Vanagon Subaru 5sp Linkage Kit:

Transcription

1 1 Vanagon Subaru 5sp Linkage Kit: This kit allows the installation of a Subaru 5sp transmission in your Volkswagen Vanagon while utilizing the stock Vanagon shifter with little modification. Lets check the contents of the kit and make sure we have all the parts to make this as easy and painless as possible. 1. Shift Box bushing bracket 10. Bushing Plate Hardware 2. Spring center punch (2) 1/4 Bolts 3. Small allen key (2) 1/4 Lock washers 4. Large allen key (2) 1/4 Washers 5. 1/4 Hardware 11. Cup Adapter (4) 1/4 countersunk bolts (4) 1/4 nylock nuts 6. 1 Delrin Ball, 3/16 Tool Steel pin & (2) Spring pin s 7. 3/16 Drill bit 8. 1/4 Drill bit 9. Universal Assembly

2 2 Now that we have determined we have all the parts necessary you can begin the fun part. Lets begin! We need to remove the spare tire to gain access to the underside of the shift box. Remove the bolt securing the lower portion of the spare tire clam shell to the back side of the bumper structure. This should allow the clam shell to rest on the plastic catch. Slowly lower the clam shell while holding the weight of the spare tire. Remove spare tire. To free up some room and make it a little easier to work on, remove the (2) clips that hold the upper spare tire retaining bars, back by the hinge area of the clam shell. Figure 1.1 The bottom housing of the shifter is retained with (4) 10mm nuts, remove these (4) nuts, and drop the outer housing off. (See Figure 1.1)

3 3 Figure 1.2 Now that this housing has been removed, you will see the main pivot bolt for the shifter going through the bracket on the end of the shift rod tube. Remove this bolt, allow shift rod tube to droop for now.(see figure 1.2)

4 4 Figure 1.3 The next step is the removal of the shifter. Remove the shift knob; spin counterclockwise. Sometimes this item has been on your Van for quite a long time, so this might take some extra effort to remove. Secondly, remove the shift boot by pulling up, a thin coat of lubricate like WD-40 sprayed on a rag then wiped on the gear shift shaft can ease removal. Once the boot is removed (2) 10mm nuts should be visible on the shifter base that retains it to the base plate.(see figure 1.3) If you see visible signs of rust on the bolts due to a harsh environment, please feel free to spray with a penetrating lubricant to prevent the studs from stripping and shearing. At this point, you should be able to pull the shifter directly up and out of the van. Set aside; we ll get back to this at a later time.

5 5 (Red line outlines where to cut) Figure 1.4 Next step is to modify the front section of the shift rod tube that we let droop down from the shifter assembly earlier. If you notice, there s an angular bracket section welded on to the front of the shift rod tube that previously contained wear tabs that rode on the inside of the shift housing. This piece is removed and is to be replaced with the shift cup included in this kit, part #11. Find a suitable location, just on the other side of the weld, and cut this portion cleanly off the shift rod tube.(see Figure 1.4) I recommend to clean the edges of the shift rod with a file and clean the outside edge or deburr to make installation of the cup easier. Also if possible clean the end of the shift rod tube with a scouring pad to remove years of road grime that has built up. Volkswagen originally cadmium coated all of the shift rod components for excellent corrosion resistance. This cut opens up raw metal to the open air, which could possibly allow rust to set in. I d further recommend to obtain a zinc rich primer, weld-thru primer, easily obtained at any welder supply or Zinc fence paint from any home improvement store, to be liberally applied to protect the bare steel. Get part #11 from the kit and test fit over the shift rod tube. If it does not easily slide over the shift rod tube, further filing is needed.

6 6 (Arrow indicates Caps and bushings location) Figure 1.5a (Red line indicates where hole needs to be elongated) Figure 1.5b

7 7 Now we need a few things from the Volkswagen 4sp linkage back at the transmission. The rear shift ball cup bushing is supported by a bracket held in place with two bearing caps. (See Figure 1.5b) We need to utilize the bushing and bearing caps. The bolt holes have to be elongated 8mm toward the center on both sides for proper mounting of the caps. Once that is completed slide these components on the front shaft in this order; cap-bushing-cap just as it was removed from the rear. Shows mounting of caps and bushing to small front plate *Do not mount to larger plate, shown for bushing mounting only* Figure 1.6 Locate the black plate set shipped with the kit. Before removing the small plate from the larger one, place a mark of some sort, to signify up on the small plate. Remove the smaller plate on the front with the supplied allen wrench, obtain hardware set#10 from the kit. Use the supplied hardware to mount the (2) caps and bushing to small plate. Tighten well but not too tight, lock washers should keep everything in place.(see Figure 1.6) Next, we need to affix the shift cup to the shift rod linkage. To aid in this procedure, do not remove the universal joint midway down the shift rod linkage yet. Due to the splines in this location, we can clock this portion of the shift rod tube further in the installation process. Flush up the end of the shift rod tube with the edge of the shift cup; this is not critical, close is good enough. If you notice on the bottom of the shift cup, there is a 1/4 hole for placement of a spring pin, which retains it to the shift rod tube, a lot like the factory Volkswagen rear cup. Use the included spring punch to visibly center it in the 1/4 hole, press smartly until you hear the punch marks the shift

