70 autostick will not go into 1st & 2nd.

[jrny99]

ok, this is a father son project. his 1970 beetle autostick will not go into 1st & 2nd. it will slide right into reverse and low. we have:
1. changed out all vacumm hoses
2. replaced the shift rod bushings
3. took apart control valve, all good
4. verified shift plate correct position
5. bench tested stick shift, resoldier wire to contact, shift rod slot pointing correctly

so why will it not go into 1st and 2nd but does with reverse and low?

thanks to all   

[Dave]

I need to sort out our 1973 soon, won't go into any gear yet.  I would suggest maybe the clutch isn't engaging 'deep' enough to get into the higher gears.  That's my wild guess until I start to fix ours.

[68autobug]

Hi
the easiest answer would be that the reverse lock out plate under the bottom of the gear shifter is incorrectly located.. so, loosen the two bolts slightly and move the shifter over to the right.. then tighten the two bolts then try it out..  the plate should move over to the RHS when You move the gear lever to the Right..
I presume the two bolts were undone during Your overhaul..
The plate has to be located in the correct position..  I've never actually heard of anyone having Your problem.. its usually Reverse and D1 is Ok but Low and D2 can't be selected..  [or vise versa] when the plate is moved in the wrong direction.
I'm guessing that You cannot move the gear shifter over to D1 & D2 ??

Lee in Australia

[jrny99]

Hi
the easiest answer would be that the reverse lock out plate under the bottom of the gear shifter is incorrectly located.. so, loosen the two bolts slightly and move the shifter over to the right.. then tighten the two bolts then try it out..  the plate should move over to the RHS when You move the gear lever to the Right..
I presume the two bolts were undone during Your overhaul..
The plate has to be located in the correct position..  I've never actually heard of anyone having Your problem.. its usually Reverse and D1 is Ok but Low and D2 can't be selected..  [or vise versa] when the plate is moved in the wrong direction.
I'm guessing that You cannot move the gear shifter over to D1 & D2 ??



Lee in Australia


right, it will not go into d1 or d2. when i put the trans into r or L it makes the disengae sound and lets it shift. when i go to d1 or d2 it does not make the disengage sound and does nothing. almost like there is a open circuit. i flipped the shift plate everyway i could. im thinking its the vaccum tank adjustment.

[68autobug]

Hi
I wrote a long reply to this last week, but somehow pressed a wrong key and it disappeared. I believe it has to be the electrical connection in the lower part of the gear shifter.  the electrical points must be incorrectly seated so that You can only engage two  gears .. on the left hand side... Low and reverse... so when You move the gear shifter to the gears on the RHS.. there is NO electrical connection...  this could be due to the way the electrical wire has being soldered to the points...  a small bit of solder or the wire stopping the points from closing when in D1 and D2..   I haven't actually heard of this happening before...  The electrical points should be perfectly flat and can be adjusted very close so any movement of the gear shifter will activate the clutch servo via the control valve or so the control valve only works when the gear shifter is moved forwards or backwards...  which I believe is the correct way..!!  I can push My gear shifter sideways and nothing happens...  the workshop manual doesn't agree with Me.. lol
If You believe the gear shifter points are correctly installed... then try connecting the wire from the gear shifter points direct to the control valve and see what happens...
that will tell You whether its the reverse lock out switch causing the problem...  also a very rare thing... these usually give no trouble apart from loose wires or connections...

best of luck

Lee in Australia

check out photos ; http://www.photobucket.com/68autobug

[CarlIseminger]

Are you saying that you can't move the lever into the D1 or the D2 spot?  It just moves over to the right side and is "stuck"?

If you don't have the contact points in the shifter adjusted correctly, and the shift contacts have worn down on the 1 - 2 side, they could not be making contact when you move the shifter over to the 1 - 2 side. 

Can you shift the transmission lever into D1 or D2 with engine off?  If it can be done with the engine off, then more than likely it is the shift contacts.  Try the bypass method to short out the control valve and see if you can shift with the engine running.

[68autobug]

Hi Again
Yes, can You shift the gear lever into D1 and D2 with the engine OFF???
You are saying You cannot select D1 or D2 with the engine going... and no noise from the clutch servo... so, no power to the control valve when the gear shifter is moved into D1 and D2....   with the engine going.... 

Now with the key switch turned ON and the engine NOT going, You should still be able to make at least 8+ gear movements until all the vacuum from the vacuum canister is used up...  if the switch in the gear shifter and the safety switch is connected and working properly...   which Yours seems not to be....  You shouldn't be able to start the engine in any gear either...
As said, easiest way is to connect the bottom of the gearshifter to the control valve with one piece of wire...  even out thru the door is OK...    the other connection on the control valve is to ignition power...

Let Us know how you went..

Lee in Australia

[CarlIseminger]

Or, with a helper, with the engine not running, but the key in the run position, you can ground out the control valve and see if the valve itself is working.  And if you are truly brave, have the car well blocked and the helper with his foot on the brake, you can operate the control valve with the engine running and see if the helper can shift the car into gear.

That is of course, if you have tested the shift lever with the car not running and you can move the shift lever into Range 1 or 2.  If you can't move the lever into Range 1 or 2, then it won't do any good to see if the control valve is working or not until you solve the movement issue first.

[68autobug]

Hi Carl
Yes. You really need to be careful when selecting gears with the engine running fast...  handbrake and foot brakes on...    if the control valve engages the clutch very fast...  the car will want to jump and go...

but can You actually move the gear shifter into D1 & D2 without the engine going... ??
You need to be able to do this before finding the other electrical problem

cheers

LEE

[CarlIseminger]

Probably the safest way would be to have the rear wheels of the ground and the car sitting on jack stands.  I have done that when I am atempting to adust the control arm.