Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:38:36 -0500
Reply-To: Kenneth Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Kenneth Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: '87 Vanagon GL ATF Cooler
In-Reply-To: <006301c74eb2$65297730$dee7e746@alan8ryqbgbqjr>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
You do have to remove that mount and drop the tranny down a bit to remove
the cooler. It is not that big of a deal. Just use a jack to support it
and once you remove the mount, lower it until you can get a socket in there
to finish removing the mount and then get to the two large fittings for the
cooler. As far as putting an aftermarket unit on there, I have no clue.
Putting the factory cooler back on is the way to go. The old one was 20
years old. That is a pretty good lifespan if you ask me. A new one should
last as long since VW is the only supplier for this part so there is no
cheesy aftermarket version. I have new ones on my website if you need one.
They seem expensive but if you only have to replace it once every 20 years,
it is actually rather cheap :-)
Thanks,
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
http://www.vanagain.com
http://www.strictlyvwauctions.com
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http://www.vwcabrio.org
Phone: (856)-327-4936
Fax: (856)-327-2242
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
alancshearer
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 9:31 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: '87 Vanagon GL ATF Cooler
I recently realized coolant is getting into the automatic transmission and
transmission fluid into the cooling system. The first hint I had that
anything was amiss was when the transmission hesitated to go into gear from
a stop, then lurched into first when I gave it more gas. Maybe I should have
had it towed, but I drove it 12 miles to home and it shifted normally at
freeway speed. I stopped driving it after that and checked the transmission
fluid. I immediately noticed the color wasn't right. It was a milky white
pink color, somewhat foamy, and the level was considerably higher than it
should be.
I've put the van on jackstands and separated and plugged the coolant lines
to the ATF cooler. That wasn't so easy, but I guess it was the easiest part
of what I need to do. I determined that the bolts holding the ATF cooler to
the transmission are 17 mm and tried a box wrench on the upper, but couldn't
get enough leverage on it to move it in the cramped space. I couldn't get a
box wrench on the lower bolt. Not enough room for it. There is definitely no
room for a socket wrench. Is it possible to remove the ATF cooler without
removing the AT front mount? Heaven forbid, do I have to actually lower the
transmission to get the cooler off? Could the cross contamination be caused
by something as simple as bad O-rings? Does anyone know what the ATF cooler
looks like inside? My Bentley manual just shows a line illustration of the
outside.
I want to replace the original cooler with an external aftermarket unit
which will eliminate the possibility of mixing coolant and ATF. I'm thinking
if it's too difficult to remove the factory unit, maybe I could just attach
the aftermarket unit to the factory ATF unit.
I will appreciate constructive input from anyone who has actually dealt with
this problem. I am particularly interested in learning how to remove the
defective ATF cooler. I also want to know what kind of aftermarket coolers
are being used. Thanks.