8 8 rod tube. Remove shift cup and re-punch the hole one more time. Use the 1/4 drill bit included with this kit, and drill on that punch mark, remembering to stay as perpendicular and centered to the shaft as possible. Only drill through the punched side of the shift rod tube. Use file to dress the outside of the hole to remove any raised material around hole. Re-install shift cup on shift rod tube, centering the two holes. Insert drill bit through the shift cup and newly drilled hole. *IMPORTANT* Mind the position of your drill bit to make sure again, you are as close to perpendicular and centered to the shaft as possible. When complete, you should have a hole that goes through the entire assembly. We are now ready to pin the shift cup to the shift rod tube. On the underside of the floor where you removed the shifter, you will see two reinforcements on each side of the hole in the floor running front to back and side to side. Place a 4x4 piece of wood straddling those reinforcements. You are going to use this wood as a back up when hammering in the pin. Remove drill bit from drill and use as a drift and place in hole to keep holes lined up. Place wood on underside of floor and press open end of cup to wood, remove drill bit and tap spring pin in, not the solid 3/16 pin but the split pin, until flush with bottom of cup. Now we need to remove the slide bolted on to the left side of the shift box, (2) 13mm bolts and it s off. Next we need to remove the slide on the other side. That slide is spot welded on in two spots. If you feel around on the outside of the shift box opposite of the welded on slide you can feel two bumps. Either grind away the two spot welds on the inside or drill out the two spot welds from the outside using a 3/8 drill bit or something close. You do not have to be too careful as this will not have any impact on the final product. Now that the shift box is stripped and ready to mount the larger of the two brackets in the kit, lets get ready. The larger bracket is designed to slide easily into the back of the shift box. Lets use the bracket as a template for the mounting holes. Place the bracket on the outside of the box on the left hand side about 1/8 from the open end. Using the spring punch make to punch marks on the side through the mounting holes. Repeat for the right side. Drill a 1/4 hole on each punch mark. Insert the mounting flange into the shift box and use hardware in part#5 bag to attach bracket. Insert the bolts from the inside out and affix nuts on the outside, use the allen wrench supplied. It should look like Figure 1.6 when complete.

9 9 Figure 1.7 The shifter is next on our list to be modified. The lower portion has to be changed to accept the delrin ball and solid pin. A few things that have to be kept in mind to do this correctly. If you notice the shifter is clocked toward the driver slightly, and we hope to keep this in our modification.(see Figure 1.7 reference line) Before we get over anxious and start cutting. Draw a line on the face of the shifter with a Sharpe or paint pen to help locate pin later. Measure 2 3/4 from the bottom of the shifter and make a mark, this mark will be the cut line. Using a hacksaw or grinder to make a cut as square as possible through the shifter on the cut line. Use a file to clean and deburr edge of any rough edges.

10 10 Figure 1.8 Now we need to assemble the bottom of the shifter. Locate parts bag #6, inside you should have used one spring pin already, find the 1 delrin ball and 3/16 tool steel pin. We need to press the delrin ball on to the bottom of the shifter shaft. With a good deal of precision, line the hole drilled in the delrin ball with the line mark on the shifter shaft. Once aligned tap the ball on the end of the shifter, backing it up with a small piece of wood not to damage the delrin ball. Once the ball is flush with the shift shaft we are almost complete. If you feel the hole is aligned and splitting the line drawn on the shifter shaft.. good, if not re-position until correct. Once you feel comfortable with the position use the spring loaded center punch and mark the hole in the center on both sides of the delrin ball. Locate the 3/16 drill bit provided in the kit and drill each side of the shaft through the holes in the delrin ball. Figure 1.9 You should now have a hole that goes all the way through. Locate the 3/16 tool steel pin and hammer the pin through until equal amounts show on each side.(see Figure 1.9)

11 11 Intermediate Universal Joint Figure 2 Now we can start to partially reassemble. Now we need to disconnect the universal joint mid way down the Vanagon. Remove the clamp bolt and slide off of splines.(see Figure 2) Back to the front again, Slip the end of the shift rod tube into the open hole through the larger bracket now installed in the shifter housing. Use the (4) 10mm nuts that you previously removed and install the shifter housing to the underside of the floor. Once complete, mount the small plate to the larger one with the supplied hardware. Use the mark, previously made, for proper orientation of the up direction on the small plate. The front section is now done short of mounting the shifter and adjusting.

