My old shift wire broke off of the metal part in the shifter, and I have a new cable. But I had to put the old one back in because there doesnt seem to be a way to get the new one in without cutting it in half? The contact end is much too wide to fit through the hole at the base of the shifter, as is the connector end. I guess you pretty much have to cut it in half?
Brandon,
The gearstick comes apart and you feed the wire through until the contact point seats on the bakelite spacer. If the new wire has a spade conection on the other end just cut it off and solder/crimp it later after you've fed it through. I'll see if I can dig up one or two piccies for you.
Here's a thread I did on the old forum, with pics.
http://vwar.org/old_forum/index.php?topic=345.0
HTH
Volkenstein
Yeah I ended up cutting off the connector at the end then crimping it, WOW what a difference this tiny little fix made. NO Grinding at all going into reverse (it used to scream). It was a bit of a chore adjusting the 2 screws in the shifter itself (at one point, EVERY gear was reverse?). Took about 45 minutes. For all people who have reverse grinding issues, I really reccomend looking at this wire...
Brandon,
Did you adjust the point gap in the gearstick up to spec? There are posts on the board about how to get that gap "just so". Good to see things are a lot better now.
Regards
Volkenstein
No I didnt, I just tried it till it went. Tried to drive today, and it wouldnt go into gear. As soon as I turned the key, I heard the 'pop' sound from the back, which was last night indicative (I assumed), of the points touching inside the shifter causing the clutch to pop out. Im out to try readjusting it again. Scouring the forums I found a post by Bookwus that suggests screwing the shroud all the way down, then backing it off a half turn. Pray for my bug :)
Hmm, I did all the adjustments and whatnot, and was able to drive it fine. But, there seems to be new "sloppy" gears? For instance, if you push down and up to the left, you get Reverse, if you push up and to the right, you get 2nd range. BUT, if you push straight up, the stick stays there like its in a gear, but you dont feel it go into one...?
Hi
it could be the gap in the base of the shifter is too wide
so You need to move the gearshifter knob a long way...
OR - the base plate and reverse lockout plate need to be readjusted...
and there is no easy way to do this....
it can be easy - after many years of playing with them.... lol
or it can be nearly impossible....
OR- the small inexpensive plastic bush could be worn out -
this is located below the shifter base inside the tunnel...
the new bush comes with one side cut , so You can wrap it around the shaft
and push it into the bracket... if the old bush is still there just push it out of the way..
cheers
LEE