Hard shifting? Here's a simple improvement. Shift into first, then slide
under the bus, and look up at the long shift rod that runs from the front
shifter mount all the way back to the transmission. There are two collars
that hold the rod onto the bottom of the bus.

The rod slides inside these collars. Often, the rod gets dry and rusty and
has a tough time sliding in these collars. So take your finger, dip it into
a can of grease, and smear the rod at the collar points with grease. Then
shift into fourth, slide underneath, and do the same thing. This
should improve the ease of shifting significantly.

This worked on my '84 Vanagon. You might also want to check the
archives for other info.

Paul Henderson
'84 Vanagon WasserBoxer
Bedminster, NJ, USA