Date:         Fri, 23 Feb 2001 21:19:32 -0800
Reply-To:     Brian Cochran <rangerbrian@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Brian Cochran <rangerbrian@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      happenings with home engine repair: transaxle work.
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

Very clean minding, nerving work, since the damn thing is covered in grime.
As said earlier, I scraped at least two pounds of grime off of the casing.
THis is a 090 AT, which sucks--I think.  I drained some of the axle oil
today, pretty much just to look at it.  I wanted to see if I could tell if
tranny fluid mixed in with it.  Of course I haven't the foggiest is I could
tell that.  The fluid was at the level it was supposed to be, so that's good
I guess.

I separated the at from the diff ,  yanked the AT pan... more fluid.  I
drain and drain; it leaks and leaks, and it still makes a mess! The tranny
fluid it the culprit for the most source of mess with this entire job.  The
filter is what I'm after here and I'll tell you why....

When I bought this van a year ago, there was a leak coming from the
oil-ring-ridden round portion on the left side of the AT.  The previous
owner vowed to pay for it and I took possession of the westy from the shop (
BAAAAD Karma eh?).  THe mechanics said they pulled a lot of gunk out of the
AT and they didn't have much faith in it for a long future.  That lack of
faith transfered to me. I monitor it for every little sign, waiting for that
moment when $2000 gets pulled from my wallet.  Besides the too short of a
stint in 1st gear, the too long of stint in first when cold, and the
sluggish torque convertor at startup,  ......what really worries me is the
rattly sound/vibration noise at idle in park or neutral.  Any ideas out
there?????

The filter was full of gunk.  It's an easy job to switch it out.  The gunk
looked like dried antifreeze crud which I find around the pressure cap on
the coolant tank. Now, I say it LOOKED like that, I can't say that is what
it was.  I think there were tiny amounts of metal shavings, but it wasn't
loaded with metal.  I put the new filter in and slapped the pan back on.  I
say "slapped", but that was the crux of the job, well, that and putting the
AT back on the Diff by myself.   I hope there is improvement.

On the other side, the torque convertor "seal" was yanked.  Now, this seal
looked fine.  I will say it was flush with the housing and NOT seated all
the way against the "wall" behind it.  In fact, I removed it by pushing one
side in and pulling the other side out.
I'll consult bentley for the placement of the new seal, but any thoughts are
welcomed .  I don't want to have my van leaking after I put it back
together..

That's enough for tonight.  I'll be putting the engine back together
tomorrow, I hope!
Brian Cochran
Carnation WA (seattleland)


Brian Cochran
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