Date:         Fri, 28 Oct 94 6:48:22 PDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Wizzer Redford <scrpers@hpvcpnpi.vcd.hp.com>
Subject:      Re: Tranny oil

> What do you think about changing the transmission oil regularly? My 
> manual says you never need to change the transmission oil of a 
> vanagon because there is a lodestone which collects all the metal.


	I don't know about the '83 trans, but there was no true drain plug
	on my '91 trans. Yes, there's that plug towards the rear of the 
	case, but that's ~2" above the bottom.

	The only way to completely drain that case was pull it and tilt.

	And, phooey on the lodestone idea. Some may have noticed that in the
	shop manual, VW specifies that the correct oil level is ~9/16" below
	the fill hole (to aid shifting). In the process of draining some goo
	out of mine, I noticed brass bits in the pan. And, they poured out
	even without draining to the bottom.

	While I recognize this is partly rooted in the more paranoic lobe
	of my brain, I believe VW intentionally eschewed a bottom drain
	plug to enhance the sales of replacement trannies.

	wizzer