Volkswagen: Clutch stick and joint?, vw westfalia, robert bentley

Question
Hello!

I am owned by a manual air-cooled 1971 VW Westfalia.  :)

Yesterday, I took it out for short jog, and the stick began to swivel in place.  It
stuck in second, and then seemed to dislocate from the transmaission / floor.

When I crawlerd underneath, I noticed a joint that resembled an elbow type
joint (ball and socket).  The ball, which sits at the very bottom of the stick just
under the flooring, had come loose from the socket, which is attached to a
long bar that runs to the Transmission (I believe.).

I tried to join them back to gether again, but there is a "thumb?" on the  ball,
and it would not line up with the groove on the socket.

Is this a difficult fix?  How might I get the ball (with "thumb") to line up, and
then how do I hold it in place?  Is there supposed to be some kind of with a
bushing?


Please advise if possible.  This was my wife and my "Maiden Voyage" with this
van, and although VERY EXCITING, the van is now inoperable in the near-
term.

Not discouraged,

  Jay

THANKS !!!!!!!!  

Answer
Jay,... please bare with me when I say.... you need to buy the factory manual on this (robert bentley), this is an pretty simple repair for the average "car guy".  A little too involved for me to write at one sitting though.  Plus I keep all my questions focused toward water cooled vw's these days.  Sorry for that... but honestly, hop on ebay and buy the bentley for your year...they truely are the "bibles" for these vans.
thanks,
shad