I had the second gear grinding problem when I reinstalled my newly rebuild
five-speed about ten years ago. I was pretty freaked out about sending the
transaxle all the way across the country again and doing all that work
over. But I sent my Vanagon to a local shop to have the gear shift adjusted
properly, and it has been shifting sweet ever since.

You might want to invest in that before you do anything drastic.

Jim

On Mon, Dec 29, 2014 at 7:11 AM, David Boan <dboan@outlook.com> wrote:

> I have an '85 Westy and six months ago put in a GoWesty engine and got a
> rebuilt transaxle from German Transaxle at the same time.  My local shop
> installed both, and put in a new clutch and cooling system.  Second gear
> would grind and shift hard into second, so pulled the Trans and sent back
> to German Transaxle.  They replaced second and the syncro, but also said
> they were fine and the problem likely in the clutch or linkage.  Shop says
> the clutch and linkage are fine and say the problem is with the transaxle.
> The problem continues and shop says they are done trying to fix it.  Very
> frustrating being in the middle.
>
> I am looking for a shop in the Chicago area that can look at the Trans and
> welcome any suggestions or any advice about the problem.
>
> Thanks
> Dave
> Wheaton, IL