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Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:42 pm

ive been having transmission problems lately.. at first i thought it was just the linkage.. now i fear the worst.

my van is now stuck on the side of the road. i cant seem to get it into or out of any gear.. the stick wont move much.. it feels jammed.. and if its near a gear and let out the clutch i hear a spnning grinding noise.

after 15 minutes of trying to put it in any gear and drive.. i was left with only 4th..

is this a linkage problem?

or is my transmission dead?

Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:45 pm

shoot.. this may be the problem

http://volksweb.relitech.com/091trans.htm

Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:08 pm

Just to cover our bases,

Is there any fluid dripping anywhere ?

- Chester

Tue Mar 11, 2008 9:24 pm

Can you get it in gear if engine off? If so, are your clutch hydraulics ok?

Neil.

Tue Mar 11, 2008 9:26 pm

...and just to add fuel to the fire:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=262204&highlight=gearbox

Tue Mar 11, 2008 11:40 pm

loogy wrote: ...and just to add fuel to the fire:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=262204&highlight=gearbox

Hey that's a useful solution. And a good thing to check for (the washer)

Neil.

Fri Mar 14, 2008 4:42 pm

so I took it to Bela's again

And its kaput!! i need a rebuild.

i trust his judgment. he was honest and fair the last time .

he said it is common and he has done the repair many times.

so im going to have him put a rebuilt trany in. for 1200 + labor = 1500 ish..

and he also said i need a new clutch now too..

blah... there goes 2 grand!!!

but when u consider i bought my van 6 months ago for 1k.. and this is my first repair... ( does the mafia shrug) whatya guna do?

Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:20 pm

PO knew.

Tell tale sign is the 2nd to 3rd shift action. Grinds. Gets worse. Down shifting tells the tale from 4th to 3rd. A tired Syncro mesh/ pilot bearing/faulty 3rd gear design is at its worst. Once the internal 3rd gear "flywheel" is gone (3rd gear teeth are fractured), a quick road to nowhere is in the cards.

The 1.9L Tranny has the Funk.

PO Knew.

Fri Mar 14, 2008 10:05 pm

:shock:

First of all... Been There, Paid 2 Grand for that, so I definitely feel your pain... So let's laugh through our tears...

Quote: The 1.9L Tranny has the Funk.

Fun-ky Tranny!
Tranny's got the Funk!
Fun-ky Tranny!
Tranny's got the Funk!

Hear my shifting grinding...
Makes me take my Paxil!
Sound that's now reminding...
Me of my funked transaxle!

Fun-ky Tranny!
Tranny's got the Funk!
Fun-ky Tranny!
Tranny's got the Funk!

Van aint goin' nowhere!
Van just isn't groovin'
Gonna cost a lot of bread
To get my vanny movin'!

Fun-ky Tranny!
Tranny's got the Funk!
Fun-ky Tranny!
Tranny's got the Funk!

<some of us surely have seen, 'Joe's Apartment'>

:shock:

Best!

Tue Apr 01, 2008 4:15 pm

I just experienced the exact same problem with my 86 vanagon syncro jamming in 3rd gear. I got it unjammed but it began popping out of 4th on the way home. My jam came days after I changed my transmission oil (to Redline MT 90), so I wondered if the synthetic oil was the "trigger", because I began to hear a whining transmission noise in neutral, which disappeared when I depressed the clutch. However, after reading these posts I see that there was an underlying symptom (difficulty shifting) -- which is the reason I changed the oil in the first place. Does anyone know if Loogy's "temporary (washer) solution" would apply to my whining + jammed 3rd + popping 4th transmission problem? http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=262204&highlight=gearbox

Stuart

Tue Apr 01, 2008 4:47 pm

What is happening is the 3rd gear Syncronizer that guides the gear teeth into a locked mode when clutch is depressed is worn. Happens in both in Upshifting to 3rd or Down Shifting from 4th. Crunch. Makes ya want to puke and get jittery every time you want to shift.

