Date:         Thu, 22 Dec 2005 10:32:06 -0800
Reply-To:     Robert Fisher <refisher@MCHSI.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Robert Fisher <refisher@MCHSI.COM>
Subject:      Re: replaced tranny but no move. What next?
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I put a 'newly rebuilt' TC in my van and the guy at the shop where I bought
it told me it would fill quickly on its own; I just needed to make sure that
I the pan was full of fluid to begin with and that I took some fresh fluid
and 'lubed' the various contact points I could get to (like the seal and the
shaft seat). I then topped it off, let it warm up and shifted thru the
gears, topping it off again as it needed it until I was done.

On the other hand, if you had taken the tranny out for some other reason
(say to work on the crank seals or something), you would be presumably be
putting your TC back in with whatever fluid was in it, so doing it that way
undoubtedly wouldn't hurt anything. You'd just have to be sure you didn't
overfill it, of which I understand these trannys are not particularly
forgiving. As I recall that was the main reason the guy told me to put mine
on empty.

Speaking of the crank seals, there are those (where are you, Stan?) that say
you should go ahead and replace the front one while you have the tranny out
for GP so you don't have to pull the tranny to do it later. I'm normally in
favor of doing things like that, but considering your overall situation you
might leave well enough alone, unless you feel up to trying it- I understand
it isn't that bad of a job, or at least, pulling the tranny is the worst
part of it. Somebody else might want to chime in.

You can get the seals etc. that you were asking about from some of the
online vendors or you can most likely get them from a local tranny shop, if
you know one you think you can trust. For that matter, since you have the
old one sitting out, you might get the offending seals replaced by the shop
fairly cheaply (parts and a couple/few hours labor). If you're going to keep
this van and mainly work on it yourself, I'd vote for keeping on with what
you've started and just go for it yerself.

Good luck,
Robert

----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Sisler" <rogersisler2000@YAHOO.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2005 9:34 AM
Subject: Re: replaced tranny but no move. What next?


> Are you sure the torque converter is filled? If you are reasonably sure
> about your parts and work,go ahead with the seafoam. If that shows some
> improvement, do the valve body.Other wise, I would remove that trans and
> check the tc.My first tc instalation would have gone wrong unless the tech
> told my to pour a qt of fluid in it before installation.I was 17 and this
> was my ford econoline(32 years ago). I think archives says that many
> contemporary vw transmissions(minus final drive) fit these vanagons(same
> with the valve bodys). Now aircooled is different, and I dont know.I think
> other vanagon valve bodys will fit(bentley tells for sure),but shift
> points
> will be a bit different.You can overcome this by grinding off metal from
> the govener(see subaruvanagon.com --automatic trans modification) Bentley
> tells of cleaning the valve body fully assembeled in a "cleaner" , but
> dosent specify which cleaner. You must keep your replacement part
> surgeacally(sp) clean.No lint. I use a  new newspaper to wrap mine in. The
> exploded view of the valve body seems straight forward. I have never had
> the pleasure of dissembeling one.However, no special tools or proceedures
> are needed.I think there are about 9 holes bored through the aluminum
> valve
> body that have springs and pistons in them. The object is to remove the
> cover plates that hold them in ,and remove and clean the springs and
> pistons and bore.I wouldnt split the valve body in half though(but then
> again ,it may be simple).If you have a used replacement,perhaps you can
> muster the courage to do the deed on your old one,since you have a
> replacement.Gotta get the bentley section for valve bodys first.Dont mess
> with any adjustments on the valve body.If you have to unscrew
> something,count the turns of the screw that you make(write it down), and
> return any adjustment to where you found it. It seems that the only
> problem
> is keeping the parts in the proper bore with the proper orientation and
> the
> springs cannot be interchanged. Photograph every step with a digital
> camera, or draw pictures of each bores' contents.Orginazation!Maybe use
> percription pill bottles that are labeled 1 throuth 9 to store each bores'
> parts.Clean one bottle of parts at a time.Then clean the  empty valve
> body.I swear I can see no rubber parts in the valve body from the exploded
> view.I dont think any new parts or gaskets or o-rings are needed. The
> bentley says parts with minor score marks are ok to reuse.I think it is
> very doable,but if you got a dry torque converter,neither seafoam nor this
> cleaning will help.Your kids will love watching this dissambelly and
> cleaning.If they stick around for the entire proceedure ,you better
> watchout,as they will all become mechanics,and not the doctors or lawyers
> that your wife wants.