Dear Woody,

Let me preface my reply by saying that I'm assuming the problem to be in
selector shaft adjustment. The necessary symptoms for identifying this
condition are:
1. The gear shift lever resists moving into first gear. (For some reason it
doesn't seem to affect second gear.)
2. First gear can always be selected by pushing the stick down and slightly
left (as though shifting into reverse), stopping well short of the left-most
travel of the stick and then pushing into the first gear position.
3. Bushings are all good, front and rear.

This often appears as an intermittent problem which worsens over a period of
time. I have many customers who never thought it was a problem, 'cause they
always managed to get the thing in gear eventually. Some people have driven
vans around like this for years, thinking it to be an idiosyncrasy of the
vehicle. Counterclockwise facing forward, as in standing up at the rear of
the van, facing forward. Unless I am confusing this in memory (it's easier
to do these thing than to imagine them, as I must, writing from my home
office as I usually do, and being too lazy to go crawl under Okie in the
driveway) the rearmost section of the shaft rotates CCW just the amount it
takes to shove the selector lever on the transmission in to the point where
the lever shaft can rotate (CW, seen from the right side of the
transmission) into the first gear position.

At this point, if things are thoroughly out of kilter, the best thing might
be to put the shaft back as close to the way it was as possible, and go find
a patient friend to help. Her, or his, job will be to shift slowly through
all the gears several (dozen, hundred - whatever it takes) times until you
understand what is happening at the selector shaft. If you understand what
is going on there, you would then capable of removing the shifter shaft and
selecting all the gears yourself, by hand, right at the tranny. (Removing
the shaft shouldn't be necessary - I said that just to give you an idea of
the raw power that can be yours if you are rigorous is your determination to
obtain this knowledge.) This is how we figured out how to do this adjustment
in the first place. You'll find that you'll be able to recognize the point
where the shift selector jams because of the failure of the shifter shaft to
push it in toward the transmission far enough. You'll be able to push it by
hand, in and forward to select first. You'll comprehend that the shaft is
not rotating far enough, and that by tweaking it slightly at the rear
coupling you'll be able to achieve the desired result.

I hope I haven't added too much more confusion to an already tangled
situation...

Best -

Coby

Valley Wagonworks
"Intimately acquainted with VW Vans since 1959"

Volkswagen Bus, Vanagon, Westfalia and Eurovan
Repair and Service Specialists

1535 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., San Anselmo, CA 94933
Voice:(415) 457-5628
Fax: (415) 457-0967
http://wagonworks.com
mailto:contact@wagonworks.com

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Woody Halsey [mailto:WoodyHalsey@compuserve.com]
> Sent: Monday, July 05, 1999 4:47 AM
> To: Coby Smolens
> Subject: selector shaft adjustment
>
>
> Dear Coby,
>
> When you say "counterclockwise" are you facing fore or aft? Yesterday, I
> tried rotating the shaft a tiny bit (it was extremely tight even after I
> loosened the nut on the collar) and ended up scerwing things up pretty
> thoroughly. What used to feel like first is now reverse and I have to push
> the lever down into the floor to find first. Back to the drawing boards!
>
> Woody
>