Hi, I am obviously a new person here.  Just bought my first VW & it's a 64 bus.  Got it a few weeks ago & started working on it, day & night.  It's a driver, however the trans is having problems.  I was looking for a rebuilder or replacement locally.  Any suggestions?  I am in Dalton,Ga.   

Thanks Jason

-second gear pops out of gear when letting off the gas
-won't go into fourth gear at all

-as of today, the clutch won't let it go into any gear, I have to cut off the engine to put it into gear, to move it.


Thanks Jason

-second gear pops out of gear when letting off the gas
-won't go into fourth gear at all

-as of today, the clutch won't let it go into any gear, I have to cut off the engine to put it into gear, to move it.


Thanks Jason

How "sloppy " does the gear shift lever feel ?   Does it wallow around ?   On the clutch, do you have a lot of pedal  "free play"?   

Does it go into 4th with the engine off?  If the clutch cable is too loose, it can make shifting with the engine running a little tough. I had to tighten mine up to get it to shift smoother.

I have not tried to put it into 4th while not running, but I'll try it tomorrow when I get back.  Where is the adjustment for this clutch cable?  At the trans or at the clutch pedal.  This gives me hope!

Thanks JL

Left side at the rear. The cable goes over the left rear axle and up to the trans. and through a lever all most to the back of the engine with either a Wing nut or a 14mm nut/locknut. Tighten until you have about 3/4 - 1 inch of free play at the top of the pedal. Seeing how all this free play showed up suddenly you might have the clutch cable breaking.

I think the early ones are supposed to have a double nut system that you tighten them against each other. The cable could be slowly breaking on strand at a time, causing it to stretch. I have a few extra wingnuts that were on the later ones, if you need one.

As for the popping out of gear thing... that happens when they start to crap out. Minimize the damage by holding them in those gears when you can.

Do you still have the reduction gear boxes or has it been swapped to the beetle transaxle?

WooHoo....Up & drivin' again!  The clutch cable was still intact, however I did adjust the nut about 3/8" on the threads.  The floor pedal is now strong & it shifts good again. 

Does that shift cable adjustment supposed to have a second nut to keep it from backing off?

2nd gear still pops out when letting off the gas,

4th goes pop, pop, pop, while trying to putting it in 4th & won't go in.  I am guessing that the syncros are shot on these two gears,huh.

Thanks guys for the help!

I mentioned the 14mm nut and a 11mm lock nut. If you start getting a lot of free play again, like Nick said, you might be breaking a cable. I think your tranny is history. But before you replace/repair the tranny, you need to get the slop out of the shift rod and bushings etc . Worn out shifting stuff can possibly cause some of the problems about gears jumping out. If that repair doesn't fix things you are looking at major repair/replacement.  Syncros are not the only problem with 2nd gear and 4th gear. The gear sets are just worn out. 

The good news is that you will have an easier time finding a bug trans over a RGB setup. I don't know specifically which one everyone swaps in, but if you go hunting for one, match the length of the axle tubes, because there are "long" and "short" axle tubes.

My pick would be a '68 Type-1 or a Type-3. These tranny's have a stronger gear train . I wouldn't worry to much about axle length. If needed you can use your original axles and tubes. They can be swapped . If you end up getting a re-man. unit , they will not come with axles/tubes anyway. This might be the way to go considering what I think it would cost to repair Your tranny. Some parts are getting very hard to find and expensive then you have the labor to deal with. If you buy a used unit you just have to trust the seller to be honest about its condition and willing to give you your money back plus you having to do all the work again. Not fun. Been there,Done that.  Like I said before, get your shift linkage up to snuff then go from there. You might get lucky. Remember that if you get a re-man trans or used unit ,you will also need to use your nose cone and make sure the tranny is for a Bug or Fastback(type -3) and not for a '67 back Bus or you will end up with 4 reverse gears and 1 forward gear seeing how you are NOT using reduction boxes.