I replaced the piece of pshaw rod that was in my buggy when I bought it. Put in a new custom length rod from EMPI with an adjuster and new urethane coupling. Works much better than before for me. And the new rod is perfectly straight. Just my 2 cents.
Is it normal to have absorbed more voltage than most household appliances?
Uh oh, here it comes ..........quick, everybody duck! Someone said something good about EMPI parts! I know this is going to start a rant, it always has. (but for what it's worth, guy......I agree with you!)
If at first you don't succeed, beat the pshaw out of the business partner, and then go at it alone! LOL!
I found out this afternoon that not just any shift rod for a manual trans will work on any VW with a manual shift. It seems that in the later years the shift rod is 1-1/2" shorter. I know, because I bought one to replace the one I had for an auto stick. (I changed to a manual shift.) The one I had was really the one I needed. So now, I have an extra one if someone needs one.
Here is another lesson I learned today about the shift rod. An autostick shift rod will work on a manual transmission, but the rod is still too short even though it will couple up. Now I learned that you have to have a special coupler, one that just a tad longer and has the set screw off center so the shift pattern won't be off center. It's just the little things that drive you crazy. JD