003 Automatic transmission refresh/rebuild Part 1 - Final Drive

[Wasted youth]

I would like to share with you how I partially rebuilt or "refreshed" the automatic transmission in my 1973 bus. The reason I say 'partial' is because there were several procedures that I did not feel necessary to perform. No bearings were replaced, just all the seals, and the measurements were acceptable. The cause for all this work was a contaminated Final Drive, not any transmsission problem. It drove fine then as it does now...

At the time I did this work, I did not think I skilled or tooled up enough to completely rebuild this transmission. In fact, this was the first transmission I have rebuilt. There are a few measuring tools I do not posess, and I do not have any of the VW special tooling needed to properly do the all of the work by the book. I hand made a close approximation of Tool 182, which is simple enough and quite useful.

You can be the judge of how much to do for yourself, and I urge you to compare what I did with what the service manual requires and then come to your own decision on how much you can do or are willing to trust someone else to do for you. I will tell you now that it was a bit of a challenge getting a rebuilt torque converter, and the 003 rebuild kit may no longer be available at this time. Good luck finding the VW shims, bearings, vacuum modulator, bands or other specialized parts at this late date. With this in mind, I did not replace any bearings nor add any shims.

I ordered the TC from Drivetrain.com (P/N VW 003 VKS-2), on April 23, 2013 for $187.50 + $25.00 core and shipping was $24.00 and I ordered the 003 Master Rebuild kit (P/N 265006F, Master Kit, 003 1969-75) from Bulkpart.com on March 23, 2013 for $100.78 and shipping $16.50 so I hope that helps. The 003 kit did not include the pan gasket for the Final Drive, but the pan gasket for the tranny side was there, and all the other grease seals, O-rings soft clutch parts were in there. They all fit great!

'Nuff said on that.

This is the 003 style of transmission, not the 010 which came later. If you have the 010, I highly recommend this book:Volkswagen Dasher Service Manual, by Robert Bentley, Inc. ISBN 0-8376-0063-4 as it has a much better automatic transmission section than the green book most of us are familiar with. In fact, this Dasher manual covers BOTH the 003 and 010 in fine detail! I got my copy about seven months after I did all this work for $2.99 at Half Price Books in Berkeley, Ca...maybe you can find one too. This:

I felt it necessary to replace seals in this transmission because there was strong indication that the transmission fluid (ATF) had contaminated the Final Drive sump that has regular gear oil only. This was indicated by an overfilled gear oil sump that when opened up by the fill plug, very thin dark fluid came gushing out. Apparently, this is a somewhat common design problem with the seal and perhaps the O-ring that seperates the Final Drive from the Transmission.

I must offer now, though, that it was not necessary to rebuild the transmission itself, but I decided that since I opened up that can of worms, I might as well go fishing! If you suffer from the fluid contamination problem, but your transmission actually seems to work just fine, I would venture that you might choose to only replace the faulty seals. I decide to jump off the deep end both as a learning experience, and that I wanted my bus as a fully dependable daily driver.

First, I would like to share this other fellow's experience and a link to his thread, which inspired me to take on this project:

Rebuilding the 003 transmission:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=516066

Also, here are some other useful threads which address other aspects of this type of project:

Here is one where he has shifting problems:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=547690

Here is one discussing where to find some of the parts:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=568971

And one about locating seals:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=536287

Here are the links for uploaded Volkswagen service manuals:

The dealer level training manual, Part 1 is a PDF file, and shown here:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/dlt_autotrans_1.php

And Part 2:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/dlt_autotrans2/automatic_trans2.pdf

Here is a thread discussing the 003 vacuum modulator set-up:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=538898

And here is a neat thread linking to the Troubleshooting guide:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/automatic_troubleshooting.php

I will be working on this thread this week, and it will have close to 30-40 pictures. I will try to reference the section and page of the tech manual I used, so this will be awhile in getting this thread built up. I am also going to break it down into several parts, broken into two sections: First, the Final Drive, then the Transmission.

If you also have experience doing this rebuild, please share your thoughts and sources here! I think it's great when we can get a lot of information into one thread. It saves a lot of 'search engine' time.

