cleaning transmission

[Zen Bus]

I've got my 091 transmission out of my '79 bus. I'm taking it to my local BAP because the new clutch disc they sold me would not fit over the input shaft. It's really weird, disc fit the alignment tool but the shaft seems bigger for some reason??? If anyone wants to comment on that please feel free. They double checked the numbers and supposedly its the right one (not a bug disc or something).

If we can't figure it out there I'll take it to a local air cooled tranny guy.

But my main question is while its out, would it hurt it at all if I took it to the DIY car wash and sprayed it down with the pressure washer. It has the requisite amount of dirt and grim for a 30 year old bus. I'm mainly worried about the seals behind where the cv joints mount and the throwout bearing.

PS once we find the right clutch disc this bus will be running and on the road for the first time in 11 years! It's been quite a year... Also, the engine was recently rebuilt. When I towed the bus home it had no engine or drive shafts. So, I started from square -1.
_________________
'79 w/ Sunroof & zBed @ 10:11pm 22 of June 2009 I drove my grandpa's old bus! Thanks to The Samba and all!! 2.0; single weber carb; 78 heads & exhaust, electronic fuel pump.

[busdaddy]

The spline pattern and size is the same on all AC VW's, try harder.
As for the car wash it shouldn't hurt it, try to avoid shooting directly at a seal and drain it afterwards, keep an eye on your trans oil later for milkyness. Few car wash pressure washers will touch that goo though, an afternoon with some simple green, super clean or purple power and a scraper first will give you a better chance.
_________________
Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.

Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

Слава Україні!

[towd]

by the time you buy simple green and spend 10 bucks at a car wash. It would be cheaper and cleaner, to have some one steam clean it. Steam cleaning will take off the 30 yrs of grease

[busdaddy]

I have a steam cleaner (a good commercial one) and unless you have lots of time on your hands it's not an improvement over the mechanical method. After a 1/2 hour or longer of cleaning the case gets warm enough to soften that crap, but even then it's still thick and stiff like asphalt shingles, if you get the jet under an edge it peels up in sheets, but not everywhere. It's also lots of fun when you hit the edge of a rib just right and get that burning hot shower blasting back at you . A presoak by wrapping it in a towel, soaking it in something like engine brite and bagging it for a week helps, but there is no real substitute for elbow grease.
_________________
Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.

Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

Слава Україні!

[patayres]

A good degreaser and scraper as busdaddy mentioned works well. I soaked it really well first and let it set for 30 minutes, scraped as much of the heavy buildup off, hosed, resoaked with degreaser, scrubbed with a small wire brush, rinsed, etc. Use an old tarp or something similar below the engine to catch all the crap that comes off.

Before

After
_________________
1975 Westfalia Helsinki - 1800 EFI w/ Pertronix
1965 Singlecab - 1600dp

yuthi'so'coro

[Zen Bus]

Thanks for the cleaning advice.

Update on the clutch disc (I'll add this to one of the pre-existing threads too).
It was just that particular disk. I took the tranny to the parts store and I tried a different disk (same part number) and it slide right on. My thought is that I somehow damaged the grooves on the disk when I was trying to mount the engine to it. We were pushing pretty hard, but I thought I had to in order to get them together. I'd already read several threads about it and knew it might take time... I spent a total of about 2 hours just trying to wiggle and push (using feet, arms, legs, friends, etc).

But now I can mount the two on the ground!
_________________
'79 w/ Sunroof & zBed @ 10:11pm 22 of June 2009 I drove my grandpa's old bus! Thanks to The Samba and all!! 2.0; single weber carb; 78 heads & exhaust, electronic fuel pump.

[squareweave]