hI John,
this was discussed a month ago or so. I asked at that time if you have a
lot of free play at the top of your clutch pedal ....I'm not aware of
anything you said about that.

there should be 'just a little' ..fractions of an inch ...a half inch
usually is acceptable, but the van did not start life like that at all.

a few points..
1. The clutch hydrualics on a Vanagon are brilliant and no adjustment is
ever needed .

2. the hole in the clutch pedal that the clutch master cylinder clevis
pin rides in,
is a bare metal-to-metal pivot point, and that 25+ year old grease is
long gone.
That one spot wears badly eventually, resulting in excessive freeplay at
the top of the clutch pedal travel, and clutch starting ( engaging ) the
van too close to the floor.

3. there is an adjustment for the length of the clutch master cylinder
pushrod ...
but you don't want to ever have to do this adjustment.
To do it with things assebmled in the van ...you need to remove two
bolts, pull the clutch master cyl off the pushrod .....the pushrod hangs
and points straight down ..
And, just by collecting odd tools for 5+ decades I happen to have a 5
inch long, thin wall 15mm socket ...which will undo the lock nut on the
pushrod.Without that tool I don't know how one would lossen that
locknut...at least with things assembled in the van.

Then one can screw the pushrod out some so it's a little longer,
compensating for the wear at the pin and hole in the clutch pedal .
  To get it right is by trial and error ..

4. what you 'really should' do is remove the entire pedal assembly and
repair and rebuilt that area properly ..upgrading to a bearing or proper
bushing or something at that hole for the pin.

I gather there is a guy who builds and sells and upgrade for that,
though havn't seen what he offers .

The clutch does not know if it's engaging for a lower gear or a higher
gear by the way.
It may seems different for lower gears to you though.

I think you have what I consider a 'nebulous' situation ...regarding
clutch and shifting ..
3 major areas ( not counting the driver ) are all tired and vague, not
broken, but vague

- the entire clutch system, from pedal to clutch disc and every other
part involved ...
- the entire shift linkage system, from knob to side of trans
- and gears and parts inside the transaxle.

I forget if yours is rebuilt. I did relate a while back how one time I
worked over an 84 Westy's shift  linkage until it was perfectly tight,
precise, and smooth ..at least as good as new.
Miles were high on that trans..
that repair on the linkage that was so effective lasted about 2 or 3 weeks.
Then we pulled the trans and had it rebuilt..and then it was really fixed.

but do say about your clutch pedal free play at the top of the pedal
travel.

Scott

On 4/15/2016 7:36 AM, John Rodgers wrote:
> I'm dissatisfied with my clutch adjustment on my new tranny. It seems to
> engage to soon in really low gears, and doesn't shift cleanly out of re
> verse and first, or go back in. Is there any adjustment I can make. Seems
> like there are always some things I'm better off doing myself,when possible.
>
> Thanks.
>
> John
>