TheSamba.com :: View topic - What do I do with my Transaxle? And Axles?

Sun Oct 26, 2008 7:51 pm

My motor is being rebuilt. My trans is looking kinda bad and has a few leaks. I don't know the history of it. It most likely has around 60k and hasn't rolled in 5 or 6 years.

Can I fix these leaks and bolt it back up?

Should I get a rebuilt to go with the fresh motor?

Should I change gearing for better cruising(if I get rebuilt)?

I go my axles off with a nice SK 8mm I bought. It took a ton of cleaning and hammering. I want to rebuild them right down to cleaning and repainting, new bearings if needed, and new boots with bolts.

Are the boot kits and bearings the same as a standard beetle?

Are the boot kits $50 each?

Are the bolts the kits come with good?

Thanks for the help.

Sun Oct 26, 2008 8:09 pm

My transmission looked a lot worse when I pulled mine out a month ago. Here is my 2 cents worth.

Get the transmission rebuilt with a longer 4th gear, and install Urethane mounts on the transmission.

The CV Boots and little C shaped clips that go around the boot (where the bolts go thru) are the same as the ones on a late model Bus. Bug ones will not fit correctly.

The only bolts that I know you can get for the CV's are the bolts that go into the tranny or the rear of the rear wheels. You can get a 12pt Allen bolt or 8 pt Allen bolt. I think they originally came 8 pt, and aftermarket is 12pt. I dont believe that it matters either way. I use 12, but that was all that my local parts house had.

Sun Oct 26, 2008 8:24 pm

usually the boot kits are around 15 dollars a set, comes with grease, boot, bolts and a clip, you reuse your washers

Mon Oct 27, 2008 7:08 am

Pimpi wrote: The CV Boots and little C shaped clips that go around the boot (where the bolts go thru) are the same as the ones on a late model Bus. Bug ones will not fit correctly.

I thought the boots and all were T4 parts? Mine have a '411' part number (unless the Bus ones were T4 also).

Have you driven the car at all since buying it? That tranny might just need to be used to get it back into shape. Obviously there are some messed up seals around the outputs, but that could easily be caused by sitting. Pressure wash the whole thing, drain the oil (check it for metal shavings), and refill the transmission. See what that does before dropping the money on a rebuild.

Mon Oct 27, 2008 10:17 am

mpb181@aol.com wrote: usually the boot kits are around 15 dollars a set, comes with grease, boot, bolts and a clip, you reuse your washers

Do you have a supplier at that price or a link??

Mon Oct 27, 2008 10:18 am

yellow73kubel wrote: Pimpi wrote: The CV Boots and little C shaped clips that go around the boot (where the bolts go thru) are the same as the ones on a late model Bus. Bug ones will not fit correctly.

I thought the boots and all were T4 parts? Mine have a '411' part number (unless the Bus ones were T4 also).

Have you driven the car at all since buying it? That tranny might just need to be used to get it back into shape. Obviously there are some messed up seals around the outputs, but that could easily be caused by sitting. Pressure wash the whole thing, drain the oil (check it for metal shavings), and refill the transmission. See what that does before dropping the money on a rebuild.

I like your style. I don't want to just replace something I can use.

Mon Oct 27, 2008 1:04 pm

I am a perfectionist when it comes to these things. Whoever installed the axles on my Thing prior forgot to put the C clips on, so I wound up replacing all of them so that they all matched. My friends say that I am "Building a show car to drive" But I think of it as having a nice, attention to detail ride.

I have not been able to drive the Thing since putting the new tranny in due to the fact that while I was rebuilding the engine (when the tranny was in the shop) I noticed that the motor had a siezed bearing. That being the case, I now have to fix that before I can even use the tranny.

You could preassure wash the tranny, refill the fluid and put it back in hoping that it wont leak anymore, but that is a risk. I would rather play it safe than sorry and get the darn thing rebuilt. Then at least you know it has some sort of warranty behind it and that everything in the inside is brand new (or good used).

Mon Oct 27, 2008 1:57 pm

Pimpi wrote: You could preassure wash the tranny, refill the fluid and put it back in hoping that it wont leak anymore, but that is a risk. I would rather play it safe than sorry and get the darn thing rebuilt. Then at least you know it has some sort of warranty behind it and that everything in the inside is brand new (or good used).

You could, and you know it won't fail on you. But VW trannys are fairly good about lasting unless you really beat them. Unless the rebuild is fairly inexpensive (less than $200-$300), I would just make sure it is in good shape. I don't mean just change the fluid and leave it, if you can change the CV seals and related parts, do it. Basically what I am saying is you could be throwing money at it, and not see any difference. Figure out what the exact problems are then fix them (unless you plan on a 100% resto or show car).

How many miles does this tranny have on it?

Mon Oct 27, 2008 2:17 pm

I am just thinking about piece of mind. I paid $500 to get my tranny rebuilt and the only thing wrong with it was the fact that it kept popping out of Reverse. When the guys at the shop rebuilt it, they said that oil in the transmission looked original it was so black. For me, the rebuilt was worth it, but for others, it may not be worth it.

Mon Oct 27, 2008 4:24 pm

caseydenise wrote: mpb181@aol.com wrote: usually the boot kits are around 15 dollars a set, comes with grease, boot, bolts and a clip, you reuse your washers

Do you have a supplier at that price or a link??

