Date:         Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:17:31 -0700
Reply-To:     Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Rented an '87, heard same 2nd gear thump
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So a while back, I posted about a mysterious "thump" sound that can be
heard, and felt, when the drive train gets unloaded in 2nd gear in my
auto transmission '84, Mellow Yellow. This thump is best heard when on a
quiet, smooth street, when the transmission is in 2nd gear, the
accelerator pushed down enough to cause the van to get moving at a fair
clip, then the foot taken off the gas pedal. Thump.

In some cases, when cruising along a moderate speed in 2nd, with just
enough pressure on the pedal to keep the van drifting along, sometimes
coasting, sometimes being pushed a bit by the engine -- thump, thump,
thumpty, thump.

Two mechanics have looked everything over and I posted about it here.
Several folk responded with further suggestions of things to look at,
and they either have been, or will be when the tranny is dropped a bit
to put on the GoWesty ATF external cooler kit.

So I have backburnered more inspection until then.

Well, Mrs Squirrel and I just got back from a week in Hawaii. We rented
a Westy from HappyCampersHawaii.com. These folks have a fleet of
Westies, mainly 2.1L, but a couple aircooled, and some very fancy buses
and bay windows. Bud likes working on them.

We rented an '87 with an AT (238,000 miles, second engine, very clean,
very tidy but we did miss the amenities that we've gotten used to in
Mellow Yellow).

Several days into the trip we both noticed that it also thumped under
the same conditions, though not as dramatically as Mellow Yellow.

Except for one night at the Hilton in Hilo, we camped on the beaches.
When we brought the van back, I asked Bud -- co-owner with his wife --
if he had noticed the sound. He had not.

--
Rocky J Squirrel
'84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
'74 Westrailia: (Ladybug Trailer company, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
Bend, OR
KG6RCR