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Fri Aug 21, 2009 10:09 pm

My tranny blew out today. I was just driving and it made a large thud sound and banged a lot. My clutch was slipping a lot and when I opened up my passenger wheel hub there was a Lot of really thick oil in there. I got quotes from shops to install a new tranny but it's a lot more if they have to swap the axles rather than just put in a tranny that has the axles on it already because they don't have to pull bearings and it's really quicker. The only tranny I found says it's a long axle and I don't know what the difference is. Any help???

Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:44 am

New (rebuilt) transmissions don't come with axles, so they still have to swap your axles into the new one.
Old worn out mystery transmissions may have the axles on. They'll probably leak too.

Sat Aug 22, 2009 4:19 pm

Not yet but there is one for sale. Looks as tho someone stripped a bug and has the whole set up. I don't have much money and was going to buy it. I'm not sure if the axles will fit tho because I'm not sure if my car is long or short axleU

Sun Aug 23, 2009 11:41 am

I know short axles were a two year run only My UK 66 has short axles but I think american spec cars have long that year.

What I am babbling about is check the years around 66 to see what was short and what was long.

Sun Aug 23, 2009 12:08 pm

it doesn't matter, as long as you have the axles and tubes you can switch everything out.

Here is how it was configured from what I've read here:
66 and earlier - short axle short spline
67 - long axle short spline
68 and type 3 - long axle long spline

Sun Aug 23, 2009 12:20 pm

If have a 1966 and earlier you have the short axle and if you put in the long axles your rear tire are going to stick further. I just got my spare trans rebuilt and was able to have the guy put in new axle for a small fee.

Sun Aug 23, 2009 12:58 pm

what year is your car? you can bolt up a long axle to an earlier car. The swing plates are the same width early and late. VW lengthened the axles after the swing plate mounting point, between it and the flange where the backing plate bolts up. The only problem you may run into is the brakes. The later brake drums are wider which sets the axle nut threads out further. I have heard that you can bolt up your older brakes by using a spacer. The good thing about this is that you now have a wider rear track which increases the stability of the rear suspension.
Quote: I just got my spare trans rebuilt and was able to have the guy put in new axle for a small fee.
frog187, Did you have Arizona Transaxle Exchange do the work? They did some work for me when I lived in phoenix. really great guys.

Sun Aug 23, 2009 1:05 pm

A buddy of mine is going through the same thing right now. He already has a 68 long/long axle and has the 66-67 brakes on it. The only way it works is with a spacer between the drum and axle bolt. EMPI used to sell the spacer but I have not been able to find it. You can also use the later 68 or type III brakes and use a type III 5 lug rear drum with no spacer and better brakes

Sun Aug 23, 2009 4:12 pm

Quote: EMPI used to sell the spacer but I have not been able to find it.
Are you referring to these?

http://www.cbperformance.com/catalog.asp?ProductID=1385

Sun Aug 23, 2009 5:01 pm

derluftwagen wrote: You can also use the later 68 or type III brakes and use a type III 5 lug rear drum with no spacer and better brakes
Keep in mind that if you do this you will want to upgrade the front brakes as well. Big back brakes with little small front brakes could be dangerous. Under heavy braking(especially in the wet) the rear wheels will lock before the fronts. With the car already being tail heavy it will want to spin out.

Sun Aug 23, 2009 6:11 pm

the PN# for the spacer from empi is 22-5281-7. They still have them, they are just very hidden in the catalog under rear disk brake kits.

Fri May 23, 2014 8:02 am

Have a buggy and have changed from 1964 transmission with short axles to a later transmission with long axles and the extended wheel bearing case. Problem I am having is that the older wide 5 drums will not fit on the long axles splines, they are too tight and appear to be cut differently, so I have had to use the 4 stud drums with four stud wheels. Is this a usual situation and is there a wide five drum that will fit onto the long axles without having to use the 4 stud drums and an adapter plate?

Fri May 23, 2014 10:16 am

early drums should fit even IRS stubs. If the axle splines are damaged from a loose drum you will have issues.

Why didnt you use a 4 to 5 lug adapter for the rears instead of changing all the rims and tires?

