We live in a wonderful world. I developed this exact same problem, a scant
9 and 1/4 years after this message was posted, while driving home from my
(superb) repair shop Saturday afternoon. They had changed my transmission
fluid for the first time (perhaps ever) in my '87 Syncro Westy.

Is there a consensus best guess at what causes this annoyong shifter
rattle and how to solve it? In reading through the archives it seems that
there are plenty of possibilities. (That should be the tagline for the
Vanagon - "Plenty of possibilities.")

Like Wes, mine happens only in third or fourth gear (where there is a
little more play in the engaged shifter than there seems to be while in
second), and it only happens when the accelerator pedal is pressed. If I
am coasting, sweet silence.

Tim Beidel
South Portland, Maine
1987 Syncro Westfalia

On Sun, 28 Aug 1994 09:41:49 -0700 (PDT), Wes Neuenschwander
<wesn@eskimo.com> wrote:

>I've encountered this nagging problem twice now, first with my '82
>Vanagon and now again with my '91 Westy:  A persistent, buzzing or
>rattling noise from the gear shift lever, when running in 3rd or 4th gear
>at about 2,500 -3,500 rpm.  It's particulary pronounced in 3rd gear,
>about 45-60 mph, where of course, due to general lack of power and a
>really limited torque band, I spend a lot of time.  The source of the
>noise <<seems>> to be in the vicinity of the linkage of the shift lever
>to the shift rod that runs back to the transmission.
>[SNIP]
>I know this may
>seem petty, but this is an extremely (to me at least) annoying noise that
>can really detract from otherwise peaceful, serene travel.  Any
>suggestions on how I can correct this would be appreciated.
>