Good Evening,

I need a bit of advice from the list.
1987 Syncro Westfalia, 120K Mi.

The shift linkage on my Syncro Vanagon has never been apart
for anything in twenty plus years.  It's getting generally
obstinate to shift, especially into 2nd when it's cold.  It
works reasonably well when it warms up, and works really
nicely when the bottom of the Vanagon is wet.  I'm assuming
the linkage is either dirty (it works very nicely when it
wet), needs new bushings, or both.  I want to get under it
once, and fix it as soon as we have a reasonably warm
weekend.  In the list members' experience:

   1. How long do the shift linkage bushings last (miles or
      years) before they should be replaced.
   2. If I take this all apart to clean it up, should I just
      assume that I need bushings and order them in advance?
   3. Is there a "kit" from one of our find list vendors
      that is a complete set of the shift linkage bushings,
      boots etc?  If yes, which vendor and kit?
   4. Any "gotchas" when doing the linkage that I should be
      aware of??

--

*Best Regards,
Jon B Kanas
Email: kanas@qadas.com <mailto:kanas@qadas.com>
Longmont, Colorado; Cultural Center of the Universe
Website: http://www.qadas.com/~kanas
<http://www.qadas.com/%7Ekanas> *