Casey, I think you can just wash and have a minor rebuilt on your trans to use it again. It seems like it needs this to fix the leak :
http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC%2D113%2D301%2D189%2DF
and this :
http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC%2D113%2D517%2D289%2DA
They're cheap and easy to replace.
Boots :
http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC%2D211%2D501%2D149
Bolts :
http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC%2D113%2D501%2D229%2DD
CIP1 doesn't carry Thing/181 CV joints. They're Thing specific and Type4 (411/412). But, about the boots, you can use bus ones and they're cheap. Vee Dub parts in Huntington Beach CA (vwparts.net) have Thing CV joints for $70 each. I think they have boot kits too (with grease, bolts, like mbp181 said). Hope that helps.

Pierre

Tue Oct 28, 2008 1:22 pm

I powerwashed it today at work. It came out good. The weather was cold, rainy, and snowy. Crazy for October 28th.
I'll inspect it tonight. Right now it's drying infront of a heater. I did notice some strange paint marker numbers on it. I hope it didn't come from a salvage yard.

thanks Pierre on all the links. I think I will order everything tonight. I'll track down the bus CV Joints.

Tue Oct 28, 2008 6:40 pm

caseydenise wrote:
thanks Pierre on all the links. I think I will order everything tonight. I'll track down the bus CV Joints.

You're welcome 8) . But, the CV joints are Thing specific (and 411) ! Not bus. It's true that you can use bus CV joints but they don't have enough angle travel. It's OK to use them for street use, but if you go off road, they will suffer and wear very quick.

Pierre

Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:11 pm

Here are some pictures after some cleaning tonight.

I hope this isn't a used price?

Are these wear marks ok? I guess the clutch set to deep made the grooves. It's much larger on the right side, only two small groves on the left.

I tried to figure out what the numbers mean on my trans, but not much luck. I'm now debating rebuilt or run this one.

Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:35 pm

Well, it is an og Thing transmission.. Which leads me to guess that *chances are* it never made it to a salvage yard or anything (because of the small number imported). As for those numbers written on it, your guess is a good as mine...

Check your clutch and flywheel for wear (if they aren't already replaced), and make sure those scratches are not raised up. Other than that, it looks pretty clean. I still say get those CV seals replaced and see how it does.

Fri Nov 14, 2008 6:35 pm

I wanted to take apart everything before I ordered new boots, incase I have to order anything else. I started to take apart my drivers side axle. I bent the hell out of the circlip, it felt like it was half seized on the axle. Everything else came apart easy. I don't know if I will be able to put it all back together again.

As you can see in the pictures the bearings from one CV are different color(metal?) than the other CV. I guess it was replaced at one time. The other Hub has a good wear mark around it. Is there a difference between the wheel end CV and the trans end CV? Is the axle semetrical?

Work with what you got, right

Where do I get a new Circlip

This is our car going to paint Sunday

Fri Nov 14, 2008 8:11 pm

The "Grooves" in the bell housing are factory machine marks.
The inner and outer CV are the same.
The CV balls are the same material, the dull finish and odd color are from advanced wear.
Wear is also responsible for the grooves in the CV housings and sadly they will need to be replaced.
Last... Type 4 boots are type 2 boots, however type 4 CV's are not type 2 CV's!!!

Fri Nov 14, 2008 8:29 pm

uberautowerks wrote:
Wear is also responsible for the grooves in the CV housings and sadly they will need to be replaced.
Last... Type 4 boots are type 2 boots, however type 4 CV's are not type 2 CV's!!!

I just got done taking apart the other axle. I will get some pictures of all four CV Parts. I would like to save as many as possible. I would hope that some would be ok with about 36K miles on them.

this is a very greasy job.

Fri Nov 14, 2008 9:08 pm

http://www.doghouserepair.com/
Doghouse repair has Type 4 CV repair parts.

http://doghouserepair.com/store/category/480

I did not get them but wanted to know if they were available before I took mine apart and and cleaned them. I don't know bout clips.

Is this the clips you need?
http://doghouserepair.com/store/item/4328

Sat Nov 15, 2008 12:51 pm

It is a greasy job, but is nice when you are done, I made a neat tool for myself to repack the cv's and it's a very clean job, really! I got a piece of plexiglass(thick, not the thin stuff) and took my C.V. joint to the hardware store and had it cut the same circumference or diameter as the c.v. joint. So now you have a round piece of plexiglass then lay it on the c.v. and drill holes where the bolt holes line up. After you have drilled the holes then get a greases fitting and drill a hole for it right in the center and screw the grease fitting into place. When you are ready to pack your c.v.'s place this over the end and use the bolts and a couple nuts to hold this on the end of the c.v and get a grease gun and squeeze off some grease in your joint and you're done packing your joints and you're clean. I will try and get picks up for you guys, for whomever wants to make one for yourself or I will make some for anyone who wants one. Anthony

Sun Nov 30, 2008 6:06 pm

OK, I need to rebuild my axles this week. I can't find a supplier for cv joints and kit(boots, grease, clips, bolts).

I can get these cv's alone at $98
http://www.doghouserepair.com/store/item/7824

I can get these all new axles
http://www.mamotorworks.com/acvw-7-176-5879.html

My axles are good and I feel two out fo four cv's are good. If anything I can build one new axle and the other rebuilt. If I can get everything new it would be great.
Mid america would be over $300, doghouse $400 for just cv's. It dosen't make much sense. HELP