Shifting problem??

Tufftub was running fine,at a stop went to go into first wouldn't go hmmm? got home and going into reverse- major grind what up?? doesn't happen all the time, whats' going on??

Hey Desi,

I had this problem several years ago with one of my bugs.
I pulled out the shift rod, and saw that it was bent. They normally have some curvature, but mine had a little too much. I straightened it as much as I could. I also saw that the shift rod hanger and bushing were worn, so I replaced those too.
I put it back together, and everything worked a lot better.
If that doesn't solve it, it could be a bent gear selector "Hockey stick" in the nose cone?

Front 99 cent bushing or the rear coupler are 1st places to look - then clutch adjustment (making sure lever isn't cracking at weld or the cable strands breaking resulting in cable strech).

Wolfgang's got a good point about the clutch cable - adjust it up to spec (3/4" play at the pedal top) before you tear into anything else.

Looking at shift rod couplers and bushings is nice, but they usually don't cause it to grind going into a gear, but a stretched clutch cable would.

While you've got the shift lever out, you should liberally slather some white grease around the shift rod just in front of the tunnel bushing, then move the rod back and forth to get it into the bushing (cooler VW mechanics figured out where to drill a hole in the tunnel so they could squirt some oil in there once a year or so). Slather more white grease into the cup at the front of the rod, too (look to see if you have a nylon sleeve in there - some people put them in around the ball on the lever to take up slop when it all wore).

it looks like the engines coming out, I know it's not the clutch (new) and it doesn't feel like a throw out bearing? i'll post when I find the problem.

HEY DESI I HAD THIS PROBLEM AT PASO TWO YEARS AGO
WARREN AND I CALLED JOHN AND IT WAS A LOOSE SCREW. THERE ARE TWO SCREWS UNDER THE RUG FLAP IN THE REAR BETWEEN THE 2 SEATS. ADJUSTED WITH AN 8MM WRENCH AND THE PROBLEM WAS GONE. MIGHT WANT TO TRY THAT. ATTACHED PIC SHOWS THE RUG FLAP I AM SPEAKING ABOUT

Got it fixed! drop the engine checked the throw out bearing good, tranny seal good decided to pull clutch and when I did roller bearing fell out, closer look and the bearings inside the flywheel nut were dust, replaced and lubed up, put the engine back in tweaked on some other things that needed some luv and Tuff is on the road!
Cabanaboy - whens the next Run??

Isn't it grand that the engines come out the BOTTOM? Good for you, Desi!
Wooo-Hoooo!

Desi,
Glad you got it fixed. I'm back on the road too. Lets get a cruze going, Sunday I have a wedding but any other time works. Oh yeah and today is my 27th wedding aniversary. I better do something nice.
Later , Markos

Hey Mark,

Congratulations! 27 years, not many people can say that.

I ready for a cruise too.

How about next weekend?

Anyone know of a good route?

Desi - good to hear TUFFTUB is back on the road!!

Mark - didn't you tell us on the last cruise that you had been happily married for 10 years?

Any SoCal SOCers interested in getting together for a cruise next weekend (Aug 9th)? I'll start a thread under 'Events' and see how it goes.

Peace - Out!

Actualy Jim I have been Happily married for about 15 years. But we've been married since 8-1-81 I was 11 she was 9 but had the body of a 7 year old!!

Congratulations Mark,

My beautiful wife Chrissa and I were married July 31st 1972. 36 great years with many more to come.

Cheers
Dave

Mark - yeah! time for a run
Jimbo- thanks - 8-9-08 early run may be doable 8-10-08 no worries
Cory - dude you need to be here with your Tub!
Bobster and Gerd thanks for the reply, all you SOCer make trouble shooting real!! Cabanaboy -time for a evening cruise on P.C.H.

Cory said, " Isn't it grand when the engine comes out the bottom?"

I don't know about too many new cars, but for sure the new Mustangs have the engine ASSEMBLED from the bottom. Saw a video about their assembly line the other night. The engine, tranny, front suspension and god knows what else is all subasembled off line and then installed as a complete unit from the bottom! Hey, just pull the whole thing out for a repair - right? Which may explain why some under hood replacement parts are sometimes a bit difficult to access . . . ?

p.s. 43 years with my right seat soul mate.

