Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2005 07:49:22 -0800
Reply-To: Shawn Wright <swright@ZUIKO.SLS.BC.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Shawn Wright <swright@ZUIKO.SLS.BC.CA>
Subject: Re: Transmission noise, shifter goes into reverse too easily
In-Reply-To: <a061005017c27510f6db0@[209.86.98.14]>
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<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">On 1 Jan 2070 at 23:46, Stephen Edwards <welfarewrkr@IGC.ORG> wrote:</span></font></div>
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<div align="left"><font face="Arial" color="#7f0000"><span style="font-size:10pt">> I suspect that the "new" 91 GL 4-speed I just picked up needs a</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" color="#7f0000"><span style="font-size:10pt">> transmission.  It runs very nicely but there is that whine that is</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" color="#7f0000"><span style="font-size:10pt">> noticeable as you go up through the gears; also there is very little</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" color="#7f0000"><span style="font-size:10pt">> travel on the clutch, suggesting that it's a long time since that was</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" color="#7f0000"><span style="font-size:10pt">> done  (the clutch is also very heavy to operate, not sure what that</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" color="#7f0000"><span style="font-size:10pt">> means), and - most strangely of all - it seems to be quite possible</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" color="#7f0000"><span style="font-size:10pt">> to shift into reverse when you meant to go from third into second.</span></font></div>
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<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">The reverse issue could be just a linkage adjustment. </span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">As for the whining, I drove my '88 for a few years with this noise. When I switched to
Redline MTL, the noise became more apparent due to thinner oil (but it shifted
better!). After maybe 25k kms, I was worried enough that I took it in and had the
transmission opened up. All the bearings were replaced, but I recall the big
mainshaft bearing as the one responsible for the noise (it's the most expensive one).
A year and only 10k kms later, my ring and pinion starting making noise. I took it
back to the same shop, and finally negotiated replacement for parts only, since I
thought if the R&P was due to fail, they should have known 10k kms earlier. (Either
that, or something they did caused it to fail, I don't know which).</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">In any case, I now have my suspicions that driving it with a noisy bearing(s) for
seveal years may be contributed to the R&P failure due to metal particles in the oil. I
also wonder about the Redline MTL, since many say that MT90 should be used,
even though MTL does meet the spec (it is 70W80, MT90 is 75W90, the spec is
80W *or* 80W90, so it is not really clear. I plan to use MT90 from now on.)</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">In any case, if you are concerned, I would drain the oil and see how much metal is on
the drain plug magnet. Keep the oil and let is settle for a week or more, then pour off
to another container and examine the sediment left behind. Not knowing how old the
oil is, this may not tell you much, but it could also say a lot if there is a ton of particles
on the magnet. (the sediment will be non-magnetic stuff from the syncros mostly). If
the magetic particles are large flakes, then I would be concerned - this is what I saw
when my R&P failed - metal was flaking off the faces of the gears.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">Also, if you plan to keep the van, you should probably deal with it sooner rather than
later, as it won't go away - ie: at least take it to a reputable shop for an opinion.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">I'm sure others, like Darryl at AA Transaxle, can give you more technical advice, this
is just based on my experiences, which are pretty limited compared to others here...
:-)</span></font></div>
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<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">-- </span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Bookman Old Style" color="#00007f"><span style="font-size:10pt">Shawn Wright</span></font></div>
<div align="left" style="margin-left=13mm; margin-right=0mm; text-indent=-13mm"><font face="Bookman Old Style"><span style="font-size:10pt">I.T. Manager</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Times New Roman" color="#e0c000" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt">Shawnigan Lake School</span></font></div>
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