Gear lineage question

[touch107fm]

Hi all

Doing this pig of a job today. the gear linkage went and I decided to replace the bits.
I ended up pulling out the complete rod as it turned out to be a nightmare getting the bits back on.

Has anyone ended up replacing the smaller ball on the linkage. I took mine off today, old one is stuffed.

As you can see from my linkage there is a pin on the right hand side. Is that normal and if so what part (item number). Reason I asked the local vw garage thinks its been modified as he has not seen one with a pin on it before. We tried to fit the part which looking at the drawings should work and with the pin in there it just doesnt work.

Any help would be greatly appreciated
Van is a vw t4 1997 petrol 2.5l

[jets]

There is a past thread on the T4 Forum where this pin is mentioned. Take a read, particularly page 2.
Gear Linkage Bush Question - VW T4 Forum - VW T5 Forum

[ericcs]

my son has exactly the same car, and i did the same job recently. the linkage bush kit that was supplied came with a different size ball for the end with the pin, and it didn't have a hole for the pin anyway, so ended up re-using the old ball as was still ok. the rest of the bush replacement was straight forward. so, i don't know if there are different linkage styles for the T4, but am in the same boat as you!

[jets]

As you can see from my linkage there is a pin on the right hand side. Is that normal and if so what part (item number). Reason I asked the local vw garage thinks its been modified as he has not seen one with a pin on it before. We tried to fit the part which looking at the drawings should work and with the pin in there it just doesnt work.

The pin is called a spring pin, 3mm dia. x 16mm long.[probably a hollow roll pin with a split on one side] Pt No N 023 282 1.
The ball that goes on that end is Pt No 7DO 711 131 & shown as Item 42. The larger ball is Pt No 015 311 544
The parts diagram for my van ['01] doesn't show the pin but has the same Pt Nos for both balls.
My guess is the pin was only used to secure the small ball on the earlier version & was inserted through the centre of the ball.
The dia. of the shaft may be a slightly larger on the later van to make the ball a tighter fit & eliminate the need for the pin.

[touch107fm]

All sorted, managed to figure it out, Just drilled the ball as per the instructions. Put the pin through the drilled section.

[Sunny43.5]

Just a tip for you here my sons T4 used to have some issues with that joint but in the end the main thing was gear selection was dodgy . I crawled under the van when you look up there is abox section with the gear lever coming down through the floor . There was a grommet that the shaft was located in which was flogged out . I managed t slide a nylon tube onto the shaft which took out the slack , plus lubricating the part which the lever is attached to it gets dried out and stiff just apply some lubricant or grease to the area , made a massive difference to the sons one no more incorrect gear selections ! Glad to hear you got it sorted . Now get that relay as well .

[jets]

plus lubricating the part which the lever is attached to it gets dried out and stiff just apply some lubricant or grease to the area , made a massive difference to the sons one no more incorrect gear selections !

Yes the gear selection over time gets stiff. I climb under & give it a squirt with some chain lube that I happen to have. Frees instantly.