ooh - got one !!!

When I start my bus in the morning, the gears are quite stiff.

is this normal ? it seams that a bit of warming up does the trick. then it shifts smoothly and easily.

Ive never looked at the tranny oil ,I think most people dont. should I ?

Rich

Reply to
tricky
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tranny oil as well as engine oil get thicker when cold....so this is "normal"...you really should check the condition of the oil in your tranny if you can't remember the last time you changed it, or if it is "new" to you....synthetics come highly reccomended for the tranny...

Reply to
Joey Tribiani

Replace tranny oil every 100.000 kilometers or 60.000 miles.

Use GL4 grade oil, NOT GL5. Weight according to your user manual. Brand insignificant as long as it's well known. Synthetic is ok, if you can find it without it being GL5.

Jan

Reply to
Jan Andersson

What year, again? Anyway, I tried synthetic in my 091 and did not like it. It was about 10 years ago and I don't remember why I didn't like it, but to me it apparently did not offer the same feel that the petroleum base did. You can go a little lighter if need be, but be sure to switch back in summer. The tranny gets very hot. And this bit of hard-learned advice: NEVER put viscosity stabilizers in the tranny (Like Hilton Hy-Per-Lube or Power Punch or (is it still around?) STP!) There are a couple additives that you can add. One is Bardahl and it seems to work. I have been using Valvoline petroleum base tranny lube for years and there has never been any sign of wear in my tranny... Had it apart about 15 time now in the past 5 years! NOT a lubricant related problem. A former RAMVA member tranny rebuilder scam artist related problem!

Keep in mind that the grease on your shift rod bushings is really stiff in winter also.

-BaH

Reply to
Busahaulic

Its a 68. Not noticed it in my others (64 bus and a couple of 70-72 bugs)

Would I be right in thinking not many people check/change the tranny oil ? I would guess on most cars not just VW's

Rich

Busahaulic wrote:

Reply to
tricky

Yep. Not many people check engine oil, either! I wonder how many cars get run by the original owners with only the required returns to the dealership and then dumped off to the next owner who never learns how to open the engine compartment.

Reply to
Busahaulic

If you dont mind me asking - why do you take your tranny apart 3 times a year ?

Most manuals seem to imply gear work is a black art needing expensive tools and machines.

Is this true?

Apart from the tools are they any harder to rebuild/work on than engines ?

Had a few in the past that would crunch or jump out of gears and always wondered if I could fix it myself.

Rich

Busahaulic wrote:

Reply to
tricky

Reply to
Busahaulic

oh dear ! - doesnt sound good !

So - even with all the right stuff , its better leaving it to someone els to fix - or exchange for a re-built unit ?

I think I might by a scrap unit, just so I can strip it down and see how it works ! boys and their toys, hey !!!

Hope you get sorted soon .

Rich

Busahaulic wrote:

Reply to
tricky

There was a very helpful fellow who participated in this group and quickly gained the confidence and respect of a great many potential tranny customers. He was really a great guy. Then something happened and he started missing deadlines and doing shoddy work. He made promises and didn't follow up. He always required a considerable payment up front. For a while there he had disappeared with many peoples' money and their parts. Some found his new home and went to visit him.

My transmission was out of a bus that had very low mileage, had been meticulously cared for and garaged... and I bought the engine out of the same bus and it was great! When I got my transaxle back from Todd, I immediately noticed the pilot bearing surface of the intake shaft was badly worn. I knew that it was not worn when I broght the tranny in there. I still suspected only a mistake of his part - there were a couple dozen trannies apart in his garage.

When I got my new engine and new tranny in my bus, backed out of the garage and could not shift out of reverse, I was past my boiling point! (I had made numerous trips to pick up the tranny on promises of it being completed and it wasn't) He was moving out of town but said he would repair it and ship it to me. I thought not.

Another tranny builder in the area agreed to fix whatever was wrong for me. He opened it up while I watched. We found numerous items that were either installed wrong, garbage parts put in, or parts left out. That was the first time we got into that case. Since then, it has a problem of sliding out of gear under no or light load. It happens in 1st & 3rd, which to anybody knowledgeable in the field says "linkage." I have been through every milimeter of the linkage and we have removed and disassembled the transaxle several times, each time finding things that had "changed" since the previous time, but no indications as to reasons. Each time it has been meticulously inspected, adjusted and reassembled and each time it has gone back to slipping out of 1st & 3rd. As soon as I get some medical bills paid off, the other trannies are going to the shop, we're going to build one extra special one, probably from my original one that came with my bus.

The last time it was out, I did the work while the master watched. We are both totally baffled by all this, but expect that if we ever find the reason it will turn out to be something we have (obviously) overlooked every time. I had the other two cases with me the last time it was apart but call it stubbornness or whatever, I insisted that we try it one more time. Next time, it's a boat anchor!

Reply to
Busahaulic

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