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Date:         Wed, 24 May 2000 20:53:28 -0700
Reply-To:     aatransaxle@JUNO.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Daryl Christensen <aatransaxle@JUNO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Oh Sh*t! Syncro trans
Comments: To: lindgre@ONLINE.NO
Content-Type: text/plain

Per--Yes you are going to have more questions..guarraanteeeeed.. Your 3rd/4th slider hub has failed...I wil be happy to answer your questions..should I post to the list or P-mail...I don't know if anyone else would find the info usefull....or just waste more bandwidth....(personal pet peeve) I usually respond off list. You are going to need a couple special tools...the big nut that holds the pinion bearing into the case requires a special tool (its 4" in diam) to start with. The flange retainers that the final drive flanges go into are a wierd tool..and HAVE to be marked for reinstallation to keep the R&P backlash & preload close to correct. You DO have to remove the diff and pinion and mainshaft all from the case...press required..patience required Yes you can replace just the broken 3/4 slider assy and maybe 3rd or 4th syncro's and leave all else. Its a 6hr job minimum for me to do...quadruple at least for you....Good Luck Daryl of AA Transaxle (Seattle, Wa.)

>>I was just driving along, and when I was to pull it out of 3rd into 4th, it was stuck in 3rd. I couldn't get it out of 3rd until the speed was below 50 km/h (30 mph), and it was not smooth. It sorta clunked out of gear. It shifted smoothly into 4th, and also into 3rd. It goes out of 4th smoothly, but not 3rd. 1st and 2nd is unaffected.

So what went wrong? Since it will not go out of 3rd smoothly, but 4th seems to be ok, I assume it is the 3rd synchronizing ring, not the 3rd/4th synchronizer. And since I am on a very strict budget now, just dropping the van or even the tranny off at the dealer is not an option. That would cost as much as the value of the Van with a good tranny!

So I figured I could maybe do what very few Vanagon owners would do, I wanna go in and fix it myself. This leads to a row of questions. I looked through the pages of the Bentley (thanks again, Tony!), and it looks like I may be able to do the job myself.

I feel qualified to the job, I do have access to a 25 ton hydraulic press, and access to a mechanic that has worked a few years in a Vanagon workshop. I have not spoken with him yet, but am going to do so in the weekend. He was about to buy the car, but backed out when he heard of the tranny problems. Maybe, maybe he will buy it if I fix the tranny.

The things I wonder about:

1) It is a bit unclear in the manual, do I have to remove the diff to get the main shaft out, and do I have to remove the pinion shaft to remove the main shaft?

2) Can I get through this "rebuild" by just replacing the damaged parts, and leave everything else as is? I was hopping for this, as it would be cheapest. I don't care how long it will last, I'm selling the car.

3) Which parts "must" be replaced except the 3rd/4th synchronizer and the 3rd and 4th Synchronizing rings?

TIA, more questions are on the way, guaranteed. )


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