I think I'm running into the same problem now. It doesn't shift as smoothly as it used to and now the car violent shakes as I'm shifting. It's random. Desi, did your car shake when you had this problem?

Two places to look:

Defective or out-of-adjustment Bowden tube, or loose/worn/damaged front Transmission mount.

Third place to look after the first two:

Check the clutch cable adjustment - it may have stretched the cable (a normal occurrance) casing it to shift poorly (same as the guy up above).

Hmm.. Thanks for the tip. So the car does violently shake at shift points???

I'm going to try the cable adjustment first. Seems like the easiest to try it myself before taking it somewhere. The freeplay is more than the 3/4" everyone is taking about if I'm analyzing it properly. i.e. I can freely move the clutch pedal more than 1.5" before feeling any tension on the pedal.

In researching the "fix", I think i ran into a few post that states the directions on how to fix it. I just gotta get under the car to really look.

you will have to drop the engine to check the bearing which is behind the clutch, sooo since your in there check the flywhheel for hot spots/to shiny and make sure to torque eveything down to specs , good luck. Cabanaboy

Update: I adjusted the clutch cable and now it shifts smoothly, still shakes violently on 1st and 2nd. 3rd and 4th are fine and smooth. I think I adjusted it too tightly since it doesn't have much freeplay at all. What would happen if its adjusted too tight? Should I losen it up?

Maybe thats the cause of the shakes? (I'm trying the simple fixes before we get into more difficult territory where I need to take it somewhere. Thanks!

are you talking clutch chatter? like the clutch is not fully engadged?

back off the wing nut a few turns and go for a spin to try it out

a.) you've probably got it adjusted a tad too tight.

b.) The Bowden tube isn't adjusted properly - there needs to be about 3/4" of bend in the tube to make it shift without clutch chatter. I order to get that bend in the tube, you'll need to shim the tranny end with "C" shaped shims made from washers with a notch cut out of one side to fit over the clutch cable.

It seems like if you pull the bowden tube out of the bracket you wouldn't have to use C-type washers.

I backed it it off a few spins which loosened the freeplay up... shifts a little better. Before I was having violent shakes on 1st and 2nd and 3rd & 4th was fine. Now it ONLY shakes at take off on 1st. Little better, but still not "fixed".

Do you guys still think the bowden tube is still related? Someone mentioned some shocks or mounts that provide some vibration protection btwn the transmission and the frame. Thoughts?

(Thank you everyone for helping!!!)

Nope.

Bowden tube needs adjusting.

Mick:

If you pull the tube out of the bracket, the cable is still captive unless you release the cable from the clutch actuator and pull it through the bracket. All of this is unnecessary if you hace "C" washers.

Please tell me more about the bowden tube. I also have some shuddering which is not cool. It was especially bad when I was running the copper clutch but now i am running a kombi watercooled clutch and pressure plate. It has improved but I think it could be better.

Bowden tube info:

http://www.vw-resource.com/bowden_tube.html

That's a really good article on the bowden tube. It backs up the discussion here. I'll get under the car later today to see if it's something I can easily adjust. Article mentions using "C washers" to force the necessary bend. Because I haven't looked under the car yet, I'm curious how it got "broken" in the first place. If there are brackets welded to the car for the bend, then I would assume those weld points are still in tact.

Thanks!

Nope, no welded brackets.

There is a bracket attached to the side of the transmission which utilizes the side cover studs. That's at the rear of the tube, and where you'll be putting the "C" washers.

At the forward end of the tube it enters the central chassis tunnel and there is just a hole that it fits into and maybe a rubber boot over it to keep crud out.

The "C" washers are simply flat washers with an ID hole big enough to fit over the metal nipple on the end of the tube. They need to have a 3/16" wide slot cut in one side (making them a "C") in order to slip over the clutch cable and then slide onto the tube nipple. Once you get up in there you'll see it and understand - it's pretty obvious. Take the left rear wheel off and everything is right there to be seen and worked on.

The spec for the bend in the tube is between 1" and 1-3/4" measured along the top of the tube. Use a straight edge ruler or something laid along the top of the tube and see how far down it "dips" in the middle. Try to get it around 1-1/2" and it should be OK.

good luck!

gn

Finally down load these pics, Heavy Metal!
bearing behind the clutch area