I changed the gear shift coupling (the gearbox end of the long gear rod) a few months ago when the engine and box came out for welding. Today it fell to bits ? The coupling fits to the shaft with the grub screw - thats fine. The problem is the coupling itself is made of two plastic/ rubber blocks with a tube running through the centre and a 10mm headed self tapping bolt that screws into the tube which holds it all together. The self tapping bolt has fallen out of the tube and now won't tighten in the tube ! Has anyone else had this hassle - whats the fix - can I put a long threaded screw with a nut on the end and wind it up tight or will this affect my gear change. Really annoyed coz we changed this to be safe when the box was out ?
unfortunately they are that rubbish... normally what I do, is get a new one, and throw everything away from it apart from the rubber blocks, and re-use the old part (as long as it's a genuine vw one) you can do what you've suggested, as long as you use a bolt that matches the diameter of the tube... failing that, a long M5 bolt will probably go through the center of the tube and replace the self tapping bolt
This is the case with so many replacement parts nowadays and its a crying shame Gone are the days of fitting new to avoid future problems
Thanks folks - you would have thought that with such an enthusiastic and loyal following by so many people for all things V Dub someone would start to make quality parts that would actually be BETTER than those designed 30 - 40 - 50 years ago ? Suerly if someone can invent computers since Type 2 busses they could use the damn things to design a gear linkage that didn't fall apart in two months ? Looks like its a M5 bolt then ? Progress !
The parts don't need improvement other than making to the standard VW set originally, but there's probably a narrower profit margin than that to be had by importing low cost Far Eastern copies. Just assume that if the part description includes the word "quality" its anything but, until proven otherwise. )
Perhaps the part description should read " a complete load of crap that will fall apart in two months but we are going to sell it to you anyway" At least you would know what your getting - a sausage, salad and mayo sandwhich has a description that is contains 350 cals so you can at least tell if you buy too many of them you will get fat ! - on second thoughts the sandwhich is probably better made than the gear coupling ?
I once tried to post a mildly negative review of a product on a vendors site. Silly me they only accepted positives... ) It's all down to cost I'm afraid and blame the Chinese for the quality, the European companies that order this stuff evidently don't believe in doing any quality control themselves. So in short the sandwich vendor could end up in jail if you got food poisoning whereas the purveyor of crap parts can carry on as normal... Cheery scenario isn't it.
std http://www.coolairvw.co.uk/Item/Shop_by_Vehicle~Beetle_Products~Beetle_Levers_-P-_Pedal_Products~Gear_Shifters_and_Linkage~Gear_Shifter_Linkage/311798211/T1_65-79_-P-_T2_68-79_Gearshift_Coupling.html Best quality http://www.coolairvw.co.uk/Item/Shop_by_Vehicle~Beetle_Products~Beetle_Levers_-P-_Pedal_Products~Gear_Shifters_and_Linkage~Gear_Shifter_Linkage/311798211GEN/T1_65-79_-P-_T2_68-79_Gearshift_Coupling_-_Top_Quality.html Poly http://www.coolairvw.co.uk/Item/Shop_by_Vehicle~Beetle_Products~Beetle_Levers_-P-_Pedal_Products~Gear_Shifters_and_Linkage~Gear_Shifter_Linkage/AC798214/T1_66-79_-P-_T2_68-79_Urethane_Gearshift_Coupling.html
Not seen the poly ones - perhaps I will scrap the old (new) one and fit one. Any tips on other items I could buy, find out their crap, throw them away and then buy some more ? At least you buy the sandwhich, eat it and eventually it becomes crap - but you know that when you eat it ?
