Autostick will not go into gear

Bookwus · 16 January 2008, 20:47

Hiya rho,

Torque converter seals are not all that hard to locate. Online at eVW Parts here in the states. I even have a collection of TC seals. So don't worry too much about putting your hands on a new seal.

volkenstein · 17 January 2008, 00:26

Rhodrich,
Yes it can be done. Undo flex plate bolts, move the TC back from the plate and secure it using wire or such like through the bolt tabs. Undo gearbox bolts and carefully seperate the engine and GB. If the TC falls off...you have to get a new TC seal.

As Mike has mentioned, Evwparts is your friend and they ship. I buy a lot of A-S specific gear off them. E.g. They're the only guys I know of who have a COMPLETE oil pump seal/gasket kit.

Enjoy
Volkenstein

68autobug · 20 January 2008, 14:26

I don't think its worth the trouble
Not to replace the TC seal
as the seal will be really hard and NON flexible [if its old]
and if the sealing surface is moved slightly by the torque converter, its going to leak...

Sean,
Do You use any sealant on the TC seals??
I just peened Mine over in 4 spots..
I've had no problems before without a sealant..

Lee

68autobug · 20 January 2008, 14:28

incidently,

that is My old torque converter oil seal painted yellow...
so it would stand out in the photo...

Lee

Rhodrich · 22 January 2008, 21:49

Well I went to pick up the donor car last Saturday. Should be putting in the donor transmission this coming weekend.

Cutting up cars is great fun!

A beetle chassis fits into a T3 transporter without a problem:

volkenstein · 23 January 2008, 01:51

Rhodrich,
Score the Sprintstars as well? My neighbours had to enjoy the screaming 9" with a cut-off wheel for a while. I had a hole burn through my overalls

Lee,
Sealant on the seal? No, I wouldn't do that. Mine was a very tight fit (the Orange one I have) and the peining will hold it.

Enjoy
Volkenstein

68autobug · 23 January 2008, 06:42

Thats good news Sean, as I didn't want to remove it...
it was a nice tight fit..
and i usually don't use sealant on seals..

cheers

Lee

Rhodrich · 05 February 2008, 14:44

Well the donor gearbox has gone in, and it's all working perfectly, so it does look like there was a clutch problem. I've not taken the old box apart yet.

(And no - the sprintstars weren't included in the deal....)

Thanks for everyone's help

68autobug · 07 February 2008, 05:30

Thats a rare one...
these cars usually last longer than 100,000kms...

I also recommend the Haynes manual for Your car..
they don't use special tools like the Bentley manual..
You can't really have too many manuals as they all cover something
better than the next one...
amazon.com is the best place to buy manuals...
You can also buy used books thru them....
a fraction of the cost of manuals in Australia...

Best of luck with Your new replacement gearbox...

Lee

http://community.webshots.com/user/vw68autobug

jrny99 · 21 February 2014, 01:56

Quote from: Rhodrich on 14 January 2008, 13:29
Quote from: volkenstein on 14 January 2008, 13:03
Rhodrich,
A couple of things..

How did you adjust the servo pushrod and by how much? Are we talking clutch freeplay adjustment here?

How do you know the clutch arm is moving? Are you looking at it while someone else tries while it is up on stands or some such?

Lee has had a loose clutch arm pinch bolt. You might want to check it's buttoned up to spec or hasn't fatigue failed.

I don't think it would be a gear fork as you wouldn't be able to get a positive shift even with the engine off. Ditto for the T-O bearing..it's huge and if there was a problem you'd hear it! A broken clutch arm fork? Possible..although that seems remote. I know of no-one who has done that on a semi-auto. Mike? Lee? with your years of semi-auto experiences, ever hear of one or both the forks snapping off the shaft?

Last thing I can ask is..what happened the last time it shifted? Parked the car and walked away and next thing no shifting?

