For hard to shift into 1st and 2nd, try this:
    pull up the rubber boot at the base of the shifter, put the shifter in 2nd gear
(if you can), loosen the screws on the metal plate and move the whole thing toward the
steering wheel. It won't move much. Retighten the screws. Worked for me and others.
Jerry

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bravo Sierra" <phlogiston@ISPWEST.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2003 11:50 PM
Subject: wearing down my westy

i just completed a 2 month, 15k mile tour of the country in my '86 westy.  all in all
my van  was very mechinically fortuitus for the duration of the trip, but she did
develop two annoying issues during the last 5k miles that i'd like to adress now that
i'm home.

first, it has become very difficult to shift into first or second gear.  it often
takes signifigant force and several attempts to get into gear.  there doesn't seem to
be any temperature dependence (ambient or tranny) in how much effort is required.  i'm
pretty confident that the clutch is disengaging all the way, so it seems that the
syncros are bad for those gears, except that the tranny was supposedly rebuilt last
year before i bought the van.  but i doubt the transmission fluid has been changed
since then...  is it possilbe that a flush of the transmission fluid could remedy this
problem?  what fluid to people reccomend? synthetic?