Hi Alan,

 From the parts listings I have seen in today's research it appears that
the design of the ball and shaft changed in 1983. On the part I have
been working with, the ball appears to have been a press fit without a
pin or bolt.

After a short visit under the vanagon and some related tomfoolery in my
garage, the unit installed on my van now has a pin on it. It now shifts
smoothly through all gears and feels smooth and precise. Well, as
precise as I expect it to. Certainly a lot more precise than how it felt
when the pin popped up out of the ball and rattled around in the cup.
Yowzers, that was nasty.

So I guess I will be ordering a new shaft and ball and some seals and
shifter bushings pretty soon. Tonight's repairs will certainly hold for
a couple of weeks, but I don't want to leave it too long as I'd rather
not have to worry about it when I take the Vanagon to the track at
Westy's at Watkins!!

--
Happy Trails,

Greg Potts
Toronto, Ontario Canada
197x Westfakia "Bob the Tomato"
1987 Wolfsburg Weekender Hardtop
www.pottsfamily.ca

BUSES OF THE CORN - AUGUST 13-15th, 2010
www.busesofthecorn.ca

On 8/17/2010 8:23 AM, Alan Felder wrote:
> Greg - the "u" shaped piece with the ball does not simply press onto that
> shaft (or at least that is the case with my 82) but has a nut holding it
> on.  Even a slight misalignment due to slipping out of place could cause
> your problem.
> --
> Alan Felder
> Austin TX
> 82 Diesel Westy
>