Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2014 23:19:04 -0500
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Auto transmission questions
In-Reply-To: <10DCDF72-0B4D-4127-981D-6B1904BD8C9E@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
At this age and mileage you have to plan on every system will need
attention. The engine and transmission is at an end of life point and so are
many of the support systems. If your plan is for a daily driver for your
wife she will still need another vehicle to cover for when this one is down.
ATF leaks only occur in one of four places. The governor seal is a common
one where the ATF is in the differential housing. If leaking at the torque
converter you probably need the bushing. Leaking from here can have ATF
sprayed all over the engine bay causing a fire hazard . It also will ruin
hoses and if getting on the head gaskets over time will kill them also. If
the tranny has had repeated bought of running dry due to the leaks a rebuild
may also require pump replacement. The may also be damage from the clutches
and band slipping. Your symptom #2 is a sign that damage is already
beginning.
If you not willing to begin in investing on a regular basis don't bother.
This will become a $10k van doing the work yourself. $15 if all is
outsourced.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Aaron
Sent: Thursday, March 6, 2014 2:19 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Auto transmission questions
Hello all.
I'm looking at getting an inexpensive Vanagon Carat ('91 with 175,000 miles,
original engine and transmission) and have some questions regarding the
Automatic transmission. I've only dealt with manuals in the past.
The transmission is leaking ATF and the owner keeps filling it when it
starts shifting poorly. I haven't checked levels on it, but it does a few
strange things.
1. It won't start in Park. Assuming this is a simple switch to fix and can
look that one up in the bentley.
2. When I come to a faster stop (not an emergency in any way), when
reapplying the gas, it doesn't quite engage. It's almost as if it's in
neutral, then "falls" into gear after a 1/2 second on the gas.
I'll be crawling around underneath a bit more to see if I can find the
leak(s) this weekend. If there are other common things I should be aware of
for Automatics, It love to know. I'm trying to figure out if the
transmission is serviceable as-is, or whether I should figure on fixing it
now. The van itself is in decent shape but I don't know if it would be worth
a new transmission, and I'm not sure how hard it would be to seal up the old
one.
Thanks!
Aaron
'87 Westy (manual)
'91 Carat Automatic??
