Shift Mechanism Problems
« on: September 28, 2015, 11:33:46 pm »
Hi all,

Driving back from Ft. Collins, CO today, my shift mechanism failed on my '93 MV Eurovan Westfalia. The van now has a very loose stick and can't get into several gears including at least Reverse, 1st, and 5th. What I do know is that both balls at the end of the long t-bar in the diagram (http://goo.gl/va1H3s) are not keeping within their fittings. The left white ball slips out of the circular fitting and the right black ball slips out of the square frame. I'm not sure what is causing these to slip out. I also recently (10,000 miles) had my clutch replaced. Wondering if this should have been noticed and taken care of in that process or instead, is just a standard hazard of owning a 93 Eurovan? Any thoughts on what might be the root problem and if an amateur DIY van enthusiast might be able to fix it. Thanks all. instagram: helgathevan
« Last Edit: September 29, 2015, 09:19:40 am by dwboersma »
-David Boersma

*

Offline Eric

  • *
  • 4
  • 0
  • Camps in backyard!
    • View Profile
Re: Shift Mechanism Problems
« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2015, 01:16:28 pm »
I think I had the same issue that you are having, essentially the problem was that the bar was coming out of the right brace in the diagram so you could not find any gears that were not in the "center". On the road I fixed it by wrapping a large zip tie around that whole portion to keep it lodged in that brace. I had my mechanic replace some of the plastic elements there with this kit: http://europarts-sd.com/shifterrepairkit-mt1992-1996.asp so I can't comment on how hard the replacement is, other than it fixed my problem. One you get the new components in you may need to adjust your shifter, there is a hose clamp type thing under the shifter that you loosen up then center the shifter and tighten it back down again. In my case I found it easier to get the van in reverse then tighten it down so that the rubber spacer element was where it was supposed to be in the casing. My rubber element was also pretty worn down so I added a hose clamp around it with a small piece of sheet metal to give it more material to grip the surround since there was not enough space for reverse and first with the worn down rubber piece.