I decided to take our new '82 Diesel Westy on a more challenging test run
today, before heading out in a few weeks, so I chose the local mountain
viewpoint, a steep 7km gravel climb. The shifter had been acting a bit
strange on the last drive, requiring a push down to get into 1st. I made a
mental note to fix that before the trip. Nearing the top of the hill, the shifter
got really strange, requiring a push down for 1st and 2nd. At the last and
steepest climb, I couldn't pull it in 2nd, so I went for 1st, and smashed my
hand into the dash as the shifter either broke or came detached. I was half
way up, and a truck was coming down at me... so I rolled all the way back
down.

Dropped the spare and found the bushing/bolt sitting on top of it. Now I
know where the mystery nut I found on top of the spare last week came
from! I had to get my daughter to wiggle the shifter while I felt around for
the hole, and jammed the bolt back in. Then I managed to find a spare nut
to fit and put it on finger tight. It made it to the top and back, but I need to
check if the nylon bushings shown in Bentley are still there. I suspect they
fell out on the road.

So if your shifter starts to feel weird all of a sudden, don't ignore it, or you
may be in for a surprise!

ps: The van did well otherwise, temp climbed to about 2/3 gauge from the
normal 1/2 way mark, but stayed there after 10-15 minutes of steady 2nd
gear climbing.

Shawn Wright
http://zuiko.sls.bc.ca/~swright
'85 Jetta TD (retired)
'85 Jetta D
'88 Westy 2.1L
'82 Diesel Westy