Did I kill my auto trans?

[Pelalozhstar]

I’ve got a guy telling me that “if the converter has a groove on the hub where the bushing rides it needs to be replaced” I have no idea what he’s talking about... where is there a bushing on the hub of the torque converter??

[jlrftype7]

[Pelalozhstar]

The tc seal worked its way off that’s what I originally asked... I have no idea what would do that, a man told me something is causing pressure to build up and that the transmission has failed in some way... I don’t know if I buy that, but am looking for input on what would cause the seal to work it’s way out like that...

[kourt]

Like djkeev posted earlier, the orange TC seal is not a good seal.

Why? Because its contact face with the final drive is rubber, and it lacks the friction to stay in place in the face of temperature changes and pressure challenges.

What you want there instead is a metal clad seal that is a tight friction fit. The Napa part referred to in his post (which quotes something I said a long time ago) is what you want.

At this point, assuming there is no other issue with your transmission, I would start looking at replacing the torque converter. I've seen those have problems with leakage, and the leaks are hard to find.

I would not give up your automatic for a manual. You have the better transmission in your hands now. Make it work right and you'll be happy.

kourt

[Pelalozhstar]

Thanks kourt,
Any reccomendations on a new torque converter? I see the blue ones for sale but something tells me they are probably junk? It’s a machine balanced deal I understand from the weights on mine too. Seems like a junky part could throw the engine out of balance....

[kourt]

I got my last TC from Van Cafe, but they were reselling TCs that had been rebuilt by Precision of New Hampton:

http://www.gopnh.com/Automotive-Transmissions.cfm?Transmission=090

Part 7102

It's been a good unit. I would call PNH and see if they can sell direct to you.

Keep in mind, we really haven't completed the walk-through diagnostic of your transmission. There could be a problem in there and nothing wrong with the TC. Throwing parts at it is not the best approach. I suggested replacing the TC because I was at the end of my rope once with diagnostics and was fine with spending $250 on a new TC as opposed to $500 on a new transmission--and that decision worked for me that one time.

At the very least, if I were in your shoes, I would drop the transmission oil pan and do the compressed air test on the ports. Those tests are described in the Bentley manual.

kourt

[Butcher]

Check locally, you may find a company that rebuilds torque converter. That is how I found mine. Sending a clients converter and getting it back two weeks later was a pain. Now I drop it off at 8am and get it back at 3pm.

[Pelalozhstar]

Think I found my problem
The blue marked photo shows that bearing there was completely destroyed the rollers were at the bottoms of the pan and there’s a lot of steel dust on the magnet. Could anyone help me please find some options for replacement and explain to me the difference between the 3:23 and 4:10 ratios?

I really appreciate all the help you guys have given me so far.

Thanks.

[Wildthings]

Your cheapest and maybe best option is to find a good used final drive section and install it. You want the unit to have the original gear ratio or close to it. The ratio is determined by the number of teeth on the ring gear divided by the number of teeth on the pinion gear.

If you use the wrong ratio you could end up with sluggish performance or a rig with a very low top end.

[MarkWard]

I’ve got a complete used transaxle from an aircooled van with a torque converter. I’ve not listed it because shipping would be probably more than what I would sell it for. PM me if you decide to go that route.

I’d stick with the stock ring and pinion ratios unless you have the power to turn it. Realize changing the ring and pinion is not a just install and go. You need to set the pinion depth and backlash. It requires some special vw tools or a lot of assembly and disassembly trying different shim combinations to get it correct.
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[Wildthings]

The red color of your oil might indicate you got mixing between the ATF and the differential gear oil. Even if this happened I would think it would take a while for a failure to occur. Why did you go in and change the seals to start with, was the transmission already giving problems?

[djkeev]

[Pelalozhstar]

I don’t get it... the transfer case doesn’t have atf in it? How does the atf fluid get from the transmission to the torque converter?
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1989 vanagon gl

[Pelalozhstar]

Wild things, all I did was take out the tranny to get at the main seal. All of these failures came after the fact.
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1989 vanagon gl

[Wildthings]

[MarkWard]

[Wasted youth]

[Wasted youth]

And be really damn thoughtful marrying up the transmission to the engine.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=674690&highlight=automatic+warning


It was not a pleasing experience.

[Wildthings]

[MarkWard]

Post a picture of the rollers you found. Looking at your pictures, I don't see how the rollers could have found their way out of position. The wear pattern on the ring gear doesn't look that great though.
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