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Date:         Sat, 16 Sep 2006 23:32:28 -0700
Reply-To:     retro van <r3tr0v4n@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         retro van <r3tr0v4n@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Replaced final drive to AT seals in the 90MV (fingers crossed
              anyway)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Hi All

9/2/06 got enough gumption and some extra help to pull the transmission, needed to do this to address a loss of ATF to final drive. First go around, replaced the governor seal. Thought this would end it because I had nothing coming out of the weep hole between the final drive and AT bottom covers. Im pretty sure we did the AT removal the hardest possible way, but I know better now. I was under the mistaken impression that the final drive did not have to drop, or at least drop very much, to permit the AT to slide off the end of the spindle, turbine shaft etc.

I was wrong. wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong

Before I had realized the impossibility of my approach I did the following fairly rational things;

- chocked front wheels, rear wheels on jackstands, battery disconnected - removed tranny fill tube, even with the rounded corners on the nut larger than any box open end in my toolkit. No I didnt use vicegrips. Tried to pound a wooden bung in the open end to stop the dripping, limited success - I propped the tranny up with the floor jack - I removed the front tranny to body mount to get the tranny cooler bolts out. I just let this hang from its coolant lines and drip ATF on my chest. Man I am starting to despise the smell of this stuff. - removed the shifter linkage below (faily easy) and the throttle linkage above (quite hard because of EXTRA hard access above, behind coolant lines)

ahem. 4 hours later My helper and I obtained the clue and did the following:

- took out 2 of four rear engine support bolts, loosened the remaining about 1/4". - Took out the 2 bolts and one nut holding the tin to the rear engine support. - wrapped a beeffy chain around the bell housing to hang it from a 2x4 spanning the engine hatch opening front to back - pinned above chain with stout screwdriver and C clamp to belay this large mass - jacked the AT down till the whole AT-final-drive-motor shebang was tilted down at the front by A LOT, like 25-30deg? - rather easily removed the 4 nuts and lockwashers holding the final dr and AT together and slid the AT off. Not as heavy as I thought it would be. Still spilling AT everywhere, anyone know how to get this crud off my rented driveway? - slid out turbine shaft, it wanted to slide out by itself anyway, put it and the end play shim found around the spindle into a clean place - removed 5 bolts holding the allegedly leaking spindle seals and bearing cover. - found that I had bought the wrong seals to do the replacement. Doh!

Day 2, the next friday, proper replacement seals in hand (checked at the parts counter of Trans-ocean VW pasadena)

- seems the proper tool to R&R these seals really is a bench press or maybe a vise. I didnt have those things, and manufactured wooden dowels to drive these things out and their replacements back in. I have the feeling I will burn in hell for this, which is another way of saying: I think this R&R should be done in a machine shop, with a press. Like it shows in the Bentley.

- also replaced the oring around the five bolt cover, the one tiny oring for the oil passage thru this cover, the very large oring that seals the AT to final drive circumference, and the 2 large C-shaped thin paper shims on either side of the C-shaped plate held to the AT by one paltry screw. Question: why isnt the plate just a little thicker to eliminate these shims? If the paper needs to accomodate surface irregularities, couldnt it be made or plated with something softer? - got the tranny back on, had to slightly rotate one wheel to line the splines up - probably should have replaced the AT cooler orings, all four, but forgot to order them. Also neglected to order the rubber accordian boot over the throttle cable, original was rotten. - found that the 15MM coppery looking nut holding the shift lever on shifter shaft was cross threaded. The shift cable needed a new $18 dollar accordian boot, was as rotten as the throttle boot. - bailed out, threw tarp over tools strewn across driveway, stomped disgustedly back into house

Day 3, two saturdays later, today in fact. - Acquired 10mm X 1mm pitch nut from the excellent Berg h/w in pasadena, unfortunately had a 17mm outer dimension instead of 17mm instead of the original 15mm so I couldnt get the plastic acorn shaped cover over it. Sprayed some motorcycle chain wax over it to buy me some corrosion resistance/time. - reconnected throttle rod to throttle cable linkage. Sprayed some chain wax on this too, for luck and because of the rotten boot - replaced already leakingbut only 2 month old $40 paper gasket at final drive bottom cover with permatex "the right stuff". refilled final drive oil, 1.25L - started engine for first time in 3 weeks, gradually and with the engine in park I put in almost 4 qts of ATF, with many intermediate dipstick checks. I have at least one lifter that leaks down when I let it sit that long. Engine sounded like crap initially. - removed chocks, jackstands etc and took it for a drive around town with 2 of three children

Seems to be working just fine but one ominous note, after my check out drive I noticed some clean, light brown final drive oil around the weep hole between the AT and final drive bottom covers. No red in it at all, so no ATF coming through the replaced seals (yet?) but remember there was no leak at all in this place at the beginning. It is possible that I have done all this work to trade an ATF leak for a final drive leak? I will keep an eye on this, but will be driving it again anyway. Hope to find someplace that can steam clean under there to help spot any further trouble.

I had noticed before starting this job that the reverse lights only go on when the shift lever is toward the very front of the reverse detent. After the job this is still true.

Robert (formerly known as r3tr0v1ru5@hotmail.com) 90 MV


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