Date:         Thu, 27 May 2010 19:45:12 -0400
Reply-To:     pickle vanagon <greenvanagon@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         pickle vanagon <greenvanagon@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Done!! (was Re: dropping tranny to do clutch)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

I finished this job yesterday.  I just wanted to post a report.

I used this jack to drop the tranny:
http://www.harborfreight.com/450-lb-capacity-transmission-jack-39178.html
It makes it easy to drop it and wheel it out of the way, but mating the
tranny back to the engine is still a bit of a PITA with one person with
this.

I put new CV joints on at the same time, since these joints were an unknown
quantity and I didn't want to have to worry about them again.  I used
metelli "made in italy" joint kits that I got from ken at Vanagain.  These
kits included new conical lock washers, which was great, since I think some
of the other kits of dropped the washers for some reason.  I use redline
CV-2 grease on the joints.

When I removed the old CV joints, I found that the flange caps had come
loose, and tranny fluid had been washing out the inner CV joints.
Ironically, when I dissambled them later to check their condition out of
curiosity, the inner ones were fine, and only the other ones, which were
still greased, were bad.  Better to be lubricated with tranny fluid than
with old grease, apparently.

My problem was the pilot bearing, as suspected.  I got the flywheel
resurfaced and did the clutch at the same time.  As I posted earlier, I
replaced it with a diesel pilot bearing (VW# 056 105 313C) which required
clearancing the flywheel a bit with a step drill bit to accommodate the
extra height of the bearing.  I use the same redline CV-2 grease on the
pilot bearing.

I replaced the rear main seal at the same time.  Getting the replacement in
was a bit of a pain. I cut up the OEM one I had intended to put in on the
rim, and so ended up getting an aftermarket (elrin) seal locally instead.
Better to put in an undamaged part than an OEM one!

Today I changed out the tranny fluid (MT-90).  I use my mity-vac (
http://www.amazon.com/Mityvac-7201-Fluid-Evacuator-Plus/dp/B0002SR7TC) in
reverse to fill it.  I drain it from the drain hole though.  I've found that
its not possible to manuever the mity-vac hose in the transmission well
enough to be able to suck out the old fluid.  I remove the tranny plugs
using a piece of a 17mm allen wrench I cut off and 17mm wrench.  (The 17mm
allen wrench is $9 at sears.  They also sell a set of allen keys on 1/2
socket adapters, but there isn't enough clearance behind the drain hole to
use one of these because of the exhaust pipe.)

I'm happy to have a clutch again!!






On Mon, May 17, 2010 at 2:55 PM, pickle vanagon <greenvanagon@gmail.com>wrote:

> It seems I've lost my clutch... can't really shift gears unless both the
> engine and vehicle are stopped or if they're both moving.  (It feels like it
> hasn't failed 100% yet, but something has gotten really bad really fast).
> Hydraulics look and feel fine, so I guess I'm dropping the tranny.  I got a
> Sachs clutch kit---might as well change the clutch even if its just the
> bearing.
>
> Anyways, any tips on doing this, other than following the manual?  I'm
> planning on renting a transmission jack to make things go easier.
>
> Should I be able to get away with having just the rear of the van on
> ramps?  I don't have a way of supporting all 4 wheels that I feel good about
> (all jack stands and ramps I've ever seen warn that they are only suitable
> to lift one end of the vehicle while the other is on the ground.)  Also... I
> was planning on supporting the engine on jack stands when I drop the
> transmission... any better ideas?
>
> Thanks!!!
> Wes
>