Does the shifter rod still have a rubber/plastic cover tube on it?

On Fri, Feb 14, 2025 at 11:36 AM Mark McCulley <mark@markmcculley.com>
wrote:

> A whine-like sound is a component of what I hear, can't say if it's a
> pinion or other gear.
>
> -Mark
>
> > On Feb 14, 2025, at 11:22 AM, Andrew Berg <andrew@BERGWEB.CA> wrote:
> >
> > What noise are you hearing. I just rebuilt my linkage with the same GW
> kit at the same time as installing a rebuilt transaxle. I hear what could
> be a very faint pinion gear whine during downshifts. Going to try some moly
> additive.
> >
> > Andrew
> >
> >> On Feb 14, 2025, at 2:18 PM, Mark McCulley <mark@markmcculley.com>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> I was rebuilding the shifter linkage due to worn bushings.
> >>
> >> I'm not feeling any vibrations, just hearing a noise emanating from the
> shifter. The noise is loudest in 2nd, can also hear it in 1st, don't hear
> it in 3rd or 4th. The pitch of the noise changes with RPMs.
> >>
> >> I don't think the transmission is making abnormal noises, it's just
> that sounds from the transmission are being transferred through the linkage
> and shifter into the cabin. The shifter knob is acting as a resonator. Just
> touching the center of the knob with my finger stops the noise. Removing
> the shifter knob stops the noise.
> >>
> >> My working theory is that the knob is hollow and is acting as a
> resonator with the top of the knob as a diaphragm. GW warns about the hard
> Teflon bushings conveying more noise, that's likely a factor here as well.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>> On Feb 14, 2025, at 10:42 AM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Were you repairing the shifter linkage due to worn bushings and a
> shifting problem or an attempt to silence the vibration?
> >>> Is the vibration in all gears, 1 and 2, or 3 and 4? Does the vibration
> change with throttle change?
> >>> In 3rd gear, light hand pressure pushing shifter forward, does the
> shifter push back when throttle applied and then move forward when throttle
> released?
> >>> Did you check the front trans mount is good?
> >>>
> >>> Dennis
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> -----Original Message-----
> >>> From: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com> On Behalf Of
> Mark McCulley
> >>> Sent: Friday, February 14, 2025 9:16 AM
> >>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> >>> Subject: Re: rebuilding shifter linkage
> >>>
> >>> I have an update on the shifter linkage work. Everything is back
> together and I did a test drive yesterday. I'm not fully happy with how it
> shifts yet, think I need to do some fine adjustment on the linkage.
> >>>
> >>> I chose to use the hard Teflon bushings and Viton rubber boots from
> GW. Another option was bootless pliable bushings from VC but I wanted to
> have boots. I did not use any lubrication on the Teflon bushings.
> >>>
> >>> During the test drive I noticed something odd...that removing the
> shifter knob eliminated all of the transmission-related noise that was
> being conveyed from the transmission by the linkage. No knob, no noise,
> very strange. I'm going to play around with this some more, maybe try a
> different knob from the OEM one I'm using. I also may try adding some
> damping to the shifter rods and see if that makes any difference.
> >>>
> >>> -Mark
> >>>
> >>>>> On Jan 31, 2025, at 9:24 AM, Mark McCulley <mark@markmcculley.com>
> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> I've started a winter project of rebuilding the shifter linkage, from
> the shifter to the transmission. This will be the second time I've done
> this project on this van, it's been at least 100K miles since I did it the
> first time.
> >>>>
> >>>> I spent a couple of hours under the van yesterday removing all of the
> linkage parts. It was a bit troublesome disconnecting the front and rear
> shifter rod sections but I managed to get it done. The next step is to
> remove all the undercoating on the two rod sections. I had undercoating
> applied about 20 years ago. I think I'm about 60% through with that messy
> endeavor.
> >>>>
> >>>> I also plan to replace the shift lever with one that is solid and
> install a short shift kit.
> >>>>
> >>>> -Mark
>