Sloppy gear change on Variant 412

[mhsmuts]

Hi all, first day on the forum..

Any advice, I need to resolve the sloppy gearshift on my 1974 Variant 412. There seems to excessive play at the gearlever joint. See pic

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

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[Haans]

Smuts,.....not a ghuru,..but from experience on beetles,...not many not sure it is the same on 411

There is /can be2 issues. There is a nylon type bush just inside the tunnel where your gear lever fits......bliksem to fit. Go ask forgiveness from priest before you start the job!

Then below,..at the front of the gearbox,...youwill see the gearlever rod comingfrom insidethe tunnel,......some type of a connector that can beworn out,..which need replacement

IF and only if the411 is tihe same as beelte or type 2

I am sure the ghurus will give good advice

Haans

[mhsmuts]

Thanks Hans, your advice matches Youtube! Where can I buy these parts?

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[73type2]

The gearshift coupling (under the back seat) is the easier one to replace. Do this first and see if there's any improvement. You can try your local spares places. Where in South Africa are you?

[mhsmuts]

The gearshift coupling (under the back seat) is the easier one to replace. Do this first and see if there's any improvement. You can try your local spares places. Where in South Africa are you?

Thanks for the advice, Ill try this. I live in Roodepoort on the Westrand.

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[Dawie]

On the type 4 car, coupling at transmission is accessible from below the car.

[mhsmuts]

Thanks Dawie

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[Haans]

See ! Told you !,.......there are some sharp folks on this forum............and very keen to part with knowledge and experiences

Haans

[mhsmuts]

Ok, we have been working on many issues and now that sloppy gearshift is next. I think I found the excessive play area. It is at the back where the gear actuation shaft connects to the gearbox selector stub. Weird connector that can be best described as a knuckle in a socket. See first pic. I am looking at retrofitting the one in the second picture. I might just have to remove the plastic guide close to the joint to allow the two shafts to line up. Any comments guys?

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[retrovan]

Not being an 411 or 412 expert, I would think that there was a reason to fit that type of joint,

As it is nothing like the beetle or the bus, there must be a reason why they would spend more money just to redevelop something that already exists and works very well.

Just looking at the shafts, I would say they do not line up, and therefore the different joint.



Should be able to get parts to fix it, or replace it. I would say that replacing the "O'' ring (26) would fix your problem

here is a full "How To" link ..

https://www.thesamba.com/vw//forum/view ... ?p=7576495

Herman

[sean]

To what are you comparing this “sloppy” gear shift? If you are comparing it to a new car, it will always be “sloppy”, these boxes don’t have spring loaded selectors that you can clearly feel to what direction you move the gear lever. Best lay under at the gear link joints and ask someone to move the gear leaver. Check for backlash at joints / couplings.

[mhsmuts]

Not being an 411 or 412 expert, I would think that there was a reason to fit that type of joint,

As it is nothing like the beetle or the bus, there must be a reason why they would spend more money just to redevelop something that already exists and works very well.

Just looking at the shafts, I would say they do not line up, and therefore the different joint.



Should be able to get parts to fix it, or replace it. I would say that replacing the "O'' ring (26) would fix your problem

here is a full "How To" link ..

https://www.thesamba.com/vw//forum/view ... ?p=7576495

Herman

Geesh where do you guys get all this info... this is exactly how it looks like. My car was an auto at some point and I was suspecting that this was a make a plan solution. To test the solution I taped up the ball joint (the part with the oring) to reduce the clearance between it and the tube socket. It made a big difference but ofcourse the tape wont last. Ill figure out how to remove the oring. Thanks!

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[mhsmuts]

To what are you comparing this “sloppy” gear shift? If you are comparing it to a new car, it will always be “sloppy”, these boxes don’t have spring loaded selectors that you can clearly feel to what direction you move the gear lever. Best lay under at the gear link joints and ask someone to move the gear leaver. Check for backlash at joints / couplings.

It is terrible, near impossible to select any gear or guess what it is.

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[Dawie]

Those square-head bolts... make sure one of them is'nt loose. Their lock-wires are missing.
Don't modify or fit the more solid joint from a beetle or kombi. You might then break the transmission's nosecone.
Drivetrain's weight is taken mostly by mountings above engine/gearbox parting line. Rubbers at nosecone are not mountings, just bump-stops. There is supposed to be lots of movement, especially up/down. That linkage was specially designed to take care of that. Mostly the problem is elsewhere.
If mountings are bad, or drivetrain mis-aligned, this will affect shifting.
By the way, some pictures in the service manual only apply to very early 411 cars and are irrelevant to later ones. Those early cars had no top gearbox mountings but strong nosecone mounting instead. (Like an early baywindow).
If the issues are sorted, the 412 shifts better than a beetle.

[mhsmuts]

Thanks Dawie. I can see what you are saying here. Any idea where I can source the male part of the joint? The top part where the oring sits is quite worn and is def where my play sits.

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