Ken,

Thanks for the tips on the front end. That's next real soon!

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver
Chelsea, AL

Ken Wilford wrote:
> I think many people get their vans with crappy shifting and they just
> think that this is "normal".  No when the Vanagon left the factory the
> shifting was smooth and felt good.  If you shifting is vague and stiff
> then you have a problem.  You should inspect and lube the rear and front
> shifter linkage areas (right at the side of the transmission and right
> below the shifter handle) if you are feeling anything weird.  In the
> rear a boot that is meant to keep lubricant in place tends to disappear
> after a while leaving a cup to catch road dirt and hold it against the
> shifter ball.  You can see why this would wear out quickly and cause
> stiff shifting.  The front shifter parts are all plastic and rubber.
> However over time the plastic gets very brittle.  One fine day you will
> be driving along and go to shift and the shift lever will drop down and
> you will not be able to shift.  This one I would replace as part of
> preventive maintenance.  If it has never been replaced then it is good
> to do so before it fails.
>
> I have kits on my web site to address either of these rebuilds.  The
> front is shifterkit1 and the rear is shifterkit2.  The parts in the kit
> are all VW parts.  The VW dealer actually sells a kit for the front
> shifter however it is much more expensive than my kit because they
> include a metal part that never wears out (not sure why).  If you want
> to do either of these jobs I would recommend doing them soon.  The price
> on both of these kits has tripled in the past three years.  Just to give
> you an example, when I first started selling the shifterkit1 a few years
> ago it was $24.  Now it is $71.  I am sure by next year the price will
> have gone up another third at least.  So waiting to do these jobs is
> costing you money.  Anything that you want to get that is VW dealer you
> should get now.  You will save yourself 1/3 of the cost (on average)
> over waiting to buy it next year.
>
> Just want to throw this out there.
>
> Ken Wilford
> John 3:16
> www.vanagain.com
>
>
> Scott Daniel - Shazam wrote:
>> Great story !
>> And it went from 'shifting perfectly and smoothly' to complete broken
>> in one
>> short spontaneous event, right ?
>> I have a sneaking suspicion it was dodgey, vague, or stiff for a long
>> time
>> and there was plenty of warning.
>> In other words, all preventable.
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
>> Behalf Of
>> John Rodgers
>> Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2008 8:12 PM
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: Tranny Repaired!!!
>>
>> About ten days ago my manual tranny locked in reverse right at a
>> critical time. I could not get it out of reverse gear. I borrowed a
>> Suburban from my brother to have immediate transport. Well, I  got the
>> local towing service to bring the 'ol roll-back to pick up the van and
>> take it to the my mechanic of choice. He got it up on the rack and found
>> the shift arm connector on the side of the tranny had simply broken into
>> pieces, and jammed. so I could not get it out of gear. I got a repair
>> kit from Kin Wilford, and in a couple of days I was back on the road.
>> That rebuild kit was long overdue. Fortunately, there was no problem
>> inside the tranny. That would have been very expensive. Total related
>> cost to be roadable again - Approx $765!! Note that I said "related"
>> costs .... costs revolving around the incident.!
>>
>> "Now how on earth could that little repair cost so much?" you ask. Well,
>> here is how it went down.
>>
>> Cost me a hundy for the roll-back. Actually $105.
>> Parts added up to $200 - rounded up slightly. So that makes $305.
>> My mechanic charged me $125, the labor including replacing a hose.
>> Wouldn't have done that if it weren't already in the shop.
>> So that is $430.
>> Then there was the $135 speeding ticket I got in the  Suburban I
>> borrowed from my brother since e my van was broken and  I was in a hurry
>> because I was gong to miss the deadline for an art show set up and I
>> needed the money from the show. There was also a very large plate of
>> chagrin that had to be swallowed, because I haven't had a ticket of any
>> kind in over 45 years.
>> So now it's up to $565.
>>
>> I drove home from the shop, and the shifting was good and easy. I parked
>> the van, and before I could get out , I got a call on my cell phone from
>> the mechanic asking how the shifting went on the way home. . I went
>> ahead and got out of the van, and as I did so, I flung the van door shut
>> ....... at the same time dropping an awkwardly held cell phone right in
>> the lower door jamb where it loudly went "crunch!, as the structure of
>> phone failed under the impact of the door slamming shut .......$200.
>>
>> Grand total related costs for a tranny jammed in reverse - $765.
>>
>> I ain't about to ask what is gonna happen next!!!
>>
>> John Rodgers
>> 88 GL Driver
>>
>>
>>
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