CAN'T GET ANY GEAR.

[daveyh]

I have a 74 Beetle. When I attempt to get reverse I get a grinding noise, when I attempt to get any other gear, I can't- but there is no noise. I have done the following work-replaced all four hoses, cleaned the control valve filter, inspected the vacuum tank for holes, replaced the control valve solenoid, replaced the clutch servo canister (with a genuine spare), changed the gear shaft bush and finally cleaned the gear lever contacts and reset them. The result -no difference, the fault is exactly the same! When I try to get first gear, I can't but if I push the lever and hold it the car creeps forward- like the torque converter is providing the motion. When I move the gear lever the engine revs momentarily drop-does this mean that the lever must be sending an electrical signal to the control valve? Any ideas/tips you can provide will be greatly appreciated. The car has gone without fault for 41 years, but over the last year the gears became increasingly notchy-then finally no go.

[volkenstein]

daveyh,
          I hope the clutch mechanism has been adjusted in those preceeding 41 years!!! . Well, start at the start is the best bet.
Hoses don't have a leak?
Vacuum system doesn't have a leak?
Have you tested that the Clutch Servo bladder hasn't got a tear?
Have you checked CV adjustment.
Have you checked the clutch freeplay specifications?
Have you checked you gearstick contact points & adjustment?
Have you checked the stick to solenoid wiring, and power supply?

That'll keep ya busy for a while....


HTH
Volkenstein

[olgunc]

Also check vacuum tank and manifold,,,
There may be a leak because of rust, etc.

I had same problem twice,
First one was because of the leak on the tank and the other was because of the leak on the manifold...

[68autobug]

Hi,
Well, You changed the large and small vacuum hoses with new ones. The original cotton covered hoses after all these years are usually cracked but You couldn't see the cracks but when using smooth truck/trailer air hose or good quality vacuum/oil hose You can see the cracks when they appear.
You also said that the problem got worse over the years.... before Completely breaking down, or not being able to select a gear. It does sound like a clutch problem..... The clutch plates rarely wear out due to the fact they are either in or out very quickly. [if they are adjusted correctly] I usually suggest You adjust the clutch adjuster so it crunches in reverse and then keep adjusting it until You can select reverse with out any crunching. So over the years it got harder and crunchier to select the gears but it still drove once a gear was "selected". I had a problem years ago on a long trip where My clutch selector came unscrewed slowly on My return trip.... until I could only start the engine with the neutral start switch bypassed, so I could start it in TOP GEAR so I could continue My trip. The Summer temperature at the time was around 100 degrees F or 40C.  I could say to see if You can start it in Gear by pulling off the neutral start switch wires and connect them together... When I first started driving My beetle after an 8 year rebuild, I had forgotten it couldn't be started in gear, so when it wouldn't start, I would jack up the RH side of the car using the VW jack... climb under the car and using a large screw driver I shorted out the connection on the starter motor and the engine started "in gear"... I should note that this is extremely dangerous, as when the engine starts in gear, You only have one rear wheel on the ground that is holding the car with the hand brake.... if You had another person in the car with their foot on the brakes the LH front brake would be helping to keep the car Braked....
Now as You have had the ongoing problem for a while, You can see that these autostick cars were built using the BEST metals and material available.
It seems what You say about the engine under load when You try to select a gear.... but it doesn't drive, so it's not actually "IN" gear, and crunches at reverse... Have you checked the gear shifter coupler under the rear seat [under the oval plate] to make sure the selector rod is moving the gearbox selector the correct distance. That can be stopping you from actually going "INTO" gear.. if it is not moving the correct distance.

Best of luck

Lee in Australia...

[68autobug]

daveyh,

Did You fix the problem or sell the car?

I have found that the vacuum hose sizes and type of hose doesn't seem to be critical, so long as it doesn't get sucked in by the vacuum, but the ATF hose and fittings does seem to be critical.  I remember one fellow in the USA getting all the ATF hoses made up complete with new fittings.
His car didn't go too well. I suggested He measure the inside diameter of the new fittings. He found they new fittings had very small inside diameters so it was restricting the flow of ATF. He drilled the new fittings out to the correct sizes and it worked correctly.

Lee in Australia

[daveyh]

In answer to Lee's post of 16/05/17, I did fix the car! After a lot of tweaking and adjustment to no effect I obtained a Control valve. I bolted it on, fitted the wires and pipes. The VW fired up and shifted into gear without hesitation. The new control valve solved everything. I don't know whether the old solenoid or the the old control valve itself was faulty. Thanks for the advice.