Date:         Mon, 29 Nov 1999 13:02:48 -0800
Reply-To:     Doktor Tim <doktortim@ROCKISLAND.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Doktor Tim <doktortim@ROCKISLAND.COM>
Subject:      Re: what to do?
Comments: cc: schmidt5@HSONLINE.NET
In-Reply-To:  <000301bf3aaf$97353e40$dad70ad0@schmidt5>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

At 03:20 PM 11/29/1999 -0600, you wrote:
>84 1.9 litre ready to reinstall in vanagon. Along the way, my torque
>converter fell into a bucket of antifreeze(don't ask). I flushed it with
>water, but I have no idea how this thing works or if I can just reinstall
>it. Bentley/haynes only reference a specific way to siphon drain the thing
>and certainly mention nothing about what to do if your automatic garage door
>knocks it into a 5 gal bucket of antifreeze. Should I put it back and forget
>it, replace it, or what?
>Jay
>PS: Please speak slowly. This is my first(and last) automatic and I don't
>understand what this TC is/does really.  Thank you!

First I've heard of that unique balacing act with a Rube Goldberg flip into
the bucket of anti-freeze. Sorry to say, there are two options that come to
mind, neither of which has to do with installing the converter as is.
Option 1.) Take it to a shop to have it flushed and cleaned of all fluid or
Option 2.) replace it. If run with any anti-freeze or water left in there,
it will foul the valve body in the tranny and get trapped in the clutch
housings, ie, trash the tranny.

UNLESS there IS, as not normally expected, a drain plug that would allow
full draining and rinsing with ATF over a bucket NOT containing
anti-freeze. By the way, flush these only with ATF. Using water ist
verboten, no less so than anti-freeze.


Doktor Tim
Maintenance Repair and Restoration of European Vehicles
San Juan Island, WA