Shifter Stop Plate

I removed the stop plate … Lots of play in both ends of the shift rod (but then the transmission shaft seems to move, too, so I don't know just what to think).

Humm. I'm not sure how much play there should be in the gearbox either. Not too much I imagine, so I hope it's not a compounding problem for you. Have to see how the gear shifts are when you get it bolted back up.

Everything is great -- except for one thing. It shifts into the forward gears very smoothly, and the shift lever no longer chatters as you zip down the highway at 65 or so. But -- it's difficult shifting into reverse. I suspect this is a stop plate problem -- it probably just needs to be adjusted a bit. And I noticed that it's worn a bit on the bottom -- I think I will replace it.

I fiddled with the relative positions of the stop plate and the shifter plate moved the stop plate about 1/8" to the right. Drove it around the block -- perfect! I need to make a note in the procedure about how sensitive that is. Just the slightest amount of maladjustment can really throw things out of whack.

I'm wondering if the shifter plate isn't a little out of whack. I know from experience that positioning it just right is very important. I hoping it's not the selector mechanism in the gearbox -- I'm sure not in the mood to replace the transmission!

The shift lever wasn't standing straight up in neutral, so I played with the stop plate. That helped, but the lever still isn’t straight up. And the gears are just -- well, strange, especially third. Its not a perfect H, if you know what I mean. First and second are okay, except that you have to reach quite a ways forward to get it into first, but you slip over to the right through neutral and up to third, and it seems to come back to the left. Its obviously in third gear, because the car runs just right, but its strange. Then when you go to shift down to second you really don't notice neutral -- it just seems to come straight down. I dunno. I suppose I just haven't got the stop plate adjusted right yet.

I’m not happy with how it shifts, but I don't know what to do about it. Every once in a while it's hard to get into first, and I have to go thru the gears to finally get it in.)

Later -- I did my little research project on the stop plate. I pulled the shifter off and then centered the stop plate PRECISELY over the two holes and painted a white line around it. Then I turned the shifter around (I think I had it backwards -- not sure that it matters, except that first gear was so far forward) and bolted it back together with the stop plate exactly in the lines (Colouring 101 :-) and the shifter plate centered right on the stop plate. And off we went! Its amazing what you can do when you stop and think things through.

I recently had the tranny in my '73 SB rebuilt, and I've replaced the shifter bushing and the coupler under the rear seat. The shifter still tries to go into reverse instead of 2nd occasionally. Is this possibly a stop plate maladjustment, or should I look elsewhere for the problem?

The shifter needs to be adjusted.

Partially unbolt the shifter. Just get them loose enough that the shifter will move if you tap it at the base.

Put the shifter in reverse.

Tap the shifter to the right and up as far as it will go while maintaining reverse.

Tighten bolts such that it is now difficult, but not impossible, to move the shifter by tapping it.

Try all 5 gears. You will probably be well adjusted now. If not, repeat, only change the direction of the tapping to get all 5 gears to shift smoothly.

Once you are satisfied with the shift pattern, tighten down the bolts as per the torque specs in the manual.

Most likely, you installed the plate wrong. The ramped section must be positioned foward and to the right. (Opposite of the shift knob when its in reverse).

I can get the shifter into reverse with no problem -- my concern is it's occasional attempt to go into reverse when shifting into second (with attendant grinding).

Horrible when it happens isn't it. I don't have that particular problem, but the worn synchros sometimes give me a good grind if I'm too forceful on the gear change.

Even with a rebuilt transmission and a new shift rod bushing, ours doesn't shift as smoothly as I'd like it. As soon as I get it on the road again I'm going to fiddle with the stop plate -- that's all I can think of to do.

I'm still having a little trouble with the stop plate too. I think the shift rod bushing is worn too (going to replace that), as it doesn't need to need much down push to find reverse -- I'm taking care when engaging second as it wants to pop into reverse on occasions.

