stuck in first -- what do you think?

Downshifting on a hill yesterday my bug stalled. Clutch in, she started up no problem but its now stuck in first. Limped home at 8mph.

Did my due diligence in the Bentley manual as well as the other six books I have. No joy. The shifter moves into every position *except* first. I get solid resistance in that position. I've looked online and in the back pages of this group and everywhere on the net I could think of and here's what I've tried so far.

Pulled the refill oil plug on the transmission case. Tried to pry the ring -- internet posts vary -- forward and backward trying to get it to "pop into neutral". No luck.

I've heard of some mechanics using a coat hanger to do something in there? or people "loosening the nose cone" to get the hockey stick back into the shift selector.

If I'm wasting my time, let me know and I'll order a rebuilt (recommendations appreciated) but want to make sure I've exhausted the options I have in my garage. ( I've never swapped out a motor/transmission before but being laid off I have the time and my neighbor has a lift and as mentioned I have the manuals and can get a BugMe video.)

thanks

-griff

Reply to
griff
Loading thread data ...

Oh, forgot to mention. The bushing under the rear seat is fine.

Reply to
griff

What about the bush at the front of the shift rod?

Reply to
Jim Ed

I am sorry, I have never had that problem. If you decide to order a transmission, I recommend this place:

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That's where I order the important stuff like alternator, carburetor, etc.

If you can pull the engine, you can pull the tranny.

Reply to
Jim Ed

On Jul 20, 11:13=A0am, Jim Ed wrote: ..

thanks for that tip. I'll check that.

Reply to
griff

Front bushing looks alright.

Is it possible to get the nose cone loose enough while on the car enough to fiddle with the hockey stick and selectors?

Reply to
griff

What happens when you try to shift into 2nd while moving?

With the car stationary, what happens if you try to move off in

2nd? From memory, 1st and 2nd share a selector sleeve.

What about trying to move off in 3rd, 4th or reverse?

I've had a beetle stick in 1st because a detent ball had been left out of the gearbox.

I've also had a Subaru break a selector so that I got 2 gears simultaneously at highway speeds. The front (drive) wheels locked up and the car made a completely uncontrolled stop. After the shock wore off, I drove to the next town in neutral (which was then 4th gear).

Both of the above problems required a transmission overhaul. The beetle just needed a detent, but the Subaru needed most gear sets to be replaced.

John

Reply to
John Henderson

...sorry, I have had no experience with that.

This link might help:

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Reply to
Jim Ed

The motor bogs down and the car stalls. The car is stuck in 1st even thought the shift position is in neutral. I can't actually move the shifter up into the 1st gear position, there's serious resistance there. So, neutral =3D first. Any other gear position stalls the car.

Same. The resistance stops the motor.

Same thing.

I checked that today as well. Seems alright there.

Wow. That must've been some kind of scary.

Sounds more and more like a rebuilt transmission may be in the cards.

Reply to
griff

Check this if you can:

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# Locked in gear.

  1. Lock pin or interlock pin missing.*
  2. Coupling pin for shift rod loose or missing.
Reply to
Jim Ed

Jan Anderson might be able to help you. He frequents this group.

Reply to
Jim Ed

Changing the gear oil might help it shift easier.

Be sure to use GL-4 not GL-5 gear oil.

You can get it here:

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Reply to
Jim Ed

Hey, the thing is stuck! You know, jammed. Kaput. Finis.

Reply to
John Stafford

John S. is right. There is no sense in changing the gear oil unless you can get it unstuck.

If you get it unstuck or buy another tranny, be sure to get the GL-4 type of gear oil. Quote from aircooled.net, "...Does not include the corrosive additives that GL-5 oils have (NEVER use these). We only carry the top of the line Synthetic gear lube, and this IS compatible with Limited Slip differentials!"

Reply to
Jim Ed

I cannot give you an exact referral now, going by memory only. Todays GL5 oils are no longer corrosive to yellow metals, quite a few years ago this was supposedly changed.

A bit like unleaded when it first came out, a no no for pre 67 VW's due to valve seat material. No longer a problem as the lead has been replaced with Calium, works wonders for lubrication.

J.

Reply to
P.J.Berg

a little more information, since it seems I didn't see the original thread, might be in order... does it lock up solid(like putting an automatic in "PARK") if you select third or forth gear?... had a 1-2 slider break inside the transaxle once and all I had was first gear, but putting it in third or forth would lock everything solid.... if this is the case, you are looking at a teardown and rebuild, at minimum...

Reply to
Joey Tribiani

Hi

Well this happened to my friend's bug that had been sitting for several years. I rebuilt the engine and on the first test drive, coming down a moderate grade real slow, the rear tires locked up. I think he just put it in first or was in between gear changes. Nothing would make it move, the rear was truly locked. I can't remember how the shifter itself behaved, I wasn't driving.

Anyways, after some head scratching, I grabbed the right side rear wheel in a big bear hug (I was 18 or so, so maybe a koala bear is more like it) and with all my might I started rocking it back and forth. You know how there's always a little play in the drivetrain? I just kept rocking it and told my friend to try and free up the gear selector, just by working the shifter back and forth while I rocked the rear wheel. And whaddaya know, it unlocked itself and worked fine again.

Much like the folks in this group, the people present at that time thought I actually knew what I was doing. :)

Reply to
Jan

Oh and just remembered another thing... while you may be able to reach one slider from the oil fill hole, the other one doesn't line up with any existing hole. So for our race cars we drilled an access hole about the same size in the appropriate location on the side of the trans. Should have cut threads for a stock fill plug, but we used an oil barrel breather plug instead. Anyways. Direct access to the forks. I used to have a template for where to drill, but I lost it long ago. This wonät help you now but I thought I'd mention it in case someone is building a trans and has the opportunity to do this little mod.

Reply to
Jan

That pretty much sounds like the problem Joey. First gear is all I have, even though I can shift to positions 2-3-4-R when the car is at a standstill. If I release the clutch, the car locks up. Thanks everybody for the info. Very helpful in deciding what to do.

I'm pulling the motor/transmission tomorrow, crating up the transmission and shipping it to Jim Kaforski at Der Transaxle Shop in Anaheim. Jim's rep is outstanding and he was entirely helpful on the phone. It ships without oil so I'll be replacing it when it comes back in a few weeks.

Reply to
griff

Seems like his trans works, and car is driveable, but it is stuck in 1st gear. In my example, the whole trans was locked up and car would not move forward or back. (Two gears selected at the same time maybe?)

Here is the original message:

Downshifting on a hill yesterday my bug stalled. Clutch in, she started up no problem but its now stuck in first. Limped home at 8mph.

Did my due diligence in the Bentley manual as well as the other six books I have. No joy. The shifter moves into every position *except* first. I get solid resistance in that position. I've looked online and in the back pages of this group and everywhere on the net I could think of and here's what I've tried so far.

Pulled the refill oil plug on the transmission case. Tried to pry the ring -- internet posts vary -- forward and backward trying to get it to "pop into neutral". No luck.

I've heard of some mechanics using a coat hanger to do something in there? or people "loosening the nose cone" to get the hockey stick back into the shift selector.

If I'm wasting my time, let me know and I'll order a rebuilt (recommendations appreciated) but want to make sure I've exhausted the options I have in my garage. ( I've never swapped out a motor/transmission before but being laid off I have the time and my neighbor has a lift and as mentioned I have the manuals and can get a BugMe video.)

thanks

-griff

Reply to
Jan

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