I used the Bentley, Section 7 - Automatic Transmission for this rebuild. I did buy the bus and did not have any problems with my transmission, and still don't so I have very little input as far as troubleshooting goes. I would like to also express sincere "Thanks!" to the folks who helped me through PM's and email: oldDKPdriver and Wildthings who responded quickly with my questions.

Part one: Final Drive

First up: Transmission removed and seperated from the Final Drive. The final Drive bolts right up to this engine stand, it is light enough at that point to readily do this by one man. the 1.7 L carbureted engine is in the background, the torque converter is seen on the floor draining into a pan.

The Bentley procedure for Dissassembly begins on page 7-30, under heading 11, Final Drive. Carefully read the procedure (11.1, paragraph 2) for measuring differential bearing adjusting rings before taking them out
Also, refer to page 7-32, section 11.2 - Disassembling and Assembling Differential for additional instructions and caution.

Close up: The blue arrow points to the large O-ring (See page 7-31, Fig. 11-1, part #10) that seals the Transmission to the Final Drive. This O-Ring and all other seals for the entire transmission/final drive came in my rebuild kit...except the pan gasket! But that was easy enough to make with a hole punch set and a roll of similar rubberized cork sheet from my FLAPS.

Item 1 is the input end of the Drive Pinion (See page 7-31, Fig. 11-1, part #6) Item 2 is out of focus, but it is the Pinion Adjusting Ring (See page 7-31, Fig. 11-1, part #3) and Item 3 is the lockplate and screw that keeps the adjusting ring in place when bearing loading is done during set-up.

Next, the inside of the Final Drive. As you can see, I was very lucky! Not only did the contaminated gear oil fail to allow for overheating, but the whole assembly looks to be in good shape. It smelled just right: Like 90 weight, not like a Bar-B-Que

So, part1 is the Differential Gear itself (See page 7-31, Fig. 11-1, part #29), Item 2 is the Drive Pinion (See page 7-31, Fig. 11-1, part #6) and you can see where it mates with the Differential.

Part 3 is the locking plate for the Differential Bearing Adjusting Ring. (See page 7-31, Fig. 11-1, parts 27, 28.)

There are three sets of these adjusting rings on your differential. They seem identical, but I made an effort to put them back in the same locations they came out of. Because they need to be carefully measured prior to removal, I did not want to risk thread count discrepancies during reassembly if I exchanged their respective placements.

Item 4 is the driver's side Differential Bearing Adjusting Ring. The adjusting rings must be measured before disassembly and verified same after reassembly! More on that later. It's not that difficult once you understand the process. Keep in mind these adjusting rings set the bearing loads, so they must be as accurate as possible.

Item 5 is the other side, and is a mirror image of Items 3 and 4.

Horizontal Blue Arrows: Indicate where O-Rings will need to be changed out. (See page 7-31, Fig. 11-1, parts 23 (two) and Item 2.

Downward pointing blue arrow: This is where the Drive Pinion has gearing to mate with the Governor Drive Shaft (See page 7-31, Fig. 11-1, part #15 for the Governor), which is kind of hard to see in this photo. That drive shaft is underneath the Drive Pinion.

Here is a better picture of one of the Differential Bearing Adjusting rings, with the lockplate.

The Differential gear teeth look good to the naked eye. No obvious bluing, razor edges, pitting, breaks, cracks or uneven wear. Deep down, though, the measurement will show years of wear.

So here is how I set up to do the measuring as described on page 7-37, section 12 - Adjusting Final Drive and using Table F. The diagram Box 1 is the magnetic base and Box 2 is the dial indicator resting on the face of a tooth.

Upward facing arrow indicates the pan flange, and Item 1 is the fill plug, Item 2 in the picture is Part 4 of Fig. 11-1, one of the Tapered Roller Bearings. Item 3 is the Differential Adjusting Ring (Flanged Shaft Part 18 page 7-31 and previously removed)

So before I unscrewed the Differential Bearing Adjusting Rings, I made permanent marks with a small center punch, then highlighted the divot with white marker so I could easily count the revolutions as I unscrewed it. This helps narrow it down when reassembling it, but using a depth micrometer is the final critical measurement.

