Super Beetle Shift Rod Bushing Replacement

Recently acquired a 78 Super Beetle and it's having serious issues shifting through gears. Thanks to all that put videos, like Duckman, and forum entries on theSamba, I was able to replace the bushing needed. This is not an easy job, but very well worth it. It shifts through gears smoothly now. As many mentioned before me, for Super Beetles, you don't need to take any front plates off like you need to on Standard Beetles. It's a bit more tedious, but might be less issues.
Hope it helps others too. Please let me know if you have questions.
Music: www.bensound.com

[@scottbeatty4712]

Thank you so much, just did my 74 super beetle and your video was a lifesaver. My only addition is as I was feeding the rod back. I got hung up on the parking break and heater assembly. I was able to press it down with a screwdriver and until it cleared and then used your support claw to get it the rest of the way back A+ great video thank you.

[@mastermoi]

Great video. The only thing i do different is completely remove the rod and clean the rust off all of its lenght. Its smoother on the bushing when you slide the rod in

[@SladesVWBeetle]

Just did the process recently. Well worth it for sure!

[@murphyslawmodeler9654]

Hey thanks for vedio . Did mine ( '78 ) yesterday , it was a bitch ! One hint : I used the tie strap and a screwdriver over the shifter well in the front , to support the weight of the shaft . I was getting hung up on the topside of the tunnel . Also did the bushing in the back . Well worth the hassle . It's like night and day for shifting . Thanks again . Mark .

[@daddygrasshopper]

I did this last night on my 71 Super and will offer some tips and observations- Taking at least one of the front seats out makes this way easier (I took out both) just so you can go between both openings without having to move then. Your "great trick" of having some rope or twin pulled through the tunnel as well as something looped under the rod through the shifter hole is valuable for guiding the rod back through and making sure you're not wrapped around any cables, even if you can't use the rope to pull. I was able to pretty easily install the ring and bushing over the twine I used and pop them into the retainer. I used a pretty basic pair of needle-nose pliers leveraged against the front of the shifter opening to move the rod 2"-3" at a time. I used a little bit of grease to get it started and then again whenever it felt like it was binding up. The rod was a little rough but not too bad. Your trick of dipping your cellphone camera down there to see what's going on was GOLD, I did this several times- pretty much whenever I felt like the rod was binding up I would check and see what I was stuck on and determine which way I needed to angle the rod. Your video is awesome because it shows, there is ALOT of crap in that tunnel that you don't want to break or bind. I changed the angle of the rod as needed by pulling up on my rope looped around the rod in the shifter opening (mostly) and pulling on my twine through the back (somewhat). I also found that I needed to rotate the rod to get around stuff at different times (since it is indeed slightly curved!) which I was able to do with my pliers though the shifter opening. I didn't take me that long, I would guess less than an hour (I had a couple interruptions). I really was happy to avoid pulling the shift rod all the way out the front, but don't know how much time doing it this way saves it my just be a wash. That said, if I do this on a Super again I would 100% try and do it this way again.

[@fixiteasy9080]

I'm happy that the tips on my video helped you out. And Thanks for sharing your tips as well.

[@Iz6kcq]

why make the job so complicated? if you extract the entire shift rod from the front cap it takes less than half the time

[@daddygrasshopper]

@@Iz6kcq I think it's slightly faster leaving it in, could go either way really. I will admit- you can really clean and polish up the rod when you pull it all the way out which can improve the feel of the shifting as well.

[@vwbeetlefuelgaugesystem]

Did my 72 Super the same way! My shaft was a bit rusty and pitted where it travels back and forth in the bushing. I had to smooth the surface with a fine emory cloth working it in a fore and aft motion to smooth out.

[@fixiteasy9080]

So, you didn't take the rod out and worked through the small opening to smooth it out? Wow... it must have taken you quite some time?

[@vwbeetlefuelgaugesystem]

@@fixiteasy9080 It took about an hr. I used about 400 grit 1" wide crocus cloth. Started by Just lapping it and turning the rod. After I got it smooth then I the the fore and aft strokes to get the grain going the rod movement direction. Works great now.

[@vwbeetlefuelgaugesystem]

As a note, I was not about to pull the rod out the front. My SB has factory air conditioning and the condenser coils are in front where the rod would come out... The AC is currently not functional but I did not want to mess with disconnecting the lines etc.

[@Tzor17]

I think i missed that pipe inside too and its bound up, I'll check and retry

[@dart451kad]

Enjoyed your video! How did you get the video of the inside of the tunnel??

[@fixiteasy9080]

Thanks Keith. I used my cellphone with flash upside down :)

[@murphyslawmodeler9654]

Access panel in the back , stick your phone in there to take your picture . Works great .

[@thiagocastroneves5989]

I'm trying to do like you but I can't get the rod to move forward anymore!!

[@fixiteasy9080]

Hey Thiago... It's likely stuck somewhere in the channel between the wires and tabs. You'll probably need to pull it back a bit until it feels free, and twist it a 90 to 180 degree and try pushing it again. Hope you can get it going that way. From the opening in the back, there's enough space to get a phone upside down to take a video with flash on and see where exactly it's stuck and which way you need to twist it.

[@tjford7726]

Ok I'm trying to run a fuel line though tunnel but having hard time.. how did they run all the lines so well seems so hard to do

[@fixiteasy9080]

Oh wow, that sounds pretty hard to do. I never did it, but guessing the cover in front of the tunnel will need to come off, so you can see. In my pics/video, I can see the tabs holding the fuel line, but not sure what would be the easiest way to reach them and pry/fasten while changing the line. Good Luck and let me know if you film it and put it up on KZbin.