This shifting action can be altered as well by a change in the shifter lever at the point where the two meet at the mid section of the Vanagon. Even worn guides at the shifter box up front can make changes in the angle of how the arm moves. Very long way to travel and is a bear to solve.

Truth be told, I'm not a true believer of Synthetic Lubricants. They ( Oils ) where not around at the time of the design/manufacture of the engine and tranny. Much rather stick to the Dino. Call me Old School.

The 1.9L trannys have a desgin flaw in them ( Uber covered here ) that can do a host of bad things or nothing at all.
Really is depends on the materials used on that day of manufacture, I swear by this. Been in AA Transaxles in Buffalo. I've seen how some parts are made. No Judgment on anyones part, just how a line moves in any Vehicle parts vendor is amazing.
Good vs Bad.

Tue Apr 01, 2008 5:39 pm

I knew about the weakness when I got my 83.5 doka. Problem was, I got a new job on the west coast and had to cross the country with a tranny that wouldn't shift out of 4th gear, unless you came to a full stop!

The continental divide on I-80 was a nightmare.

Still I made it and for the next 3 months I was driving in Portland metro area, so it wasn't too bad, until 3rd was locking up even harder!

Got replacement at AA Transaxle in Seattle area, class act up there!

Tue Apr 01, 2008 7:59 pm

I should note,

AA ( American Transaxles) builds axles, pumpkins,etc. for American Vehicles.

A sight to behold, if never been to a plant. better keep your arse behind the yellow line!

Tue Apr 01, 2008 8:05 pm

Hi Stuart, I have a 1986 Syncro that had the same problem, 175.000 miles on the transmission is quite a bit.
After disassembly of the transmission I found that the main bearing was split, it spun inside the housing it was mounted in.
Another problem was that the synchronizer hub of the 3rd and 4th gear was broken and made shifting hard, it also popped out of 4th gear.
I had to rebuild the transmission and made some changes to it to let it last longer.
Don't drive it any longer, you may damage the very expensive mainshaft and ring and pinion. #-o

Herman

Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:55 pm

I think we are talking about two different places:

http://www.aatransaxle.com/

They just do Porsche, VW and Audi

tikibus wrote: I should note,

AA ( American Transaxles) builds axles, pumpkins,etc. for American Vehicles.

A sight to behold, if never been to a plant. better keep your arse behind the yellow line!

Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:25 pm

Oh gosh no! Two very different companies.

Sherman, prepare the Way Back Machine!

Yes, Dr. Peabody! Right away.

- Zap -

1995. The Company in Buffalo AA Transaxle, did assembly of GM stuff. Big, Make that Big-a-bee-Big Plant, with Robots swinging parts and rows upon rows of raw parts being assembled. The din was amazing! The plant was very Union, had to be very careful where you stepped and how long you where there in a certain area. White coats and management watched.

Very Bizzare to be in such a place, but the workers where cool. You might ask, why was I there?

Doing a Photo gig. I picked a career where access to otherwise "off limits" don't apply.

Sherman, back to the present...

Fri Apr 25, 2008 12:19 pm

Herman, it turns out my main shaft is shot (inner race is worn down) and replacement main shafts are hard to find. So in order to fix it, the shop needs to slip a new inner race onto the main shaft and grind it down to the correct size. The trouble is they can't find anyone that supplies inner races for syncro main shafts. Does anybody know where I can find either an inner race or a main shaft? Failing that, does anyone have an alternative solution?

Stuart

itzdshtz wrote: Hi Stuart, I have a 1986 Syncro that had the same problem, 175.000 miles on the transmission is quite a bit.
After disassembly of the transmission I found that the main bearing was split, it spun inside the housing it was mounted in.
Another problem was that the synchronizer hub of the 3rd and 4th gear was broken and made shifting hard, it also popped out of 4th gear.
I had to rebuild the transmission and made some changes to it to let it last longer.
Don't drive it any longer, you may damage the very expensive mainshaft and ring and pinion. #-o

Herman