Date:         Fri, 6 Jan 2006 15:24:21 -0500
Reply-To:     Tim Demarest <tim.demarest@POBOX.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Tim Demarest <tim.demarest@POBOX.COM>
Subject:      Re: New Transmission Time?
Comments: To: Geza Polony <gezapolony@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <F9D9D28F-28AC-4471-8AC0-8AB49B71BE9B@sbcglobal.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

         Since you are a new owner, you may not be aware that these beasts
have a hydraulic clutch. First thing to do on grinding is to check the
brake fluid level.

         The clutch and brakes share a reservoir, but the clutch takes off
it's fluid higher up in the system, so low fluid shows in the clutch first.

         Oh, and the brake/clutch fluid reservoir is inside the instrument
cluster, between the speedometer and the tach (or clock). Reach forward of
the plastic cover, find the hand indents on the windshield side, and bring
the cover up and towards you to expose it.

         If the fluid level is OK, you may have air in the system (or just
old, waterlogged fluid). Bleeding the clutch slave cylinder (in the engine
compartment) may do the trick.

         If the fluid level is OK, and the system is bled, and you *still*
have grinding, then you've left the realm of the low-buck fixes, and may be
looking at a new clutch, or tranny repairs.

Good luck, and welcome to the community,

Tim


At 10:34 AM 1/6/2006 -0800, Geza Polony wrote:
>Hi All,
>
>Thanks for all the replies to my former post, "New Engine Time?"
>Perhaps I should be titling these, "New Owner Time," since that's
>what I am, and I'm still figuring things out on these prehistoric
>beasts.
>
>Latest: engine running ok, but now the tranny makes a grinding sound
>going into third and fourth. Stopped at idle, if I push the clutch in
>and WAIT for a few seconds, it doesn't grind. Other than that the
>tranny is fine, with no issues when downshifting or anything else.
>There is a whirring/buzzing sound at idle.  This new grinding started
>suddenly, like, yesterday, when all my troubles seemed so far away.
>
>Linkage? (Yes!)
>
>New trans? (wince.)
>
>Other? BTW, car has about 151K miles on it.
>
>
>TIA
>
>
>Geza