[BristleJess]

Hi, new t4 owner here; '98 Caravelle 2.5tdi, 180k

When selecting reverse I'm meeting resistance, it's like there is a lip which is catching. There is no movement in the lever to push down/lift to select reverse. With a friend's help we put the bus up on a ramp and with a bit of grubbing around we replaced all the rubber balls etc in the linkage. The old ones were worn, and once assembled changing gears is noticably easier, but still meeting resistance getting reverse. There's no noise / crunching at all, just a firm clunk.

I've looked at the forums, but not noticed a similar problem to mine, just people unable to get reverse at all.

We noticed a cable fixed to the linkage, which my friend believes is usually part of the set up if you need to push (or lift) when getting reverse, except there is no movement in the gearstick when trying this. Could this cable be part of my problem? I'm trying to avoid replacing the box if possible.

Any advice out there? All other gears work fine, no noises from the gearbox, pulls well in all gears.

 

[scruffytoo]

Hi, new t4 owner here; '98 Caravelle 2.5tdi, 180k

When selecting reverse I'm meeting resistance, it's like there is a lip which is catching. There is no movement in the lever to push down/lift to select reverse. With a friend's help we put the bus up on a ramp and with a bit of grubbing around we replaced all the rubber balls etc in the linkage. The old ones were worn, and once assembled changing gears is noticably easier, but still meeting resistance getting reverse. There's no noise / crunching at all, just a firm clunk.

I've looked at the forums, but not noticed a similar problem to mine, just people unable to get reverse at all.

We noticed a cable fixed to the linkage, which my friend believes is usually part of the set up if you need to push (or lift) when getting reverse, except there is no movement in the gearstick when trying this. Could this cable be part of my problem? I'm trying to avoid replacing the box if possible.

Any advice out there? All other gears work fine, no noises from the gearbox, pulls well in all gears.

That will almost certainly be an adjustment problem ................. had it myself in the past T:

 

[alancaddy]

Check that the gearbox mount on the nearside is attached properly, in particular at the gearbox end of the mount. There should be two bolts going through the mount and the gearbox - have seen it where part of the gearbox casing has snapped off where one of the bolts goes through, allowing excessive movement of the gearbox.

 

[JonCa]

On my 2.5 ACV Caravelle You pull the gearstick to the right and then push the gearstick down and then pull it back to get reverse. It only goes down when pulled to the right. You may well need the engine running to do this.

With the bonnet up you should be able to observe all the gearbox lever actions in response to the gearstick moves. Seems some of the lever joints can get a bit tired with time.

 

[BristleJess]

thanks for those; since we undid all those bits to replace the various balls I'm confident that there is no play there, however I've just jumped in the bus and with engine running popped the lever to the far right and pushed down, and felt absolutely no movement - but there must have been a tiny bit as it slid into reverse much easier and no clunk. So with luck it's not the box but an adjustment or wear/seizing of the cable? I shall have a look at parts later tonight...

 

[Or_GazM]

Did you buy "quality" balls....or fleabay ones?

Quality balls are an essential part for reproducing (where the gear linkage should go). I:

 

[JonCa]

As you suggested you'd done the balls from underneath I suspected that you meant the gear stick end rather than the actions you can see on top of the box but hey ho.

When the stick goes down I'd say it feels like a 1/2inch movement and it definitely is pushed back up so sounds like you are missing whatever causes the spring action. There is a diagram in the post at http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=95168

 

[JonCa]

and this page has a download of VW service instructions for the gear lever http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=33631

 

[Yellow Campervan]

My 2.5TDI ACV needs the gear lever pressing down to get reverse but I can't feel that it actually goes down. Works though

 

[BristleJess]

thanks for those links to the diagrams, I shall look and see what's worn in there, first guess is that spring since I have no obvious up/down motion. Sorry for not being clear, I replaced the entire ball/cup things on the linkage, as well as the black/orange thing that holds the other end - no doubt they all have names, 4 bits in total - and I got them from Just Kampers, time will tell for quality. Fitting was a pain due to the pipes and bits hindering access, but being able to use a ramp to raise/lower the bus and give access underneath made it much easier.

 

[BristleJess]

just to add that I lifted the gaiter on the gearstick, nothing broken, lubricated everything and it all works as it should. On mine you push down in neutral and it slides into reverse. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!