Harmon,
I had exactly the same problem with the tranny in my '81 Westy about 9 months 
ago (about 90k mi). I had to drive about 50 miles using only first and second 
gear...life is more mellow at 35 mph. Anyway, I took it to a garage I really 
trust (BTW its Fred's Garage in Redwood City...it doesn't sound German but it 
is) and the problem turned out to be some kind of an arm inside the 
transmissionm that snapped. The mechanic said he had seen it a few times before.
I had looked at it in my driveway for about an hour prior to bringing it in and 
determined that it was definitely not linkage related, and on top of that, I 
trust his judgement. I opted for the full rebuild ($1100...ouch!), but the thing
now shifts better than it ever has.

Sorry for the bummer news...maybe this is unrelated to your problem. That 
wouldn't make sense if all you did was change the motor. I was driving mine.

-Erik.

BTW, there was *no* audible SNAP when the problem occurred, it just kept getting
harder to shift into third. The problem went from "fine" to "try second again, 
buddy" in about 6 tries.
 
In message <SC$4lqUp4HuD077yn@nyx.cs.du.edu>  writes:
>   I just bought a '81 Vanagon with a new engine, and the shifter jams
> up in 3rd. Won't go in. The owner swears it didn't do that before the
> new engine was put in -- and I believe him, else why would he have
> gone to the trouble and expense of putting in a new engine? -- and so
> he sold it to me cheap 'cause he was fed up. Anyway, has anyone had 
> this problem before? Is it just a re-alignment problem or does the
> shifter need adjustment?
>    Please e-mail me direct as I don't subscribe to the list, just read
> it on the www. Thanx.
> 
> Harmon Seaver 

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