Date:         Fri, 28 Jul 2000 16:21:35 -0700
Reply-To:     aatransaxle@juno.com
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Daryl Christensen <aatransaxle@juno.com>
Subject:      Re: A general transmission question...
Comments: To: djs@gene.com
Content-Type: text/plain

As a rebuilder of VW transmissions..I can with some expertise say that
the tanny's in the newer W/C vans are mostly the same as the earlier Air
Cooled vans...They even have the same basic misdesigned 3rd/4th slider
hub in both units...I guess I figure (not being an engineer) that the
newer vans weigh more and have differing torque curves and horsepower
than the older variety.  The rest of the transmission with the exception
of shifter configuation is fundamentally the same. VW didn't think they
need to beef things up anything with more HP....teutonic engineering...
...Also... are there more later vanagons on this list for us to hear
about???probably...I get far more calls for late vanagon trannys than the
earlier ones just because of their proliferation here in the NW...

On Fri, 28 Jul 2000 10:19:31 -0700 Daniel Schmitz <djs@gene.com> writes:
> For the elder statesmen, intellectually endowed, or anyone who has
> the
> 411 on this topic:
>
> How come (and why is it) that the water-cooled vans have apparently
> weaker, trouble-prone transmissions compared with the earlier
> air-cooled
> vans and late model buses? One would think that an engine that puts
> out
> at least 20% more hp and torque than its predecessor would be mated
> to a
> transmission that could handle it. I understand that the earlier
> transmissions from late buses and early vanagons are quite robust.
> My
> '82 Adventurewagen has never had a trans problem, and I think it has
> over 150k on it. All the posts to this list concerning trans
> problems
> relate to the wbx trans, not the earlier one.
>
> Can that trans be used in the later vans? Since the wbx is based on
> the
> old 1600cc Type 1 engine case, and earlier buses used that engine,
> would
> they bolt up? Are gear ratios the issue?
>
> Maybe my question is more as to why VW changed the design of the
> trans,
> and in the course of doing so, made it less robust and more prone to
> breaking.
>
> What gives?

Daryl of AA Transaxle
Duvall, WA.(Seattle area)
(425) 788-4070
1-877-377-0773 toll free
http://www.aatransaxle.com (web site)