TheSamba.com :: View topic - My first VW-1969 Beetle Autostick

Mon Aug 21, 2017 8:26 am

Hello all. This is my first time posting here. I just took the leap into owning a classic VW beetle, and as I've looked around on here, an even bigger leap with the automatic sick shift.
This car is defiantly a project car without a doubt as far as looks go. But mechanically it's decent to a degree.
As far as I can gather it's bone dry stock.
Correct me if I'm wrong but 1969 comes with the 1500 engine, right?

So here's my main question:

I want to keep the autostick due to its uniqueness, but at the moment it currently wont shift into R or L, Only grinding sounds. 1 and 2 work great. Can someone point to to a post that has answers to fix this or even a "how to" for completely rebuilding this transmission for a future project?

Thanks and looking forward to joining the VW community! :D

Mon Aug 21, 2017 9:08 am

Congrats on the VW (and keeping another autostick on the road, they should be preserved as originally came from the factory!)

1. Chances are there is absolutely nothing wrong with the transmission. Your problem is either electrical or vacuum related.
The first thing I would check are the contacts in the base of the shifter. I don't know how much you know about the way autosticks work, but basically there are two contacts (upper and lower) in the base of the shifter with a wire that runs to the back of the car to the control valve in the left side of your engine bay. The upper contact is mounted in the shifter rod:

The lower contact is in a small housing below and is the one with the wire coming off of it:

When you shift these contacts rub together and form an electrical circuit that sends a signal to the control valve to disengage the vacuum controlled clutch so you can shift. If those contacts are dirty or worn to where if you move the shifter in a certain way they do not contact each other it can cause the problem you are having.
If it turns out the contacts are OK, then the very next thing I would check is the clutch servo canister attached to the transmission. If you take the left rear tire off it will give you good access to this canister, here is a picture I took of mine with descriptions of what each part is:

If the diaphragm inside that canister is torn it will cause problems shifting, I have heard of instances where this diaphragm is torn in a way that allows for shifting in some gears but not others so that might be a possibility as well.

2. Autosticks are not "slow" if everything is working properly. That's yet another rumor perpetuated by autsotick haters. Dual carbs are going to be a chore to install on an autostick, due to the location of the ATF filler neck and the control valve on the other side. IMO it is not worth the trouble.

I have the autostick section of the Bentley manual in pdf format, if you want to PM me your email address I can send that to you, it explains some troubleshooting techniques, adjustments, etc in pretty good detail.

Mon Aug 21, 2017 9:09 am

Wow, a defiant project car with dueling carbs. :lol:

Not saying you can't install dual carbs, but just dual carbs will not make a huge improvement. Keep in mind the autostick uses manifold vacuum to work the clutch. Any mods you make need to provide an adequate vaccum signal for the clutch servo. You will also need to relocate the actuator valve and oil tank filler to get them in.

Mon Aug 21, 2017 10:12 am

Q-Dog wrote: Wow, a defiant project car with dueling carbs. :lol:

Not saying you can't install dual carbs, but just dual carbs will not make a huge improvement. You will also need to relocate the actuator valve and oil tank filler to get them in.

Scratch that idea then!

Lets go with recommendations on "performance" single carbs

Mon Aug 21, 2017 11:58 am

One more thing regarding your shifting issues- I notice you said it will go into Drive 1 and Drive 2 (right side of shift pattern) but not into Reverse or Low (left side of shift pattern.)

You might check the shifter stop plate bolted to the transmission tunnel under the shifter that allows for the "notches" that you move the shifter into-- if it is out of alignment it could cause the trouble you are having. The stop plate for an autostick looks like this:

Note it has a diagonal "ridge" at about the 4:00 position when mounted to the transmission tunnel as this diagram shows (the autsotick shifter is the one on the right):

Make sure yours is the correct stop plate and that it is oriented the right way.

You might also check the shift coupling-- in the back under the rear seat, you will see an oval-shaped panel held on by a screw. Remove this screw and the panel and take a look inside- you will see the sort of u-joint coupling where the shift rod coming out of the transmission case attaches to the shift rod that goes up to the front of the car. On the left (driver's) side of this coupling there is supposed to be a spring (#18 in the diagram below.) It hooks on one end to a tab on the transmission tunnel under the coupling, and the other end hooks into the hole on the flat end of the connecting bolt that runs through the coupling:

If you don't have that spring in place your gear shifter can feel very sloppy especially in neutral, that spring provides tension on the shift rod to the front of the car to keep it properly positioned (in neutral the gear lever should actually look like it is leaning to the right--passenger side-- just a bit, that spring holds it in this position.)

Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:34 am

Welcome to the "World Of 1969 Autosticks". At age 63, I bought my first Beetle in May of 2016 from a man who lives in Chapel Hill - It was bought new in Charlotte !!! I learned to drive a stick in a "new" 1968 Beetle and LOVED riding in quite a few more back in the day. It just took me until last year to finally start to look for one. I also wanted to find a Autostick to help save them all from being turned into dune buggy's !!! ( it took me six months to find it ) It certainly has been a "conversation piece" at the few local shows I've gone to. Right now, it's in my garage having a new headliner installed - hoping it will be all finished by the time the shows start up again in the fall ( we don't have many shows here in Alabama in the summer !!! ) If you have any questions - sb001 is the man to answer them - I talked to him on the phone for a couple hours just before I bought mine !!!

Steve

Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:57 am

logcar wrote: Correct me if I'm wrong but 1969 comes with the 1500 engine, right?

1969 originally had the 1500 single port engine, engine number starting with "H".
Note:
1. Engine may have been changed over the years, check the engine number just under the generator stand.

2. 1500cc pistons and cylinders (83mm) are no longer available new, so almost everyone ups them to the 85.5mm (1600cc) on rebuilding as those are a direct no-hassle bolt in.

Tue Aug 22, 2017 4:09 pm

Thanks for all the info so far guys!

Still looking for some carb suggestions. Is EMPI really as bad as I've read?

Tue Aug 22, 2017 5:31 pm

logcar wrote: Thanks for all the info so far guys!

Still looking for some carb suggestions. Is EMPI really as bad as I've read?

Are you sure yours is bone stock still? If it's a single port I would recommend a newly rebuilt Solex 30 PICT 3 from volkzbitz, they were made to perform with the single port distributors. And 30 PICT 3's are not available new anywhere that I know of so volkzbitz is your best bet there.
If it's a dual port it would take a 34 PICT 3, or you could use an adapter and fit a 34 PICT 3 on a single port, but those were really made for dual port engines. There are any number of knockoffs of that carb. If I was going with a new 34 PICT 3 I would try a Redline from bughaus, but that's just to satisfy my own curiosity-- I've been wanting to test one of those out. :) Most here will still recommend buying an original Solex from Volkzbitz. But whatever you get, it will need to have a port drilled in it for the extra vacuum hose that goes from the carb to the autostick control valve.
You could also try a Brosol H30/31 carb, many here say they will not work well with single ports but I used one for several years on my 69 with no real issues.
I have never had any experience with Empi or Euromax carbs, just what I have read here, so I don't want to comment on the quality of those.

Wed Aug 23, 2017 8:57 am

the wire for that contact in the shifter flexes back and forth when you shift and eventually breaks at the base of the shifter, many times while the insulation is still intact and looks fine....the original contacts used a super fine stranded wire to help them flex but most aftermarket contacts used a stiffer wire that breaks more easily...the upper part of the shifter is slotted where the rod comes out so the shifter can rock front to back and make contact when you grab it and move it forward and back....the upper gap needs to be adjusted so it makes proper contact when the shifter is moved, then the lower locknut needs to be loosened and the shifter rotated till the slot points fore and aft....then locked back down... back on the vacuum can if you detatch the hose ,pull the actuating arm towards the rear of the car as far as it will go...now put your finger over the fitting on the can and try to move the lever forward...if it doesnt move you're ok...if it goes whoosh and moves the diaphram in the cans bad (this way you're not removing anything that affects the adjustment while troubleshooting)....engine compartment you have 2 wires to shift solenoid...ones hot (depending on year either out of the main harness or as a fused wire off the hot side of the coil)...the other is a ground from the shift contact wire...these can flex and break...if you have juice to the hot side and you ground the other one and it shifts the problems the shifter...if not its the can or solenoid...of course holes in any of the large hoses that go from the solenoid to the can or reserve tank or manifold wont allow sufficient vacuum to let it disengauge....and unfortunately sometimes oil leaks onto the dry clutch disc will make it sticky and it wont release properly....now you know why people like 4 speeds....less to go wrong

Wed Aug 23, 2017 9:43 am

volksworld wrote: .now you know why people like 4 speeds....less to go wrong

Yeah like the clutch cable snapping off in the tunnel, or having to replace the clutch disc FAR more frequently, I had my original autostick tranny in my 69 for 40+ years without having to do a thing to it before the clutch finally started losing grip on the Drive 1 gear, only reason I changed it and now I'm not even sure that was the issue. Never had a problem with my wire not once. The contact it's attached to rotates freely within the housing so I don't even know where you got that from.

