Adjust clutch so there is about 10mm of free play at the pedal. Put it in second, slacken the baseplate bolts, use a screwdriver or similar to push the base plate to the left till you feel / see it make contact with the gear lever. Nip the bolts up and try it. It can take a couple of goes to get it right. Make sure that the plate is lined up straight in the back and forth plane. If you fitted a new rear coupling it's probably junk. It's best just to use the plastic blocks of the new one, in the original Vw metal cage. The new ones are too flimsy, and @robcod posted recently how the collar part on his was turning on the cage giving similar probs. If everything is OK, and it still gives probs then it could be the hockey stick ball worn. You can usually tell by getting under the van and putting mole grips on the input shaft and seeing how much free play there is in and out. If it's quite noticeable then that's your problem.
Is there a rear coupling that is worth buying? How do I tell if the one I have is original? I'm hoping to collect all the parts to change all the bushes and bellows and was considering also replacing the rear coupling. It sounds like that might be a silly idea from what is said above..
You're taking pot luck with the rear coupler. As above, just put new "cheeks" in the original frame (assuming it is original). Years ago, JK used to sell German originals, but those days are long gone. Only other bushes you'll be able to change without taking the transmission out is/are the one at the very front of the linkage.
If the old one looks minging then it's probably original. If it's clean, silver or gold coloured, it's probably an after market jobby. The new red urethane bushes, pushed into the old Vw metal bit is about as good as it gets.
Yes, I've changed the front bush and will have to take it to a garage to get the transmission out and replace the other bushes and bellows, which look pretty grotty.
Tell them to keep the original nylon "shuttlecocks" on the long selector rod - just clean them up and grease them. The replacement shuttlecocks are carp and are unlikely to fit properly.
OK, I've taken the gearstick off to grease and forgotten which way around the stop plate should be. Should the taller edge be to the left or right? Bentley seems to say that the taller piece should be on the right, but now I'm wondering if that's because it is a pic for a LHD van..
Actually the stop plate looks pretty worn, I'm thinking I'll get a new one of those too. But still be helpful to know which way around it is supposed to go
thanks, sorry about that. It didn't look right, but for some reason I couldn't see it correctly from the diagram.
taken everything off to clean/re grease just not sure how worn it really is. looks pretty worn to me.
