Date:         Mon, 18 Aug 1997 20:54:15 -0600
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Tony Mysyk" <mysykt@cadvision.com>
Subject:      Shifted to Death

You gotta love the list for all it's varied answers for supply problems.

My 2 c worth, Bus depot treated me just fine, Ron was understanding and
helpful
If I need parts he's my man(If I don't need them same day, I'm in Canada,
the border is still a pain, although most of my UPS shipments(for different
stuff, not from Ron) were free cause I asked to send them overnight and
they couldn't get it to me like they promised!)
Bus Boys...... Never dealt with them, probable never will, feel like I am
an informed consumer, Thanks to the list.

But to the point, my 86 westi (manual 4 spd)won't let me put her in gear
anymore. it was a slow and painless death with the trouble starting out
as....gee it seems hard to shift into second, then it was......why can't I
down shift from 3 to 2 to 1 unless I am stopped?....... then it just plain
got nasty and made me start up in second gear and drive........so much for
the stop signs(11:00pm), so today it was towed to the mechanics site where
it may need more love and attention than I can give to it, for some reason
my wife didn't want me to change the clutch in the driveway in front of our
house(is that redneckish).

So , any suggestions from understanding and experienced readers on the
possibility of the clutch fading from existence?

What I have noticed in the year that we have owned the van I have never
mastered the clutch thing. it always seemed to let out rough, (chatter
grama's teeth right out) :-)

could this clutch have been kind to me for the last year?

I did bleed the clutch slave cylinder and the arm that the cylinder moves
still moves, the van will not start up in gear with the clutch pushed in
without jerking the vehicle like the clutch is out.

I thought it may have been a shifter problem but I lubed the linkage and
dry shifting seems easy to do.

Once I was going in gear the tranny didn't make any funny noises and the
clutch didn't slip.

Helpless to shift 
Tony 
86 westi