Date:         Thu, 4 Sep 2014 00:06:31 -0400
Reply-To:     Vincent Dow <ianvincentdow@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Vincent Dow <ianvincentdow@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      4th gear finally died (far from home)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

So I began having this problem of my tranny popping out of 4th on the
highway five years ago. The first occurrence really shook me up - POp and
then a tremendous VARRROOOOOMMMM  --(WTF was that???)

Van is an 82 aircooled, converted to 1995 water-cooled subaru 2.2

I've limped along these years with the cracked 3/4 solder. Didn't have a
lot of bread. The van mostly drives around town and up to a country place
one hour away. I do a lot of construction and use it for light transpo.

I had gotten the shifting into 4th down pretty well. in 3rd i would get the
RPMs up to 3800, and then make a nice, decisive shift to 4th, give it mucho
gas and let off clutch quickly. I could make it hold w/o a bungie cord. But
I always kept a light hand on the shifter, just to feel the vibe.

So me and my girl drove it out to Nova Scotia from montreal two weeks ago
(1,350 kilometers) and I knew I was pushing it this time. On the way out
east, in Levis, Que - Tranny popped out twice in just five minutes, and
that really freaked me out, as we had a long way to go. But she made it out
to Cape Lahave -

(and of course the Westfalia camper was awesome. We even got the fridge
working for the first time!)

But on the way home, near Moncton, New Brunswick, I let my GF drive. I had
explained my finesse way of shifting. I don't know why i thought this would
work out... She struggled with clutch action, and timed it badly twice.
After passing a toll booth, I took the controls back, and it seemed okay
for a few miles, and then popped out of 4th, and would not stay in 4th
after. Nothing would make it stay in 4th gear, short of holding the stick
with two hands until it bent.

I worried that we were really boned. So i put the hazards on and drove
along in 3rd gear. It seemed pitifully slow, but we were still moving.
Ended up driving all the way home like that. Now the van is out front. The
dog is on the couch, my GF is in bed. We're home.  What a good van he is.
He's a boy.
His name is *Modesto.*

In the first hour of our 3rd gear highway travel, a nice looking vanagon
came up behind and put his hazards on, followed us for a bit and then
pulled alongside. It was the first vanagon i'd seen in New Brunswisk (I
also did not see a single Porsche in the whole province)
The driver signalled we could pull over, offer assistance. i waved
friendly, assumed nothing could be done there and then. Waved him on his
way.
I found out later there is a veteran German VW guy in Fredricton, only
works on euro cars. Has a yard full of vanagons. Name is Gunther. I was
probably driving by his shop when the N.B. vanagon guy engaged with us. How
stupid of me to assume there was no rear engine community out there in
L'Acadie.