Date:         Fri, 6 Dec 1996 07:33:00 -0800 (PST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Beth Young <young@sherlock.sims.berkeley.edu>
Subject:      Re: Transmission rebuild

On Thu, 5 Dec 1996, Matt Michael Lamar wrote:
> Here's the story:
> 
> Newly bought 1979 Westfalia with a bad main bearing in the 
> transmission (manual, not automatic).  Local (San Luis Obispo, CA) VW 
> mechanic estimates $800 for a rebuild job.  I think this is very high.
> Any option?  I was told that it didn't have to be rebuilt for a
>  while-- the noise is not very bad right now, but the mechanic 
> said it would get much worse. 

Matt:

GEX (Baldwin Park, CA) lists rebuilt transmissions for your year bus at
$699, so $800 is in the ballpark...if that includes removal/installation
then it's pretty good (assuming equal quality of rebuilds.)

> 
> I am not very experienced working on VW's.  Is it a good idea for me 
> to buy a manual, a rebuilt tranny, and go for it?
> 

Although I haven't pulled the trans on my Vanagon, I've removed the engine
many times.  In reading my manual before each "pull" I'm reminded that the
engine/trans can be removed as a unit; it doesn't seem very complicated or
very hard.  (A lot of this, however, depends on your own mechanical
experience and your willingness/ability to read and follow directions in a
manual.

> Anybody know of a place that will do a rebuild for cheaper in the Los 
> Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Orange County area anywhere?
> 

Rebuilders of VW stuff are common in SoCal.....I'll bet by looking in the
VW magazines and your local yellow pages you can come up with 50 shops
within a 100 mile radius.


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Tom Young                young@sherlock.SIMS.Berkeley.EDU
Lafayette, CA  94549     '81 Vanagon
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