12 12 Completely remove the rear section of the shift rod tube. The rod should be bare, I like to remove the intermediate universal by removing the retaining clip and pulling the pin to ensure no damage comes to the universal. Front transmission mount removed to easily see relation to transmission Figure 2.1 We are going to create two smooth easy bends to linkup the existing Vanagon shifter rod tube and the nose of the Subaru transmission. Due to varying setups when it come to length of the Subaru nose horn some measurement may vary, but not by much, so don't concern yourself to much right now. When having your transmission rebuilt or doing it yourself remember to have the end of it turned down to 1/2 diameter and 1 in length to allow the universal supplied in this kit to be slipped on. After the shift fork is installed into the transmission, I recommend installing the universal on the end of the shift fork now. You should drill and pin this before the transmission is installed. Orientation is not important, but directly up and down makes it easier to remove once installed into the van. When installing the transmission, the adapter on the end of the universal should protrude just passed the inner part of the cross member as seen in Figure 2.1.

13 13 Rear section of shift rod tube modification Figure 2.2 We are now going to tackle the task of adjusting the angle on the existing shift rod tube to meet up with the Subaru transmission. In Figure 2.2 it gives us a visual to follow and understand. Figure 2.3 Lets first make a template on a piece of scrap cardboard to make this easier. Find a piece at least 8 by 12. Draw two parallel lines approx 10 long 2 1/4 apart down the length of the cardboard. About 4 in from the left side draw a line perpendicular connecting both lines. From the intersecting line measure 5 to the right and draw another line that intersects both lines again. Now draw a line connecting the lower left and upper right. (See Figure 2.3) Using a simple Mapp or Propane torch you can heat up the shift rod tube to bend. I recommend to find something preferably metal with a diameter of at least 2 to heat and slowly bend over. If you take this template and your shift rod tube any local metal shop to perform easily for 20$ if you don't feel comfortable doing it. Leave the shift rod

14 14 tube long and make the final cut once we set the front cup orientation. Shifter base with Red center lines marked Figure 2.4 Now we need to understand and set orientation of the front shift cup. Figure 2.4 shows what the front cup, small black circle, needs to look like. Slightly forward of center but centered side to side. Re-install the universal on the rear section of the shift rod tube. You might need an extra helper right now, if your working on a Vanagon you most likely have children or a friend that acts like one. Have them hold the front cup in position while you slip one end of the shift rod next to the Subaru horn shaft sticking through the cross-member, do not hook up the Subaru transmission end. Connect the universal end to the spline on to the front section of the shift rod tube. Make sure to have it completely engaged on the splines and the Subaru transmission is in neutral as we are about to set the length of the rear section. Once the front cup is in the right position, and the rear section is engaged all the way on the splines, pull the rear section next to the adapter on the universal at the Subaru transmission and eyeball the length and make a mark on the rear shift rod tube. This is going to be the cut point of the rear section, remove and cut through making sure it s as square as possible.

15 15 Figure 2.5 Make a small slot 3/4 deep in the end of the tube which will add some compression area when a set of vise clamps are used to hold the shift rod tube s position. Dress the end with a file to remove any burrs. Once the rear shift rod tube is cleaned re-install on the adapter at Subaru transmission. Figure 2.6 We need to slightly clock the rear section before we engage on the splines. Looking from the front to the back, clock the bends in the shift rod to 6:30-6:45 for proper rotational clearance.(see Figure 2.6) Once it is clocked have someone again hold the front cup correctly, and slide the rear shift rod tube on to the splined section making sure its fully engaged. If your Subaru transmission is in neutral, front cup looks like Figure 2.4 we are almost there ladies and gentlemen. Get a good set of vise grips and pinch the slotted area in the rear shift rod tube, make sure they are VERY tight! Make a mark with a Sharpe between the adapter and the shift rod tube, to verify that after testing, it has not moved and orientation is correct.

16 16 Install shifter with the two 10mm nuts previously removed. Make sure the pin we installed in the delrin ball match up with the two grooves in the shift cup. Work the shifter and see it you have all the gates, slightly left 1 st to 2 nd...return to neutral...straight up 3 rd and 4 th...return to neutral...slightly right 5 th and wait... You can not shift into reverse from fifth, Subaru transmission is designed not to allow it..don't try! Return to neutral...slightly right and down, should hear a clunk shifting into reverse. Drum roll please...if you found all the gears, you have correctly install the Vanagon Subaru 5sp Linkage kit. You need to remove the rear section one more time to have it welded or you can weld it on the vehicle. Note: Before welding at all I highly recommend to disconnect the negative ground cable off your battery and if running an aux battery, remove it also. Subaru ECM s are highly susceptible to voltage shock like and any other ECM...DONT TAKE THE CHANCE! If you have any questions feel free to or call me at: Ray Miller RS Fab rsfab@rsfabparts.com