Date:         Sat, 21 Feb 2004 13:06:57 -0600
Reply-To:     Stan Wilder <wilden1-1@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stan Wilder <wilden1-1@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: Manual Trans Oil Chg Question
In-Reply-To:  <003101c3f8a8$cf7ff6d0$6401a8c0@daryl01>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Dwight:
Don't let one of those fast oil change places flush and change the tranny
grease.
The tranny will hold onto about a liter of old grease as you drain it.
If they flush it with solvent it leaves enough solvent in there to ruin your
synchronizers within about 1000 miles of city driving because it thins out
the new grease.
Just drain and refill the tranny, don't flush it.
A half teaspoon of iron filings on your magnetic oil drain plug is normal
for 100,000 mile tranny.

Stan Wilder

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf
Of Daryl Christensen
Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2004 12:31 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Manual Trans Oil Chg Question


Dwight...The book is silly...why would you ever want to keep the same old
oil in a trans that wears gradually and keep that stuff churning around year
after year...beats me....The drain is a 17mm hex on the bell housing and the
fill is on the pass side just below  & fwd of the shift stuff. Drain the oil
when hot (it flows better)...remove the fill plug first so you are sure you
can get some new oil in after you drain the old...The 17 mm hex can be
gotten from places like the Bus Depot as can the Redline MT 90 oil I
believe. Most any GL4 synthetic oil will work fine, but Redline is a cut
above esp for cold areas. It will take about 3.5 qts to refill and you can
get small gallon size pumps from your local FLAPS (friendly local auto parts
store) to squeeze the new stuff in. Fill to the bottom of the fill hole and
you are good to go for another 30,000 miles.
Hope that helps...posted reply to the list for someone else to read
too...good luck & holler if any questions.
Daryl of AA Transaxle
Duvall, WA. (Seattle area)
1-877-377-0773 toll free
425-788-4070
aatransaxle.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dwight Reifsnyder" <dwyte@bytehenge.com>
To: <aatransaxle@direcway.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2004 8:37 AM
Subject: Vanagon Manual Trans Question


> Hi Daryl -
>
> I had noticed your post concerning the proper oil to use in a Vanagon
> transmission, and you volunteered advice if people had questions. I
> recently purchased a 1985 Westy weekender (my first ever VW) that
> shifts kinda notchy, and I do have a question.
>
> HOW THE HECK DO I CHECK/ADD TRANSMISSION GEAR OIL?
>
> The VW manual says I shouldn't ever have to check or change oil in
> the manual transmission. I have a repair guide that shows the fill
> plug for the manual is on the top of the tranny near the front, but I
> don't know how to reach it.
>
> I am assuming that I am just missing something obvious, but can you
> tell me where and how to check the fluid level?  What type/size
> wrench do I need?  Do I need to train a small rat to climb up inside
> and do it so I don't have to drop the transmission?
>
> Many thanks!
>
> Dwight Reif
> Boulder, CO
>
>