Ed, I just did this.  You can take the front rod out of the center bushing
after separating it from the rear rod (mark it before you do that so you
can put it back in the same orientation).  Then you push the front rod
section forward and then pull it out toward the back of the van through
that large tunnel hole that is directly to the left of where the front rod
bushing is mounted.  Then you can pull the entire rod out toward the back
of the van.  Trying to take it out toward the front won't work without
bending the rod.

Ken

On Wed, Sep 6, 2017 at 1:59 PM, email99@bellsouth.net <email99@bellsouth.net
> wrote:

> Is the Front Shift Rod reinstalled from the front or from the rear
> through the bushing hole in the cross member (with the bushing out, of
> course)?  This is the shift rod that bolts to the bottom of the Gear
> Shift Lever and has the plastic tabs on the fork.
>
> I was able to remove this from the front to replace the plastic tabs but
> it took some  modest force and it's not going to go back in that way.
> I'm wondering if the end with the plastic tabs will go through the hole
> for the bushing in the cross member?  Can this be done with the Vanagon
> on jack stands or does it have to be on a lift?  I'm having difficulty
> because the rear sway bar and the auxiliary air conditioning condenser
> seem to be in the way of manipulating the forked end of the shift rod
> through the bushing mounting hole.
>
> This is a 1986 2WD with a 4-speed manual transmission.  I would like to
> know how it fits in before I start taking off the parts mentioned above.
>
> Any helpful comments will be appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ed
>

--
Thanks,
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
www.vanagain.com