1978 bus pops out of 4th gear

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cjacaruso
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1978 bus pops out of 4th gear

Post by cjacaruso » Thu Aug 12, 2021 7:04 am

I have a 1978 VW Bus with a 091 stock transmission. I just had it rebuilt at a place called German Transaxle. Pretty expensive and they seem very thorough. So once everything is back together and I am test driving it continuously pops out of 4th gear. I went through the linkage very thoroughly, welding on new metal in places where there was wear and grinding and filing to like new. Still pops out of 4th gear. All other gears work fine. Called the tranny rebuilder and he is pretty positive it is the linkage and not the tranny. He suggested maybe disconnecting the linkage from the tranny and then trying it. He also said he had no idea how I would get the vehicle moving from standstill in 4th gear. I live in Montana so there are highways with big long hills! I went to the top of one, put the tranny in 4th, disconnected the linkage, checked for 4th gear engagement. Started coasting down the big hill and once I got up to about 25 - 30 mph I turned on the ignition, popped the clutch, and the tranny immediately popped out of gear. So any other ideas? Motor mounts are new, tranny mounts seem good but that may be something to consider. I'm feeling the tranny needs to be sent back to the rebuilder.

cjacaruso
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Re: 1978 bus pops out of 4th gear

Post by cjacaruso » Thu Aug 19, 2021 7:26 pm

OK. So I did another test. Engine running, clutch in, shift linkage disconnected, tranny in 4th gear. Got rolling down a big, long hill and at 35 mph I let out the clutch and 4th gear disengaged pretty much immediately. Did this test at 4:30 am so hardly any traffic! Much safer. Once I coasted down the rest of the hill I reconnected the shift linkage and away I went. Max speed 35-40 mph in 3rd gear. I'm pretty convinced the tranny is the culprit. Anyone think otherwise?

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SlowLane
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Re: 1978 bus pops out of 4th gear

Post by SlowLane » Fri Aug 20, 2021 10:42 am

cjacaruso wrote:
Thu Aug 19, 2021 7:26 pm
OK. So I did another test. Engine running, clutch in, shift linkage disconnected, tranny in 4th gear. Got rolling down a big, long hill and at 35 mph I let out the clutch and 4th gear disengaged pretty much immediately. Did this test at 4:30 am so hardly any traffic! Much safer. Once I coasted down the rest of the hill I reconnected the shift linkage and away I went. Max speed 35-40 mph in 3rd gear. I'm pretty convinced the tranny is the culprit. Anyone think otherwise?
FWIW, I don't think otherwise.
Sounds to me that you've adequately performed the test that the rebuilder recommended. Suggest that you present your findings to him and see what he has to say.

Gotta say, I kinda cringed when I pictured you under the bus by the side of the highway disconnecting shift linkage, then coasting down a hill with an eye on the rear-view mirror praying that you don't become a hood ornament on a hurtling semi-trailer.
'81 Canadian Westfalia (2.0L, manual), now Californiated

"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."
- Terry Pratchett

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Amskeptic
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Re: 1978 bus pops out of 4th gear

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Nov 26, 2021 11:03 am

Any update? I find it annoying that the rebuilder sent you on a linkage merry-go-round when it is obviously obviously internal.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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