Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2014 15:50:21 -0500
Reply-To: Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Making it shift like new
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The five speed in my 83 diesel has been balking into second recently. I
found, alarmingly, that the roll pin that secures the cup to the shifter
shaft at the transmission was in danger of falling out and the cup was
loose.
I took it apart and measure the roll pin at 6.24 mm IIRC. Since the pin is
split, it is somewhat expandable, and since it is open on each end it could
be expended effectively with a sharp punch. A few good taps brought it up
to 6.48 mm and now it isn't going to one out without being tapped out.
Everything fit more securely back there, and it was a good opportunity to
do what we all need to do more of, which is to lube everything else in the
are.
My bushings were replaced when I got the car, and I would have otherwise
replaced them but they seemed OK.
It was better, but still balked a little bit. Leaving for a road trip
tomorrow, but didn't want to do the job halfway twice so I kept going. It
was easier than I thought it would be and quicker as well.
I pulled the diesel heater duct in the floor between the front seats and
dropped the spare to get to the four 10mm nuts securing the shifter box
below.
In a gas vanagon, there are steel rails on both sides that serve as the
"shift gate" that controls the otherwise omnidirectional shift lever and,
underneath, fork. I don't think I have ever seen one that needed much
attention.
In the diesel, there are no such steel parts but two aluminum castings
shaped like old-fashioned sewing machine shuttles or robot shoes. They
mount in the floor of the box, pointed ends facing each other, and guide
the fork. In the gas version there is nothing mounted in the floor of the
box, but about halfway up each side.
One of these tides was fine, the other was worn badly where the shift fork
engages it, almost like someone milled 1/8 inch out of the top on each
side. I had the removed metal replaced with wet aluminum by a welder and
then ground--and then filed to a smooth finish--the original shape. I
cleaned everything and set it aside to improve the shifter ball and clean
and lube all the other parts.
By improving the shifter ball, which could be yanked a good quarter inch in
its socket, I mean I replaced it. I had a later model that popped in place
in a few minutes.
All this required that I take nothing apart in the length of the shift rod,
so there was nothing to adjust when I got things lubed and put back
together. If I had had to replace the bushings along the length of the rod,
that would not have been the case.
Now--perfection!
If anyone needs to see how to mange the aluminum guide work I described for
early models, I took pictures of the various steps. If you have access to a
spare shifted box of the same year or type as yours, you will find that
only one of the two aluminum guides is worn enough to worry about. Swapping
in the good one out of a spare box would work just fine.
Jim