Sat May 24, 2014 12:16 pm

The buggy, a Mark II J&S, had short swing axles, 1964 chassis. The big rear beach buggy wheels were hitting the suspension and the inside of the wheel arches. I had long swing axles from a later vehicle. I ended up switching the whole transmission but the long axles would only take the 4 stud brake drum. Definitely seemed to be a difference in the machining with the original 5 stud drums which have the spiral reinforcing pattern but maybe they were just flogged out as you say. The splines would go on about half an inch and then jam solid even though there seemed to be no apparent wear. I have another set of the spiral wide 5 drums that I just found today, I should try them to verify that it is not some issue specific to Australian vehicles.

Was going to get an adapter plate but with the wide bearing housing it was getting a bit too wide for the wheel arches. Illegal for the wheels to protrude in Australia and as I have to get this through registration a wider situation would not help matters.

Anyway I found a later set of wide 5 drums and they went strait on so now I will just need to get the two spacers for either side of the drum and all will be good. The rear brakes are the really narrow ones from the 64 and the buggy is so light so I can't see that being a problem. Once I get it reggoed I will slowly up-grade performance. I now have all the possibility to fit three different wheel configurations. I have a set of narrow 4 stud 15 inch rims that I can fit once I work out how to put 4 stud drums on the front or get disk brake if I choose to go that way or now because I can fit the wide 5 drums on the back I have a set of wide 14 inch rims with the wide 5 studs which I will definitely use to get it registered. If I go to the beach I can now put the big wheels on the back, won't matter if they stick out an inch or two at the beach. The big wheels are 5 stud 15 inch and look to be about 10 inches wide. Could be pretty good for running low profile slicks if I ever get a chance to race. Has been a good problem solving day.

Sat Apr 11, 2015 10:45 pm

Anyone have before and after pics of the short to long axle conversion? Do the wheels still tuck?

Mon Apr 13, 2015 8:05 am

Chalklinedetail wrote: Anyone have before and after pics of the short to long axle conversion? Do the wheels still tuck?

All depends on the wheels and tires used...
Stock wheels.. Yes the rear tucks just like a stock 67/68. ..

.

Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:18 am

Stock wheels it is then! I like the idea of wider track out back so I think I'll keep the long axles and housings. Thanks Volkswagnut!

VOLKSWAGNUT wrote: Chalklinedetail wrote: Anyone have before and after pics of the short to long axle conversion? Do the wheels still tuck?

All depends on the wheels and tires used...
Stock wheels.. Yes the rear tucks just like a stock 67/68. ..

.

Mon Apr 13, 2015 2:16 pm

Chalklinedetail wrote: Stock wheels it is then! I like the idea of wider track out back so I think I'll keep the long axles and housings. Thanks Volkswagnut!

VOLKSWAGNUT wrote: Chalklinedetail wrote: Anyone have before and after pics of the short to long axle conversion? Do the wheels still tuck?

All depends on the wheels and tires used...
Stock wheels.. Yes the rear tucks just like a stock 67/68. ..

.

You can use wider wheels on a 67 or 68... but you must choose wisely with tire sizes.
Another key is wheel offset.

As you can see in this example, the wheel faces are fairly flush with the fender, but the tire still has some tuck.

1967 with original long axles
5.5 wide Eagles
185/65/15 tires on the rear untouched torsion arm stock height.
155/60/15 on the front (stock width lowered beam and drop spindles).

Mon Apr 13, 2015 2:44 pm

This is a 66 short axle with widened stock 66 wheels to 6 inches and 205's on them. I still have more room.

Mon Apr 13, 2015 4:49 pm

Muzooma wrote: Have a buggy and have changed from 1964 transmission with short axles to a later transmission with long axles and the extended wheel bearing case. Problem I am having is that the older wide 5 drums will not fit on the long axles splines, they are too tight and appear to be cut differently, so I have had to use the 4 stud drums with four stud wheels. Is this a usual situation and is there a wide five drum that will fit onto the long axles without having to use the 4 stud drums and an adapter plate?

I see 2 potential problems:

1. The late splines are longer so you need a spacer between the drum and the nut.

2. The late model brakes are wider, so the wide 5 drum won't fit on the later brakes. You will need to install the entire brake system from the short axle to run the original drums. It may be possible to remachine the early drums to clear the later shoes, but it will be tight. There are adapter drums sometimes available to run late brakes and retain the wide 5 pattern, also Thing drums can be used but I've been told they increase track width a little more.