Date:         Fri, 14 Jan 2005 07:13:05 -0500
Reply-To:     Ken Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Ken Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      Rebuilding Vanagon Shifter
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

I neede to rebuild the shifter on my 83 diesel Vanagon yesterday and
although I sell a kit to do this I had never actually done it myself.
It was simple (even more that I thought).
I looked around on the internet and couldn't find anything posted on
this so here we go:
1. Get shifter rebuild kit from www.vanagain.com (shameless plug)
2. Unscrew shifter knob
3. If you have it slide off black plastic cover on shift rod.
4. Pull off shift boot
5. Mark shift rod where the locking collar above the spring sits (you
want to put it back in the same spot later.
6. Loosen locking collar screw and remove collar by sliding it off of
the top of the shifter.
7. Remove two 10mm nuts from shifter plate in floor.
8. Pull shifter plate with shifter bushings up and off of shift rod.
9. Take shifter plate and remove all guts (old shifter parts).
10. Clean shifter plate and shift rod with brake cleaner etc.
11. Lubricate all plastic parts with VW spec lube (see Bentley).  (I
used white lithium grease in a spray can but I am not sure this is
correct.  I just wanted to get it back together today).
12.  Install two halves of the circle (white plastic) into the black
rubber barrel bushing.
13.  Put spring between the two white plastic halves of the ball bushing
and squeeze them together in your hand to make the ball.
14.  You want to install the ball inside of the other bushing unit you
have already made out of the black rubber barrel and the two circle
halves.  However you want the hollow cylinder that is on one side of the
ball to point up.  To install it correctly look at the rubber bushing.
On the top is it tapered like this /--\  on the bottom it has a lip
which is not tapered (like this l--l).  While you are squeezing the ball
halves to keep them together pull the rubber barrel a little to spread
the to circle halves enough to get the ball inside.  It is not difficult
and doesn't require much strength.  Be sure that the hollow cylinder
part of the ball is pointing up (as I have already described).
15.  Press the assembly so far into the metal floor plate housing
piece.  You want the top to point toward the top of the floor plate
piece (just picture it on the floor of the van, which end is up?)
16. Press the floor spacer (big white collar looking thing) into the
bottom of the black rubber piece.  You may want to pull the black rubber
piece back out of the metal housing just to get the lip of the collar
seated inside the rubber.  Don't push to hard and break stuff.  The
plastic piece is just a spacer it was not meant to press fit into the
metal (which is what I thought it did).
17. Take the assembly so far and slide it back onto the shifter rod and
go all of the way to the floor where it will reside.
18.  Install the smaller spring on the shift rod.
19.  Slide your locking collar back into place on the shift rod (you
marked it remember) and lock it.  You can use a pair of vise grips to
hold the collar in place under the spring tension so you can lock the
collar without worrying about the spring shooting the collar into your
face or the ceiling.
20. Reinstall the metal plate to the floor.  Lining it up should be easy
since there are two small holes in the plate.  Just align them with the
holes in the floor so you can see through them and you are good to go.
21. Side your boot back on the shift rod.
22. Slide your black plastic sleeving back on.
23. Screw your shift knob back on.

You should be done at this point.  Of course you can take the shift rod
out of the van and do this work, however it is not neccesary ( I thought
it was but after doing it I realized it wasn't).
I am going to make this write up part of my shifter kits in the
future.   That way my customers will have a step by step instruction
sheet of the job.

Hope this helps you.  Our shifter kit is $27.08 and the part number is
shifterkit1 in our webstore.  This kit rebuilds all manual Vanagon
shifters in the front.  Of course there may be other bushings and things
in the system but this kit is designed to help when your shifter
suddenly drops through the floor (usually when it gets really cold) or
doesn't do the reverse lockout anymore (problem with my 83 5-speed). I
had to pick up on the shifter to find 5th.

Have a great day!