Dak Dak did a trip to Brisbane and back with Rachael. Ended up on a tow truck in Brisbane when the 30 year old shifter ball broke and stranded it stuck in reverse.
Got towed to a local Brisbane VW mechanic who replaced it but also replaced the two shift rod bushes with a different type that uses a boot to seal out the dirt from the grease but unfortunately this type causes extra resistance on the shift rod causing the gear shifter to seize. We battled it all the way home and had to pull over about every 5 hours or so to disassemble and relube it.
Other than that it went great and we even braved the 20km clay/gravel road up to Elenborough Falls in the rain.
Ive since replaced the bushings with those of the original type and the shifter is back to working as it should.
Last weekend we went to Dubs by the lake and had a great time so its looking like the van is going to stay because its proven to be a fantastic holiday thing but also has a great community supporting it which is a real plus!
Next jobs are to rebuild the clinch bolt assembly in the shifter to enable the 1st and reverse gear lockout detent and to replace the drivers side gearbox output shaft seal as its started to leak a bit.
