Stirring porridge

Rich What you need to do is look at your shifter bushings, hope they are the only things that need to be replaced. There is one at the back connecting shift rod to tranny and a bushing up front, this one you have to remove your belly pan to get to. I suggest getting the haynes manual for you bus it would be very helpful. This is a job that you should beable to do in a hour or so depending on your mechanical skill. Also check out Type2.com there are people there that can help.

Mario Vintage werks restorations

The bushings Mario refers to are only two of several. The one that is likely the cause of your fruitless stirring is the one at the very front, under the shift lever, basically. The bottom end of the lever fits into a hole in the top of the shift rod. The shift rod runs (in two pieces) from the shift lever to the nosecone of the transmission. Just ahead of the hole that the shift lever fits into is the front end of the rod and its forward support, the front shiftrod bushing. There were two types of bushings used there, but yours probably looks like a large nylon grommet. Like a grommet, it fits within a hole in a sheetmetal panel and has a large flange on each side to hold it in place. Chances are, it has split in two or almost so, allowing the front end of the rod to swim around in a considerably larger hole.

The front section of shift rod is secured to the aft section just about two feet back from the front end. There is a set screw (probably a 10mm head on it) that secures the two pieces together. You will need to remove the shift lever from above (the two bolts you can see - one ahead of and one behind the lever, securing its flange to the floorboard.) Watch what comes up and in what order - also wrap a rag around it right away so the little alignment pin with spring doesn't drop out. There is a "pattern plate" that stays on the floorboard and does not get turned this way and that, forgetting which way it's supposed to go! With the shift lever removed, and the two sections of rod seperated, you will be able to remove the front section and replace the bushing.

Take the front rod and the shift lever in hand and put them together out in the open so you can see how the spring-loaded pin needs to align and how it all works. You'll need to refer to the adjustment section in a manual to set it all back in properly.

At the back end of the shift rod is the coupler to the shift shaft sticking out the front of the tranny. It's like a small universal joint (kinda) but very specific to its duties. They wear out and sometimes fall apart. This may need replacing, but the "stirring" is most likely front bushing. Proper fix is to replace all the bushings, but that requires pulling the engine and tranny and more patience than most monestaries!

I probably have some pix, if you need some reference, e-mail me (remove the obvious)

Are the earlier type 2, type one motored, busses the same shifting setup? Because if it is I'm going to save your explaination in a file for when I install the bushing kit I bought for my 70' Bus.

Mac

My 68 bus has a type 1 and my 78 bus has a type 4

Rich

Mac wrote:

I believe they are close enough that everything pertains. The front bushing may be a different style. When you replace the bushings that are inside the shift rod tube (housing) it isn't a fun thing at all. The most recent time I did this was last spring and I found it to be much easier now that all my heater tube stuff is gone out of the way. The problem with the bushings that attach to the shift rod (besides having to pull the engine and tranny to replace them) is that they have little alignment tabs on their inside surfaces that fit into holes on the shift rod outer surface and those suckers simply will not / can not / do not align. These "bushings" are shaped like badminton shuttlecocks (birdies) and their purpose is to keep that shift rod centered in the housing and provide a smooth riding surface for the inch or so that the rod moves fore and aft. If I ever have another bus and get to the point of pulling the rod out and the bushings are not busted, they're going right back in with a little grease on them! I refuse to play that game again unless forced to!

I'd love for someone to point out the simple, straightforward way to install those things and prove me to be stupid and ignorant - I won't argue the point at all, if a solution is posted! I'm ready to replace the housing with a couple bronze bushed pillow blocks if ever I need to do it again!

Bob H. - You did something unique with yours, as I recall, what did you do?

Oh BTW - You still need to read that adjustment part when re-installing the shift lever. Maybe it's posted at Type2.com - they have a lot of good info there.

-Bah

Thanks for all your help.

I will look at it when it gets a bit warmer !

Rich

tricky wrote: