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Sun Feb 20, 2011 12:48 am

I've heard the down side to vanagon automatic transmissions in general. I have also heard VW improved them in '89-90.

thoughts out there on 1990 vanagon automatic transmissions? yea? nea? stick to shifters?

thanks

Sun Feb 20, 2011 1:06 am

I have a 1990 automatic, and it's hanging in there at 193k miles, although it makes a godawful grinding/winding noise. People say it's a very durable trans.

I drive extremely right-lane and mellow so it works for me -- I could give a toss about acceleration. And considering it's a three speed I get respectable gas mileage - 21mpg on my long 52mph highway trips.

Sometimes I miss driving stick, but a vanagon is no ferrari so you're not missing out on a lot of tear-ass driving excitement. The auto trans is good if you drive the vanagon like a vanagon wants to be driven. Mellow. My two cents.

Sun Feb 20, 2011 5:50 am

jbart wrote: I've heard the down side to vanagon automatic transmissions in general. I have also heard VW improved them in '89-90.

thoughts out there on 1990 vanagon automatic transmissions? yea? nea? stick to shifters?

thanks

Love my autos as much as my manuals. Have one with 2.2 Subie behind it. Shaved governor weights to change shift points. In such higher HP applications external cooler will be needed or seals will fail due to excessive heat. On my 88 Doka, converted from 4-speed to auto. Have ABA 2.0 inline-4 behind that. No issues. No cooler needed. Just for laughs, I left the clutch pedal in place. Have owned at least 6 auto in over 30 Vanagons owned. Besides the lack of lock-up torque converter and perhaps taller ratios, I find them more than satisfactory for the job. Autos in this application are known to be more robust than the manual trans models. No 3rd/4th synchro slider to break.

Sun Feb 20, 2011 9:08 am

<<I've heard the down side to vanagon automatic transmissions in general. I have also heard VW improved them in '89-90.>>

May I ask where you "heard" this stuff??

You heard it through the grapevine --right?

Sun Feb 20, 2011 10:00 am

I drive the Automatic Vanagon that VW designed. No "Subie", no turbo, no nitrous. A true Camel that will get you there in no hurry. 152,000 miles and plodding . . .

Sun Feb 20, 2011 10:22 am

<< Just for laughs, I left the clutch pedal in place.>>

And you got me laughing out loud here Benny---

Tell the truth--
It's more like you didn't wanna pay to have the pedal taken out by your mechanc buddy,or you didn't want to locate and unload the denaros for an automatic pedal assembly---and have that installed.

Your senorita probably has all of your spare cash tied up--(or you)

Sun Feb 20, 2011 11:41 am

I have an auto... All my other dubs have been sticks... I was a firm believer in Manuals, but for some reason I Love my Vanagon as an Auto... Its not the slug that I expected, but smooth and comfortable... Climbs grades great, no need to shift all the time... Gives me more time to relax and enjoy the veiws as I drive...

Some of my favorite reasons to get a manuel (push start, raceing, and maintence reasons) dont seem to apply with my vanagon... Reliability wise its got 210K miles on it. Works like a dream...

~Larry

Sun Feb 20, 2011 12:06 pm

ALL VW & AUDI Automatic Trans from 76 to 93 were essentially the same "transmission" section the VW/Audi 010/090 with variations in the mounting studs & dipstick location, so in vanagons, there's none any better than another,
Audi 5000 Turbo automatics had 1more planetary gear & 1 more clutch friction plate to handle the 165+ hp.
Aircooled vanagons didn't have a AT trans cooler

these AT trans are VERY serviceible and (in the trans world) very easy to work on. parts are still available,
drawbacks is only 3speeds, and the final drive rpms are a tad high.. but that keeps engine at a rpm to match torque vs expected load.

we put a AT section from a Quantum into my brother's van when he had an issue.

jbart wrote: I've heard the down side to vanagon automatic transmissions in general. I have also heard VW improved them in '89-90.

thoughts out there on 1990 vanagon automatic transmissions? yea? nea? stick to shifters?

thanks

Sun Feb 20, 2011 3:26 pm

The "improvement" for '89 and later vans you heard about most likely refers to the slider hub improvement on manual trannys. Until the later manual trans, the slider hub for 3/4th had a tendancy to crack and lock up the tranny.

hans

Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:14 pm

thanks for the replies. looks like I am going with the shifter as the body is rust free. the automatic has just too much rust on the body. :cry:

Wed Apr 11, 2012 4:53 pm

Ok I have a problem with my 87 vanagon's automati trans, I bought it with the transmission only working in Reverse for about 6k. It has a KEP adapter plate, mated to a subaru ej 22 engine
The van pulls just like it should in reverse, but when its on the ground, and in any of the forward gears, the van will not move. I put the van up on jacks, and did an op check with wheels off ground, and the drive wheels would rotate in the forward direction when shifted to any of the forward gears. The one thing that i thought might contribute to the lack of forward movement when the van has weight on wheels is that the left rear wheel brake seems to be sticking enough that when weight is off wheels, the left rear wheel will not spin when shifted to any forward gears. When I tried to move the left rear wheel by manually rotating it with my hands it would move, but it would take a good amount of force to break it free. Also when the weight is on wheels, and you shift from park to reverse, you can feel the transmission engage and "pull" on the vehicle. When the transmission is shifted to forward gears, and the weight is on wheels you can't feel that same "pull" as you do in reverse. Does anyone have any thoughts on what might be the problem? The transmission is a 3 speed automatic.

Wed Nov 26, 2014 9:41 am

Hello Automatic owners,

I have a 1991 Country Homes Camper with a 2.5L Subaru, automatic transmission with my 3.27 R&P and Planetary bias locker. It is so much fun to drive. I also have an external cooler with a fan and a 180 degree thermo- switch. The cooler I have is used for off road vehicles with 300+ horsepower. You can read about my R&P here:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...p;start=80

and here:
http://countryhomescampers.com/products/automatic-transmission/super-flier-ring-pinion

I am now offering rebuilt Automatic transmission with my 3.27R&P installed. The information is on my site:
http://countryhomescampers.com/products/automatic-transmission/freeway-flier-automatic-transmission

Regards,

Fri Apr 22, 2016 12:24 pm

What is the Vanagon Auto transmission that bolts right up to a type 1 60's 1600?? A Beetle motor as an example

I have seen Buggy's with them I think. They are not autosticks, But I heard they are vangon trasmissions.

Is this correct?

Fri Apr 22, 2016 3:18 pm

What's a planetary bias locker?

Fri Apr 22, 2016 3:52 pm

avernon82 wrote: What's a planetary bias locker?

That is when the Catholic church decided that Galileo's heresy should not get out to the people. :lol:

Fri Apr 22, 2016 5:29 pm

Terry Kay wrote: <<I've heard the down side to vanagon automatic transmissions in general. I have also heard VW improved them in '89-90.>>

May I ask where you "heard" this stuff??

You heard it through the grapevine --right?

Not much longer would fourth whine ....