Club 80-90 Forums

Having issues selecting gears (esp first, the shifter selects what feels more like third!)
Decided to use the Bentley manual to help adjust gear selection. All went okay, and can select gears when still, but as soon as the truck moves, gear selection is very difficult... I cannot get first at all. Its even worse than before, and first/second are impossible to select

I centred what I believe to be the ' shift rod finger' to the housing, before setting the 23mm gap between the finger and the plate within the housing (see image)



So, where have I gone wrong? Can anyone advise?

With the stock gearstick a Syncro or 4 speed gearbox will push the selector ball at the gearbox into the 3rd,4th plane in neutral
So having visually checked that the nylon tips on the fingers of the front shift rod are present and intact - they often wear and or crack and break up/off leaving a thin bare steel finger (there are repair kits available for the guides)
Simplest way is to go underneath and lossen the pinch bolt in the middle that holds the two halves of the linkage together so they can rotate relative to each other and have 2nd person in the cab move the gearstick in netral left and right a few times across the gate and then hold it over to the right, person underneath checks the gearbox selector ball is pushed fully out (ie to the right) and is vertical (ie can be pushed in by hand and springs back out)
and then tighten the pinch bolt in that position
2nd person in cab can then go through the gears and select them all and the person under can see that the ball is being moved back and fro in the 3 available planes

You have your 1)plastic guides and alloy block at front bottom, s) the ball at bottom of stick and 3) the plastic selector at rear.

Chick which is loose.

I have done all three over the last 20 years. repair kits easily had.

good luck

Thanks for the replies.

I followed the Bentley instructions, loosening the pinch bolt, etc. but did not have someone in the cab to hold the stick, Aidan.
I'll repeat, this time with a spare body to make sure the stick positioned correctly.


I did notice that at the gearbox end, that although the selector was upright, there was 'wiggle' in the horizontal part of the mechanism, where it runs through a support/guide. I didn't have time to investigate further, but if you get hold of the gearbox side, it seems to pivot within the support - is this likely to be caused by a worn bushing?

Any recommendations on where to buy this, or the plastic finger guides mentioned by Aidan?

silverbullet wrote: ↑24 May 2026, 08:37 https://brickwerks.co.uk/product-catego ... cc72DxpDeJ

Thanks, I was looking on there earlier - there's so many options! 
So there *should* be nylon ends on the front forks of the shift rod? It's not really clear from the Bentley drawing. I'll have to order some. Has anyone fitted this 'softer' plastic option?

https://brickwerks.co.uk/product/gear-s ... ternative/

My opinion is biased as I make the premium tip repair kit for BW.
The originals were a molded hard nylon type material that was formed directly onto the shift rod, impossible to replicate so I chose to go with a hard engineering polymer that will successfully bond with epoxy and a soft alloy rivet pin for security.
Can't speak for the cheap copies, not my work.

silverbullet wrote: ↑24 May 2026, 16:17 My opinion is biased as I make the premium tip repair kit for BW.
The originals were a molded hard nylon type material that was formed directly onto the shift rod, impossible to replicate so I chose to go with a hard engineering polymer that will successfully bond with epoxy and a soft alloy rivet pin for security.
Can't speak for the cheap copies, not my work.

Thanks Silverbullet, appreciate your openness. I'll be swapping to an 094 box hopefully later in the year, so didn't see the point in the more expensive option at the moment, just wondered what the cheaper one was like.

The syncro variant of the 094 transmission uses a 4-speed derived gear linkage.
The 5-speed 2wd uses a different gear selector arrangement at the gear lever end.

silverbullet wrote: ↑25 May 2026, 06:19 The syncro variant of the 094 transmission uses a 4-speed derived gear linkage.
The 5-speed 2wd uses a different gear selector arrangement at the gear lever end.

Oh, that's interesting, I saw that there was five-speed specific parts and assumed they were for all models.
You live and learn! Seeing as I can keep them when I fit the five-speed, decided to order the luxury version 

if you use the 4 speed gearstick and linkage with a 5 speed you will still have to go under the gate to get 1st, just like selecting G in a the Syncro
Don't get lazy about it and pull away in 2nd all the time, the gearbox won't appreciate it

Can anyone help me out? I'm getting close to losing it with this problem! 

Today, I refreshed the mechanism with new parts; front bush grommets, clean and regrease, etc. in an effort to improve gear selection, using this youtube video to guide my efforts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0_Jyn1Yrv8&t=353s

Anyway, I got it all on the truck, followed Aidans guidance - I left the middle splined joint loose and had someone move the stick in neutral, so I could see the ball at he box end moving. They set the stick to the right, and I tightened the splined joint.

They went through the gears so I could watch the ball and cup at the box end. This is where the noticed a problem - when 3rd and 4th were selected, the ball came away from the cup. Not completely out, but enough to then cause the gearshift to stick, so you couldn't change gear, unless I pushed on the ball. 

So I can see the issue, I can't see what I have done wrong. Can anyone help me out? What am I missing?

1) I am *sure* that the crank on the mechanism is correct, the splined offset is correct (according to the Youtube video)
2) I know that the cups are different, and Eddie is a diesel conversion (he was petrol) but the conversion work was done years ago.
3) Once reassembled, I saw that the loose 'see-saw' effect at the gearbox end seems to be due to wear in the roller pin securing the cup on
    the end of the mechanism, so I'll try and find a replacement. I don't think this is the problem, but thought I'd mention it.

 

Make sure the support plate bolt holes aren't worn or damaged either on the gearbox or the plate itself. I had that issue on my current box where the cup sat too low for the selector. I had to hold the rod up then tighten the bolts for the plate as the mounts on the gearbox had been broken prior to me getting my hands on the box and it was very sloppy... the box was free so I wasn't complaining.

you need the correct rear linkage rod and the correct cup and the correct rear bush plate for a diesel set up, and the correct gearbox mount as well because the engine and gearbox sit a slightly different angles on the WBX and diesel (or other VW in-line4 engines) - without seeing your set up and having another one side by side to compare I can't really help further

I know many conversions were done without this attention to detail - 'you just bend it a bit and it will be fine' attitude, even garages who did the work professionally did that, as long as it worked when driven out they didn't really care - when the gearbox started popping out of top gear after a while (often having being sold on when the problem came to light) and box came in for a rebuild customers weren't happy to be told they needed a new gearset and the linkage sorted, and that it was entirely preventable

most important bit I was taught by Brickie (back in 2007) is the rear bush plate that is mounted on the gearbox should be pushed up when tightening the two bolts that hold it so the cup and ball are fully coupled, so that the ball cannot come out of the cup or the boot get pulled off the cup so it becomes lodged on top of it and acting as a spring/baulking the shift

Stesaw wrote: ↑07 Jun 2026, 22:08 Make sure the support plate bolt holes aren't worn or damaged either on the gearbox or the plate itself. I had that issue on my current box where the cup sat too low for the selector. I had to hold the rod up then tighten the bolts for the plate as the mounts on the gearbox had been broken prior to me getting my hands on the box and it was very sloppy... the box was free so I wasn't complaining.

Well, I did notice that the bottom of the two mounting holes is cracked, but didn't seem to be the cause, in my opinion.
The mounting plate seemed to fastened up okay, but I was uphappy to see the damaged mounting.

Thanks Stesaw, maybe something to consider.