whats the best thing to do with floppy gear stick as when i bought my bus it only had two gears 3 and 4 . i have now got all the gears sorted but very floppy any ideas .
The "cup" on the front section of the gearshift rod may well be worn allowing the ball end of the gearstick to flop about. Also a spring loaded pin within the ball locates in a vertical slot through the front end of the cup. This pin is susceptible to wear allowing the gearstick itself to rotate slightly. I found that replacing the front end section of the gear shift rod and making a replacement pin removed a lot of the sloppy feel of the gearstick.
Before we got our van, someone warned me that a mate's Dad had a VW previously, and he said that changing gear was like bobbing for apples. Sorry - that hasn't helped with your problem, but it amused me!
When I bought mine it was the same a bit hit and miss on the gears. I replaced all off the bushes and the yolk thing that connects to the gearbox and fitted a base plate throw reducer that fits at the bottom of the gear stick and it was like driving a new car so much better.
Like others have said its all abour wear. Work your way from the front to back, replacing/repairing/tightening and lubricating as you go.
Dont just try sticking a new empi/ hurst shifter on . this will improve gear selection and a bit of floppyness, but only if the things previously mentioned by the guys , have been done and things are basically working as they should.
Bay's stick is always a bit floppy. (we'll see you at 40 ) there are things you can do, but it's not simple. It's best to do this when your gearbox is out. Take the stick apart. There's a plate at the base. This is often broken. (usually easily welded back) take the front part of the shaft that runs under the bus off. it looks like a long smoking pipe. clean everything from old grease and gunk. The ball- end of the stick has a spring loaded pin through it. This is often stuck or the spring broken or rotten. Take the pin & spring out, clean it, don't loose it. put the ball - end gear stick in the linkage slot that you've taken off, and check for wear. there should be minimal slack in the slot. (there will be more slack on the upper part of the slot than on the bottom- the bottom is only used when you press down for reverse) There's a ring above the ball - end on the stick. this ring rubs against the shifter plate, and because most drivers have a tendency to apply pressure on the stick to the left when selecting first gear, this ring gets worn. (you can see a flat spot in the picture above) The ring can be welded easily, just weld some material on the flat spot, and file it down so it's round again. If there is too much slack in the linkage slot, all you can do is cut it out and weld a new piece of pipe on. old slot removed, new one made out of a socket is welded on. If you can find the correct diameter pipe, that would be better than the socket. That's as far as wear on the stick goes. What you need to do next is change all the bushings on the linkage. Be careful which bushings you buy, they usually sell sets with wrong parts for your bus. (your favorite UK supplier included) For T2b 1973 onwards, you need. 211 711 182 - Front donut bushing (very important) 211 711 179 - Rear linkage - front bushing 211 711 185B - Rear linkage - rear bushing (post '77 buses use TWO OF THESE!) The rear gear selector. - (beware of cheap junk! buy a quality selector, they come with polyutherane "red" bushings, for less floppyness) (REAR LINKAGE BUSHINGS CAN ONLY BE CHANGED WITH THE GEARBOX OFF) Put a lot of grease on all the moving parts, and that's it. There is a cheap "quick shifter kit" from Empi that can shorten your throw distance. these work only when everything else is ok. you might need a bit more force to select a gear, this is just a simple spacer that moves your leverage point, so it compromises torque for travel distance. Goo luck!
Nice pics, Sven Only comment I'd make is that later Bays had the ring bush in the front crossmember, rather than the push-in cup thingy.
