015/016 Monoball shift bushing replacement

[Cody Forbes]

I went ahead and attached the list on this because I bet others are interested in an update. All, please cut a bit extra grammatical slack as I'm dictating thus to my phone while driving home from work at 1am ;-),

Ironically enough I just picked up on it again. The first version didn't have enough angular travel and thus would only barely engage first gear and reverse and in 5th would make lots of noise. Still because it worked I got lazy and just drove it that way for 3 years. Mere weeks after V1.0 went in I had a v2 made and ready to install, but it's a PITA with the rack installed.

This winter though I decided to fix a bunch of things, so I pulled my car way apart. With the engine and steering rack out of the car I could sit in the engine bay and observe the shifter. V2 looks like it will work, but I haven't yet driven the car. I took it off the lift and intend to drive it outside to wash tomorrow, but it won't be ready to go for a spin for another couple of days.

I have my drawings for V2 and in the last 3 years I've gotten in to CAD so I'll get my paper drawing on to a PC and then see about having a few made. Don't quite yet hold your breath as I've currently got a ton on my plate; as an example, I've been at work 9am-12am 5 days a week for the last 6 weeks (with a few exceptions), then working my second job on the weekends. I see light at the end of the tunnel and suspect that I'll be back to sane hours in about two weeks, then will catch up on my home life.

-Cody Forbes (mobile)

On May 22, 2014, at 11:33 AM, "Wes Stuckey" <quattros at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hey Cody,
> 
> Did this monoball project ever take off?  I'm looking for one.
> 
> thx
> 
> Wes Stuckey
> quattros at gmail.com
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: quattro-bounces at audifans.com [mailto:quattro-bounces at audifans.com] On
> Behalf Of John Cody Forbes
> Sent: Monday, September 13, 2010 11:30 PM
> To: quattro at audifans.com
> Subject: 015/016 Monoball shift bushing replacement
> 
> So the big ball socket shifter bushing on one of my 5ktq's disintegrated a
> few weeks ago. As some of you may know, this bushing is NLA. 034 has some,
> but says it's a finite supply. I didn't want to be slaved in the future to
> ordering one from California or stuck if/when they run out, so I decided to
> improve the shifter while using a readily available part.
> 
> http://jcforbes.com/jcfpics/9-11-10_Shifter
> 
> The monoball is something that can be had online or at any speed shop for
> cheap. The rest (besides the bolt) I turned up on the lathe from aluminum.
> It works great, and the mechanism feels wonderful now.
> 
> Anybody interested in a kit for about $50? It would include a modified lever
> for the transmission (would need to have your old one as I only have one
> spare), the bushing the holds the monoball in the shift linkage, the
> monoball, the inner sleeve/spacer, and the bolt. Installation does not
> require removing the linkage from the car, my assembly drops right in where
> the stock bushing used to live. 
> 
> I know this setup would work on 4000's, 5000's, C3 100's, and 200's. I would
> bet there are more. I'll check the family album for other models ASAP.
> 
> Currently I just want to gauge interest. Before I am ready to send any out I
> want to switch to a different monoball with more travel. This one works, but
> it's exactly perfect with no room for error. I've sourced the new one I
> want, but haven't ordered it yet.
> 
> -Cody (mobile)
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