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Date:         Wed, 27 Jun 2007 22:46:35 -0400
Reply-To:     Edward Maglott <emaglott@BUNCOMBE.MAIN.NC.US>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Edward Maglott <emaglott@BUNCOMBE.MAIN.NC.US>
Subject:      My auto transmission troubles
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

I've got Tranny trouble! Here's the story: '86 Vanagon with ~200k miles on it. I had this "good used" tranny installed about 20k miles ago. It's mileage is unknown. It's always had a little leakage that appeared to be gear oil coming from the pan and the place where the final drive and AT mate. So I'm driving on a nice trip, climbing a mountain in WV, full throttle, 3rd gear, about 45 mph or so iirc. See smoke coming out the back of the van and pull off. It appears to be the torque converter seal, and it's dripping pretty fast onto the exhaust pipe right under it making lots of smoke. Open the engine cover and it is also spraying the ATF up inside the engine compartment. Nothing catches fire. After 15 minutes, things have cooled down, and I have a small puddle, about 6 inches in diameter on the ground. I check the non running level, and it is high, like normal. Start the engine, the dripping starts again, check the level, and it is in the normal range. It is getting late and I forge ahead to get to a town with a flaps. On down hill or flat under little load, it smokes (leaks) less. Up hills, it is bad. I try lower revs vs going into 2nd and having the revs up around 3500-4000. It seems to be about the same. (Now realize maybe the smoking amount is more related to amount of heat in that header pipe rather than amount of oil leaking. More load, hotter pipe, more smoke)

Find advance auto and buy a quart of ATF and a snake oil product called "No Leak Transmission Treatment." Label says it will fix any leak within 200 miles of driving or your money back! Also says, if it doesn't fix the leak, repairs may be needed. I check the level and it's still in normal range. I put in almost all the 16 oz of leak fixer. I leave another 6 inch puddle on flaps parking lot. I drive about 25 miles to nearest walmart for camping. Plenty of smoke on the way, but after parking at walmart, the puddle is not as big. Damn if that stuff didn't completely stop the leak within 200 miles like the label said. So at that point I'm driving with the ATF level too high because I added the no leak. Tranny is operating normally except for a few times a slightly odd shift from 2nd to 3rd, and seems to engage reverse harder than normal. I'm really focused on getting the van home, several hundred miles at that point.

I get home, get the van nice and level and check the running level of ATF. It's high. (Side question: How does the level being too high damage the AT?) So the next night, I go out and suck about 24 oz out of AT. Now it get's weird. The following night I go out to put ATF back in to the proper level. Level is now too low. I put back in everything that I sucked out, and it is still way too low. I end up putting about 3/4 of a quart additional in to bring it up to normal range. Weird. There is no puddle on the ground. Where did it go? I check the fill plug on the final drive, and something does come out. Just an ounce or 2, and it smells and feels like gear oil. It definitely has that thick slippery feeling of gear oil, not the thin oil feel of ATF. Maybe a little thinner, and it is quite dark in color. I can't remember the last time I checked the gear oil level. I suppose it is possible that the level was low enough that the excess ATF could have gone in there. Not likely though, because I think it would have been well over a quart. My ATF is dark, pretty normal looking and feeling, and doesn't have any of that strong smell that gear oil has.

That's my story. Since I refilled my ATF, I'm going to re-check my final drive level. Any other thoughts about my short and long term prognosis here?

Thanks, Edward


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