Date:         Thu, 9 Jan 2003 16:47:18 GMT
Reply-To:     Philip Chidlaw <pchidlaw@MCN.ORG>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Philip Chidlaw <pchidlaw@MCN.ORG>
Subject:      Re: Transmission Fluid Change
Comments: To: dujones@STATE.PA.US

Dustin, I found one point of aggravation in changing AT fluid in my 87 westy.
Everything went fine - drained most of the fluid by removing the filler tube at
the pan, dropped the pan, cleaned out the pan, replaced the old screen and
screen gasket - then finally positioned the new rubber pan seal and bolted up
the pan. I methodically tightened bolts side to side and thought that the
rubber seal was staying put. As I poured in the new ATF, I heard a dripping
sound below, and found that the pan seal had pulled away from a corner and left
a gap. It turned out that keeping this seal in position around the entire pan
perimeter was a difficult task. The seal wanted to pull itself inward at some
point and seemed just the smallest bit undersized, maybe by design. I noticed
that the old pan seal had been effectively glued in place to the tranny side
with flexible sealant, presumably during it's rebuild 27k miles earlier. I
eventually managed without the sealant-adhesive.

Philip Chidlaw

> I was browsing through the repair and maintenance records of my 91' Carat VW
> and I didn't see any records of a an AT Fluid change. My Van has 175,000
> miles on it and I think it would be wise to change the fluid. I'm going to
> follow the directions in my Hayes Manual (I am in the process of obtaining a
> Bentley). Any tips or advice or things I should look out for? Your input is
> appreciated. Thanks.