If I reverse and take my foot off the throttle, the gearbox really whines. It's nothing to do with the stop plate -- the whining is from the reverse gear itself. I haven't checked the gearbox oil yet, so when I do there's a trick I heard of the other day, remove the filler plug, and put the car into reverse -- the reverse gear is apparently just visible through the hole, and you can see if the front (of car) of the teeth are rounded/worn. If so the gearbox is probably ready for a rebuild. Another check is filings in the drained oil -- a little grey sludge is normal, but not shiny flakes.

I still have to adjust my Bug's gearstick stop plate a little - occasional graunch of reverse when changing to second if I try to rush it.

None of the stop plate adjustment suggestions I’ve received have solved our shifting problem. That's why I think it may be the wrong stop plate -- I'll find out soon enough. I'll take notes as I replace the stop plate on the weekend, and try the adjustment methods out.

My stop plate installation has been a resounding success. The plate supplied does not have the turned up ends to "cup" the hifter base plate like the original, so it moves around under there more, but I found that using a screw driver blade to push just the stop plate hard left (so not moving the base plate), with the gearstick vertical in neutral , gives perfect results. Smooth shifting, and it's now impossible to select reverse accidentally. I don't have to think about shifting as I did before.

I haven't seen this "new" design before. A little more fiddly to adjust, since it doesn't "follow" the base plate like the original design does, but it works just fine.

But -- the shift lever is not straight up in neutral -- it's leaning towards the front. I may try to tap the stop plate forward just a bit.

If you want the gear stick to move back you'll need to tap the baseplate/stop plate towards the rear, since the bottom of the stick is held in the cup of the shift rod underneath.

Interesting "aside" - the Rocky Mountain Motorworks catalogue shows two stop plate versions -- squared, turned up ends, and the round-end like I just bought. The round-end version appears to go with a round-end base plate for Type 2s ‘66-‘74.

Whatever it's source - the round-end stop plate works fine, even with the squared end base plate.

I suspect that the round-end one will fit all bugs, since it's "loose" under the base plate -- less restricted than the square-end ones.

I'm sure that's the case. I think VW put the up-turned square ends on the stop plate so it would be kept more closely and easily within the proper adjustment range. Just guessing.

I think you're right. And of course the after market manufacturers would be looking to save the last cent, so the flat one would be the preferred shape.

But I still don't have the stop plate adjusted properly in the Bug. I can see it sticking out from under the shifter plate on the left, which tells me that it isn't centered properly on the spring.

The spring has the large end down (I think it's tapered), and it goes around both tabs. I guess if it got put in skewed it could cause shifting problems.

The more I think about it the more I think the stop plate is misaligned with the spring! Why else would you be able to see the stop plate sticking out an eighth of an inch or so on the left! I'm itching to take out those two 13mm bolts and see!:-)

Yes, the spring is tapered, and I thought I had the larger end over both tabs, but now I'm not so sure. You should NOT be able to see the left rounded edge of the stop plate poking out from under the shifter base if the spring is properly seated around both tabs.

To go into reverse that ring passes down THROUGH the stop plate as the shifter (and thus the shift rod) is pushed down.

Yes - I think that's how it works, then as you move the lever down and to the left the "ball" on the end moves left and forward, so that "ring" slides along the ramp - it's the ramp which therefore allows reverse, but only AFTER the gear stick is pressed down.

Inside the gearbox the side-side action of the gear stick results in the hockey stick sliding sideways between the three selectors, and then the push-pull on the gear stick results in push up/down to move the correct selector (or combination of selectors).

In first and second gears, the ring slides forward and back on the tab on the left, and in third and fourth gears the ring slides forward and back on the ramp on the right. Position of the stop plate truly is critical, then, as it guides the ball on the shift lever.

Yes - that's it. It's the position of the ramped side which is critical, since this is what allows/disallows reverse. The ball moves to the right as you move the stick to the left, so ramp-on-right is where the reverse "stop" occurs. But with the stick pushed down and left, the "ring" goes under the ramp, and the shape of the ramp then lets you move the stick far enough to the rear (ball to the front) to select reverse.

