congrats... that simple little piece can be a bear to replace....not the one
in the back but the one just behind the shifter.

--
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dragenwagen
1966 Type I - Daily Driver
1969 Type I - Undergoing heater channel replacement
http://www.ramva.org/dragenwagen
"Old VW's Don't Leak Oil, They Mark Their Territory."
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"Randall Brink" > wrote in message
...
> For anyone who drives a noisy, vibrating, obnoxious-sounding, gear
> shift-grinding Beetle, this story may change your life.
>
> Having replaced nearly every engine-related component in my bug, I was
still
> driving a car that drove me crazy. The noise made by the shifter was
> annoying at all times and nearly unbearable at highway speeds. I finally
> decided on Friday that I'd had enough and changed the bushing.
>
> Pulling the rod was exactly like the instructions set forth at:
> http://huelsmann.us/bugman/ShifterTech.html. My thanks to Eric Huelsmann
for
> this very helpful treatise on the subject.
>
> Getting the bushing in was challengeing, but acheivable. I highly
recommend
> using the circle clip that was part of the original installation, because
it
> greatly helps to keep the neoprene bushing in the rod bracket while you
> replace the shift rod.
>
> Anyway, after the project was complete and the stick shifter reinstalled,
I
> took the car out and WOW! a new VW wouldn't drive any better. Shifting is
> buttry smooth. The vibrations and rattles are gone. I can actually hear my
> new engine purring. This one little project to replace a $1 part caused
the
> whole engine replacement/restoration to finally come together.
>
> The reason for the amazing transformation is that the shifter rod rests in
a
> round metal bracket just behind (toward rear of car) where the shifter
> couples to the rod. An old, brittle or missing bushing causes the
vibration
> and noise from the engine and transmission, the road, etc. to be
transferred
> into the shifter rod, which I belive is a hollow steel extrusion. The
result
> is noise just beyond the threshold of psychic pain.
>
> Heading out onto the road...
>
> Randall Brink
>
>
>