I’m about to attempt to drive my bus after a nut and bolt rebuild but I can’t get gears. The gearstick is very vague and although it appears to click into a gear every now and then- nothing. I can get one gear-third I think judging by the position of the gearstick but that’s the only forward gear and I can’t get the gearstick anywhere near the reverse position. I fitted new bushes to the rod when I had it out but they were very poor quality aftermarket ones so I don’t think they made much difference and I’m not sure if I’ve got the plate at the base of the gearstick fitted correctly. Can anyone help? Cheers
Thanks for that btw, but no, I’m a bit stuck really. The Haynes manual describes a similar procedure but how do I select 2nd gear in the first place? Also the picture isn’t quite clear enough to see if I’ve got the plate the right way round and am I right in saying that the Bentley manual shows a left hand drive bus?
Gearshift pattern is the same LHD and RHD. Stick may be bent to suit but the overall pattern is the same. Second gear is simply gearstick at rest, shift coupler at gearbox nose goes forward.
Ski jump to the right sticking up. TBH if that's right and you bolt it down you should get some gears.
Forwards/backwards adjustment it there to stop you punching the dash. It doesn't really effect gear change. Sideways is about staying locked out of R (one side) while still being able to select 3/4 but as only the plate moves sideways you should get gears wherever it is. So... might be something else entirely. Like did you remember to tighten the pinch bolt between the 2 halves of the selector shaft?
Yea that all makes sense, pretty sure everything is as it should be but I’ll go over it all again and have another go. Cheers
You are totally sure you have the correct length gearchange shaft ? I can't remember exactly, but I seem to remember theres a difference that can be resolved at the joiner down by the handbrake adjuster. I would check the gearbox has five different positive clicks into gear by moving the shift coupler forwards and backwards and rotating it, then once 100% sure it works there, then move to the gearshift base plate adjustment.
Everything is as it was when removed- so all original parts. The engine and gearbox is fitted so very difficult to manipulate the coupling in and out of gear.
The idea is start at one end of the problem , the gearbox, check it's working properly and be logical. There is no magic in the linkage.. the movement of the top of the gear lever is basically opposite to the motion at the gearbox. A spring in the gearbox guides first and second gear engagement to happen simply moving the top of the gearstick forwards and backwards without help from the shifter plate. All it's doing at that point is guiding the motion so that you don't go into reverse instead of second by pulling the top slightly left as you go back.. What changed.. did you work on the gearbox oid you just reassemble a running setup? You don't need much adjustment at tge front, another thing to try is to slacken the bolts on the gear lever base enough that it doesn't move until you push it quite hard with the movement of the lever, then you can try putting it into gear, it may click in then. You can lie under a stock height bus or run a lowered bus up on camping levelling ramps and get at the front of the gearbox.. You have to do that to check the coupler bolt is properly lined up in the centre dimple of the shaft coming ot of the gearbox and that it is not loose and causing part of your problem..
So, I think I’ve found the problem- bit of a schoolboy error really. Many years ago when I fitted 6 x new top hats to the chassis rails, I modified the rear one which has an elongated hole to allow the gear change rod to move side to side. I just assumed that the hole was the same height, just wider but as I have seen on other buses, the rear top hat has a lower bottom edge in the centre and a taller hole- allowing the bent portion of the gear change rod to travel fully forward without fouling the edge of the hole. Mine is hitting the top hat when I’m trying to select 2nd and 4th. I’ve bent the top hat out of the way a bit and can now just get it into 4th but I think I will have to remove the offending section altogether to cure the problem fully. I can also now get 1st and 3rd.
Fix that last bit. After putting a 6 rib box in an earlier bus the rear coupler hit the top hat and like yours didn't quite get entirely into 4th. 4th started to jump out and the box had to be stripped to replace it
yes I intend to- just didn’t have time today. I’m fairly confident that this is the problem, it just goes into 4th and offers to pop out, I’m sure that if it had more clearance it would go fully in it would go into 3rd aswell.
Just warning that I'll carry on driving and fix it properly in a while could get expensive. My GB front fixing came loose, box slid forward a few mm and I'd bet a few hundred miles was all it took. And, I hadn't had any problem selecting 4th. I have a photo somewhere. When VW introduced the 6 rib boxes they stopped fitting that top hat, rear outriggers etc and the shift rod sticks out for miles from the one in front.
Know what you’re saying- the bus isn’t on the road-hasn’t turned a wheel in 15 years and fixing this is literally the next job on my list, so it won’t be left unattended. I’m just glad it’s not the gearbox.
Mine took about...7-8 years. There were bits oof mechanics I'd been thinking were ok like brakes, suspension, driveshafts, steering. 95% of it was replaced by the time I'd done it piecemeal, I might as well have ripped it all out and replaced the lot. It goes on and on doesn't it?
