring can wear or break  off and
then the rod is a sloppy fit over the guide bolt. The dealer still sells
this replaceable ring and it costs about $1. I replaced one on an 82
diesel last week. The boot for this area is NLA

Up front the gearshift lever passes through a spring loaded nylon
ball/socket joint at the floor and down into the metal box where it
connects to the long shift rod. The ball/socket joint  parts can fail
and allow the lever to be out of position so the gears don't line up as
they should. Also the box has a metal guide on one side that  the lever
rubs against when selecting  gears 1 and 2.  To get reverse you push
down on the lever so the end drops below this guide and then the lever
can move over more toward the side before engaging reverse.

The ring on the guide pin at the tranny is where I would start as you
mentioned things seemed loose there.
If you closely inspect all  these areas and find none to be the obvious
cause, an adjustment of the linkage may do it.

Mark

Bret Berger wrote:

>Hello Listmembers,
>
>My 1982 diesel Westfalia will no longer shift into reverse.  First and
>second gear are now in the left "indent" area where revese used to be.  A
>crawl beneath the beast reveals that a bushing at the transmission end of
>the linkage appears very sloppy and badly worn and the rubber seal is
>completely gone.  Will the transmission rebuild kit offered by the vendors
>on the mailing list return me to tight and precise teutonic shifting
>nirvana (not that this thing ever shifted nicely)?  How much work is
>involved in installing these rebuild kits?  Will I need to drop the fuel
>tank?
>
>thanks in advance for any help,
>-bret
>
>Bret Berger
>1982 Diesel Westfalia
>Saint George, Utah
>
>
>