If the stop plate is too far right, the stick moves right so when you push it left and down the stick is actually vertical instead of to the left. This means the ball and the ring aren't under up against the ramp - they are still in the middle of the hole in the stop plate, so it's possible to get reverse when trying for second. The plate has to be to the left so the the stick moved down/left forces the ball and ring to the right - against the ramp for guidance for reverse.

First thing I carefully reinstalled the shifter, then adjusted the stop plate; around the block, then adjusted it again. Perfect!

Occasionally when changing down to second it appears that we somehow manage to get reverse (I think), accompanied by much graunching. First up to second is fine, going down from third to second is the problem. Could this be a problem with the stop plate?. Should I replace the stop plate?

Almost certainly it's the stop plate. You can try loosening the bolts and moving the plate around (mark it's position first so you can reset it if you need to), but if you can't find a position which works, then the plate is probably worn. With it removed you can look at the inner side of the ramped tab (the left tab is taller, the right tab is ramped, and THIS is what allows reverse gear selection.) if the inner edge looks rubbed and maybe has sharpish edges, it's warn for sure.

They are quite cheap - about $6 here in Aus. There are two types. The original beetle style has squared, turned up ends which "cup" the gear stick base plate, and the later type which has flat, rounded ends (no turned-up ends). Either sort works, thought the flat type (which I'm using) is a little more difficult to adjust as the base plate won't follow the stop plate when you move it, like the "cupped" variety does. Hope that doesn't confuse you, but when you look at the stop plate you'll see what I mean.

You sometimes have to play about with the position of the stop plate a few time before you get the changes all working smoothly.

Could it be the transmission mountings?

Unlikely -- worn mounts usually show up as a jumpy clutch engagement. The engine rocks more than it would with good mounts and so you get some kangaroo-hopping, even if the bowden tube (which normally prevents this) has sufficient bend in it.

A sloppy rear coupling could worsen the reverse problem though, so have a good look at this coupling (under the inspection plate on the rear tunnel under the back seat).

My Beetle is hard to down shift into second gear and pops out of fourth gear. What is wrong with it?

The 2nd gear problem sounds like it might be the stop plate under the gearstick base plate, but the 4th gear popping out is typical of a problem with the assembly inside the nosecone of the gearbox (the selector mechanism) or wear on the 4th gear assembly itself. Some guys cope with the 4th gear issue by using an oki-strap (rubber strap with hooks on the end) to "spring load" the gear stick to stay in 4th, but this only delays the inevitable gearbox rebuild.

Re the stop plate. These are easy to adjust, and if that doesn't work, cheap to replace ($6 here in Australia). There are two styles of stop plate - the original style with squared ends which are turned up to "cup" the base plate so the two move together when you are adjusting the stop plate position. The newer sort has rounded ends and has no turned up lips at the end, so this is a little harder to adjust under the base plate, but both work the same. When you look at it, you'll notice that the hole has tabs on each side - a longer tab on one side and a ramped tab on the other. "Ramp to the right" or "long tab left" is the way to remember the orientation. Have a look at the side of the ramped tab on the old one. If the side looks rubbed and has sharpish edges, then it's worn and needs replacing. It's this ramp which prevents reverse gear until you push down-left on the gearstick (that's why it's called a stop plate - stops accidental reverse gear).

Whilst you have the the gearstick off, also check the condition of the plastic bushing on the horizontal shift rod, which is just behind the gearstick opening in the tunnel. wiggle the shift rod sideways and up and down. If there is movement, the bushing is worn and this can worsen any hard-shifting problem. There's a procedure for replacing it on our web site.

Also check the condition of the coupling at the rear of the shift rod - under the inspection hatch on the tunnel under the rear seat. If this is worn it too will worsen any gear selecting problems. There's a procedure for replacing this on our web site too.

Good luck with that - you might be lucky and find just the stop plate, coupler and shift rod bush will be enough to fix both problems, though I suspect the 4th gear popping out might mean a gearbox rebuild soon.