Trouble getting into Reverse, and general stop plate adjust

[JereandJess]

78 Bus, 2.0 FI, manual transmission

Had the bus out this weekend for some spring cleaning and doing my first work on a caliper. Not so hard once you get in there!

Then as I went to back the bus out of the driveway to put it away last night it wouldnt' go into reverse.

I can say that I had noticed the last few times we had the bus out to drive it around the yard (not registered), that it was getting harder to get into reverse. So I had an inkling something was wrong.....

After reading lots of posts on the Samba, specifically 2 very good ones by Colin, that it still isn't right. I can put it in and shift through the forward gears easily, but no matter what I do, I can't get it to shift into reverse. Well, I did by taking vice grips onto the rear coupler and twist it and move it forward, but I can't get the gear shifter to do it.

My stop plate is intact, although rusty, so it's not broken or anything.

I took the whole assembly out and cleaned it up, but couldn't find anything to make a difference.

Another thing to mention for your consideration is that the shifter has always been a little loose. I did have the transmission/engine out and cleaned up the shift rod, replaced one of the bushings in the tube and lubed it up a couple years ago. The front rubber bushing/grommet is there and intact. The shifter has always been loose side to side, as if the shift rod is not not tight enough. Could replacing that front bushing help tighten this up?

Anyway....if you are still reading, thank you, and I would love to hear some suggestions of how to get this to shift into reverse.....

Thank you!

[Amskeptic]

You are losing badly-needed rotational movement in the shift rod. This is usually due to an accumulation of slop. The front bushing is critical. You can also slightly pinch the sides of the coupler cage where the rectangular bubber blocks are to improve the rotational movement which is where you are missing needed action. If the hockey stick ball is worn inside the nose-cone, that will require removal of the engine/transaxle. Usually that syptom is a difficult shift into 3-4th as well.
Colin

[JereandJess]

The front bushing is critical.

that would be the front round bushing that holds the tube in place and sits vertically? If so, it's there, intact. Not the most flexible rubber I have ever felt though. It is supposed to be tight and provide some rotational friction?

You can also slightly pinch the sides of the coupler cage where the rectangular bubber blocks are to improve the rotational movement which is where you are missing needed action.

I guess that is what I will try this afternoon and see if it improves things at all......

If the hockey stick ball is worn inside the nose-cone, that will require removal of the engine/transaxle. Usually that syptom is a difficult shift into 3-4th as well.
Colin

3-4th were never a problem, but the shifter was always a little sloppy since we got the bus over 9 years ago.

2 years ago when you were here briefly to help get the bus running after I took the carbs off and put the FI back on, I had the engine and trans. out and 1 of the plastic things (technical term) inside the tube was broken, so I replaced it and it did improve things a little bit.

After getting so used to driving that bus and learning how to shift it, I forget how a bus is supposed to shift! We were in VT last weekend to visit friends with a 78 Champagne Westfalia and it is an Arizona bus with pretty low miles. I couldn't believe how tight the shifting is. Sure gives me a benchmark to shoot for!

But before we worry about that, I need to get the bus shifting into reverse!

[JereandJess]

My 10th grade English teacher always used to say to us, when working on vocab words synonyms and antonyms, "Never over look the obvious"

Well as I was under the bus today I was up front looking at the front bushing and in the back looking at the rectangular coupling, and as I was going from front to the back I noticed the coupling that joins the front shift rod and the rear shift rod. Guess what?

The screw had backed itself out, that's why I wasn't getting the "much needed rotation" that Colin suggested. I was able to shift front to back because it was tight enough, but not tight enough for reverse.

Sooooo, I figured it out.

It's a good feeling!