What makes you think someone who just happily bought an autostick wants to hear that misleading crap from you? Yes there are more items to go wrong with an autsotick. No they don't go wrong near as much as this board has tried to imply, and they are relatively easy to fix since most of them are not related to the tranny itself. How many times in 40 years have you had to change your clutch disc? I'll wait.

Wed Aug 23, 2017 10:45 am

im not posting misleading crap or bashing autosticks....i'm trying to help someone troubleshoot his car....the autostick has a unique collection of systems and problems that dont exist on chevys or hondas or whatever else this person previously drove or what most mechanics are used to dealing with...and some people arent willing to educate themselves to deal with these problems...hence 4 speeds are more popular, especially if you are in the'' build a big motor and go fast" frame of mind...having owned a vw repair shop for over 40 years theres plenty to go wrong with both...the autostick eliminates human error from the disengagement and engagement of the clutch...so you cant slip it and wear it out, pop it and blow stuff up or sit with your foot on the pedal and kill the throwout bearing and rear main bearing...so the gearbox itself lasted forever,.and as a result the thrust bearing almost never beat itself loose in the block and puked oil out the flywheel seal...on the other hand back in the day you have no idea how many freshly painted "rebuilt " autosticks i saw where something simple went wrong and an unscrupulous shop told them they needed a new transmission....they're not bad, theres just a lot of little crap that goes wrong and if you're at the mercy of a thief you're in trouble....ps only the upper part of the shifter rotates , not the bottom... and my 87 quantum wagon with 287000 miles still has the original clutch

Wed Aug 23, 2017 3:27 pm

i just did an autostick conversion on my 69 if you need any autostick parts i have all and came of a working car

logcar wrote: Hello all. This is my first time posting here. I just took the leap into owning a classic VW beetle, and as I've looked around on here, an even bigger leap with the automatic sick shift.
This car is defiantly a project car without a doubt as far as looks go. But mechanically it's decent to a degree.
As far as I can gather it's bone dry stock.
Correct me if I'm wrong but 1969 comes with the 1500 engine, right?

So here's my main question:

I want to keep the autostick due to its uniqueness, but at the moment it currently wont shift into R or L, Only grinding sounds. 1 and 2 work great. Can someone point to to a post that has answers to fix this or even a "how to" for completely rebuilding this transmission for a future project?

Thanks and looking forward to joining the VW community! :D

Wed Aug 23, 2017 9:24 pm

Kobra101 wrote: i just did an autostick conversion on my 69 if you need any autostick parts i have all and came of a working car

Why did you do a conversion? If you're offering parts in working condition, what was wrong with the autostick? If you didn't like it why did you own one?

Thu Aug 24, 2017 10:41 am

sb001, I imagine the story is he was able to get the car cheap because it was an autostick, but really wanted a 4 spd.
You guys keep converting, more spare parts for me! :D

Thu Aug 24, 2017 11:00 am

NoTop69 wrote: sb001, I imagine the story is he was able to get the car cheap because it was an autostick, but really wanted a 4 spd.
You guys keep converting, more spare parts for me! :D

That's probably true. Unfortunate-- and an absolute betrayal of VW heritage due to complete misrepresentations and false propaganda-- but true.

Thu Aug 24, 2017 9:58 pm

sb001: Has two hundred threads with auto-stick problems.

also sb001:

sb001 wrote: NoTop69 wrote: sb001, I imagine the story is he was able to get the car cheap because it was an autostick, but really wanted a 4 spd.
You guys keep converting, more spare parts for me! :D

That's probably true. Unfortunate-- and an absolute betrayal of VW heritage due to complete misrepresentations and false propaganda-- but true.

Fri Aug 25, 2017 8:17 pm

asiab3 wrote: sb001: Has two hundred threads with auto-stick problems.

I have 99 problems but an autostick ain't one

Fri Aug 25, 2017 9:26 pm

sb001 wrote: asiab3 wrote: sb001: Has two hundred threads with auto-stick problems.

I have 99 problems but an autostick ain't one

Fair enough :P

I'm pretty sure every component that gets hated on can be totally reliable and fine once it's well sorted. EGR, fuelninjection, 009s, auto-sticks, and super front ends come to mind. I've driven excellent and terrible examples of all of them.

Robbie

Sat Aug 26, 2017 2:00 pm

1. it was a great deal, 2. i did an ej22 conversion and did not want an autostick to pair with it. personally i dislike them to many EXTRA parts to maintain and break what can break will is usually the case.. if we all did the same thing and built our volkswagens the same way it would be a boring place individuality is key to me mr sb001..

sb001 wrote: Kobra101 wrote: i just did an autostick conversion on my 69 if you need any autostick parts i have all and came of a working car

Why did you do a conversion? If you're offering parts in working condition, what was wrong with the autostick? If you didn't like it why did you own one?