HTH
Volkenstein

I've adjusted up the servo pushrod such that there is 4mm of thread in view when the release arm is pushed back towards the bell housing (vacuum pipe off). The pushrod seems to be as short as it can be (as I want to be sure that the clutch is being depressed)

I know the clutch arm is moving as I've started the engine with the car jacked up, and have observed that the arm is fully pulled into the servo when the car is in neutral. I've also run a temporary ground wire to terminal 31 on the control valve, and can pull the arm in and out when that temporary wire is grounded. From using a test light, I can see that terminal 31 on the CV is getting the right inputs from the gear stick. I've even run the test wire to permanently ground terminal 31 (so the clutch is depressed), and tried shifting then, but it still won't go into gear, even though I can see with my own eyes that the clutch release arm is pulled fully into the clutch servo.

It was running and shifting fine, until about 1/2 a mile from home, it stopped shifting smoothly. Managed to get it into gear by matching engine speeds (using the syncromesh on the gearbox, as you would shift without using a clutch on a manual), to bring it home, but as soon as it stopped, it wouldn't go into any gear, suggesting that the clutch is not disengaging.

I would imagine if the clutch pinch bolt had come loose, there wouldn't be any resistance on the clutch release arm when I pulled it back into the servo (vacuum hose off), when there is a great deal of resistance, suggesting that the clutch is being depressed. I've tried feeling where the pinch bolt is, and I can't feel any movement there, but I'll try and have a look using a shaving mirror.

I've had clutch release forks snap on a manual bug before, and there was no resistance on the clutch pedal - it just fell to the floor, so I don't think it's that either.

I just can't think what it might be otherwise, unless the clutch plate has somehow glued itself to the torque convertor, or something's gone bad in the transmission itself. Very, very odd indeed.

I have been offered another scrap '68 AS with a good transmission, so I might swap that in. It's 200 miles away though, so I'm currently trying to see if I can get it transported.

In the meantime, if anyone can think of anything I may have missed, please let me know.

Many thanks for your help everyone.

I've adjusted up the servo pushrod such that there is 4mm of thread in view when the release arm is pushed back towards the bell housing (vacuum pipe off). The pushrod seems to be as short as it can be (as I want to be sure that the clutch is being depressed)

in the bentlys it says to pull to rod out and adj. you said you pushed it in ?. after going thru everything mentioned i found the adj rod at the canister to be off. also i pulled out the rod and plugged the hole while making the adjustment and the rod slipped back in, i think the inner seal is bad because its not holding air

68autobug · 24 March 2014, 09:12

Hi
check out the posts from last year about this subjuct as I answered it many times. Chances are if this has just happened.. its a vacuum hose. Unless ALL the vacuum hoses have been replaced by new hoses of good quality then the hoses are usually the problem. Once they have been replaced its easy to find out what is causing any problem as a leaking hose can cause many many different problems, and without renewing the hoses, You will just be changing/adjusting everything else
which will be a headache when You replace the hoses.
The original cotton covered vacuum hose is available in the USA at Mercedes Benz dealerships. The maker is Belmetrico [from memory].
I used an orange-red colored 12.7mm air pressure hose used on truck trailers "POWAFLEX MULTI-PURPOSE 12.7MM ID W.P. 300 PSI" made in USA its not expensive here in Australia. I also bought some [same brand] which was 12.3mm ID . these hoses are well made with a black center piece bonded to the outer red-orange piece. Good quality transmission oil hose may be used, but how long it lasts until the center section is sucked in??? I have seen photos of engine bays with garden hose being used..!!
Now good quality garden hose may last a long time ?? due to it going very very hard with the heat from the engine but I wouldn't recommend using it...
once all the vacuum hoses are renewed , its much much easier to find any problems that may arise,

Lee in Australia

68autobug · 24 March 2014, 09:23

Hi Again
if your hoses are all new.. and no vacuum leaks.
It normally means that the clutch isn't being activated by the control valve [by vacuum from the vacuum tank] so, it may be that the control valve isn't getting any voltage from the gear shifter.. [which actually grounds out the control valve solenoid - neg] as there is power going to the control valve all the time the ignition is switched on..[+ pos]
the [ground- neg] wire from the gear shifter may have broken just below the gear shifter, as the wire moves each time you change gears
[the wire comes out of the boot on the LHS and runs along the floor to under the rear seat] also check that both wires are plugged onto the control valve solenoid..

cheers from Australia

Lee