Date:         Fri, 22 Feb 2002 11:32:38 -0600
Reply-To:     John Gladu <jgladu@BCM.TMC.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Gladu <jgladu@BCM.TMC.EDU>
Subject:      has anyone replaced tranny seals?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"

My '90 standard transmission is leaking.
It's pulled, and I found that there was greasy dirt build-up at the
vent hole, the shift linkage, both drive shafts and especially inside
(main seal).  I bought a complete seal kit, but only planned on
replacing the main seal until I had removed it and saw the other oily
places.

After reading through the steps in Bentley, I'm wondering if some of
these tasks can even be performed with ordinary tools.  The removal
of the final drives is done with some kind of special tool in the
manual and I think I counted five other special tools during the
procedure.

Transmissions scare me - too many things that have clearances,
tolerances and adjustments and too many special tools to get it all
right.

I'd like to:

Pull the bell-housing and look inside.
        While the main drive shaft spins freely, when I hand turn one of
        the final drives, I can feel the differential sort of "catching" -
        there is something that is requiring added force to continue
        turning.  I'd like to find out what that is.
        I have the flat seal for the bell-housing and reinstallation looks
        relatively straight-forward.
        That will also give me terrific access to the main seal.
I'd also like to replace the lip-seals for the final drives, and that also
        requires replacing the caps that goes over whatever it is that
        holds in the final drives.  I have those caps and seals.  Removing
        and installing the seals doesn't look too hard, but that special
        tool bugs me - is there a way to do this without it?
There is also a chance that the o-ring around the
        thing-under-the-final-drive may need replacing.  Bentley says to
        mark the position before removing that thingie.  What are the
        chances that those o-rings are leaking and what are my chances of
        getting it all back together properly?
The shifter - if I remove it, will I ever get it back in correctly again?
        It looks like the reverse switch is removed and the shifter shaft
        pulls out of that side, then I can replace the seals.  Is it that
        easy, or is there some kind of connection or alignment trick that
        I'm missing?
Flywheel seal - is there one like on an air-cooled?
        Are there spacers in there like on an air-cooled?

What I thought was a bad throw-out bearing turned out to be a
completely destroyed clutch friction plate.  It looks like a fan
blade, with no friction material left on it.  Little pieces of rivets
and oil-soacked friction stuff everywhere.  The entire bell-housing
is dripping oil.  It smelled like the sulfurous gear oil from the
tranny when I was still driving it, but inside the bell-housing does
not (maybe the smell of the ground up friction stuff is masking it).
I'd rather not put it all together, only to have it leak from a
different place and ruin another friction plate.
--

bcnu - Grungy  (Houston, TX)
'60 dddPanel '69 Bug '90 Vanagon '93 Eurovan '00 Audi A6 Avant
grungy@mindless.com           opinions are just that.obviously.