Date:         Sat, 20 Sep 2008 00:00:27 +0000
Reply-To:     mtbiker62@COMCAST.NET
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Bob Stevens <mtbiker62@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      Re: Refilling manual transmission fluid
Comments: To: Greg Potts <greg@POTTSFAMILY.CA>

Yes. I think both the fill/empty hex nuts are a 17 mm socket Greg. Empty bolt is easy to see on the bottom of the tranny. The fill bolt is up on the psgr side between the fins. I think just in front of the axle on that side IIRC. Put your fingers up there and you'll find it. Loosen that one before emptying the lube or you may wind up with an empty tranny, unable to fill it, if you can't get the filler bolt out. Sometimes the PO has stripped them and you have to get creative to get them out so you can put a new one in.

Easy to do, just some crawling around underneath the van. I just did mine 2 weeks ago, and do it every 2 years no matter now many miles I put on the van. I use Amsoil or Redline gear oil. Amsoil is the only completerly synthetic oil; all the others are "cracked" dino oil, if my info is correct (from the oil bible-google).

I like jacking up the psgr side, rear of the van to do this. Drainage is the same, jacked up or not but filling and crawling around under the van is easier. Some people use the gravity method with a fairly long plastic hose on a funnel, with the end of the hose in the fill hole. I use a pump that fits into a quart bottle and just refill that to get the 4.7 quarts into the tranny.

Hope this helps.

bob
'87 Syncro Westy
> Is it possible to change the transmission fluid with the tranny still in
> the van? The bentley isn't clear on this and the archives keep timing
> out on me.