Here is a cheap digital depth micrometer I used prior to unscrewing it. Mine is pretty unwieldly and long because I bought it to measure my brake drums, so it's kind of difficult to hold it steady on such a fine measurement. I made notes for each of these Adjusting Rings, and yes, they were different. Measure between A and B, the distance between case and the Adjusting Ring. I needed to make VW Tool 182 to loosen all three of these flanges.

I used a pretty aged depth gauge, locked it in place then measured the depth off that with the digital micrometer. Whatever you've got that can give you an accurate measurement.

Getting an accurate depth transferred from the old depth gauge.

Here's a pretty clean view of the Adjusting Ring and its lockplate for the Drive Pinion. Note yellow painted reference mark prior to loosening it up.

On the other side of this tool are two tapered lugs that index into the recesses of the Adjusting Ring. Try to avoid being tempted to use a hammer and drift to start these rotating. They are putting preload on those roller bearings.

In this view, the Adjusting Ring is out, and you can see (1) where I counted how many turns it took to spin out the ring, (2) Where I marked which side (you can just make out the white upside down L for left side), and (3) points to one of the O-rings that gets replaced, (4) is a numbered stamp, likely from the factory.

A little thought on counting how many turns it takes to remove them...that is not really a necessary step, provided you have a critical measuring tool (depth micrometer is best), but counting the turns was the first suggestion I was given, later I read up on it and decided to do both...Count the turns to get it in the ball park, then apply the measuring for final touch. I would like to point out that the Bentley states (Page 7-37) that if you are not changing out parts, or did not screw up your disassembly measurements, the adjusting procedures under section 12- Adjusting Final Drive are not required. Since I did not change out any parts (probably wouldn't be able to find new parts anyway, right? ) I simply reinstalled everything the way I found it.

So here is what the Adjusting Ring looks like. Note the yellow mark I put on it to aid locating. This Adjustin Rign is from the front, to preload the forward tapered roller bearing of the Drive Pinion. All three Adjusting Rings seem to be the same.

Here, item (1) is my counting of the turns, (2) and (4) are the Differential Roller bearings, and the star indicates teh mating end of the Final Drive with the Transmission half. Item (3) seems to be missing...

The differential is heavy enough to inflame any old wrist injuries, but light enough that one hand can be used to slightly twist and pull it out. Immediatley put in protective covering (Plastic bag in a box, large palstice container. Keep it clean!!

Below, you can see the rest of the parts now that I have the Differential removed. Item (1) is the inside alignment mark I made for one of the Adjusting Rings before I figured out a better way to mark it. (2) is the drive gear for the Governor Driveshaft (See Item 5) . Item (3) is the drive gear for the Differential, Item (4) is showing you where one of the seals I will need to replace is. Item (5) is the Governor Driveshaft, Item (6) is unkown to me. Maybe someone can jump in and explain it.

By carefully grasping the Drive Pinion from underneath, I pulled it slightly back and it came out of the opposite bearing race, and so I could pull it out and store it until reassembly. Item (1) is simply showing the Governor Driveshaft again. The star is there to make me happy.

I spent some money on lidded tubs to help keep dust and depbir from fouling my parts as I went. I did not get to work on this project every day because of the nature of my employment, sometimes going 4 to 5 days before getting back to it. Having everything put away and organized is important.

This is a seal that needs care in removal. Because it is in an indexed recess, I could not come in from the other side with a seal press and drive it out. I used my seal puller from inside the case with care and was able to change it out.

Governor Drvieshaft details; (1) is the driven gear from smaller gear teeth set on the Drive Pinion. (2) Roll pin, not sure what it's actually for at this writing. (3) Goverenor driveshaft

Below: The cheap-o parts washer from HF. Works pretty good, actually! Side note: I bought eight gallons of their water-based biodegradeable wash fluid, and was annoyed that they didn't have any more in stock. Dumped it all in the tank, then wondered if I could dilute it a little bit to at least get it above the suction level of the pump. That's when I read it was supposed to be like a 1:8 or 1:10 dilution with water...something like that, anyway. So, really I wound up having it highly concentrated, even after I filled it the rest of the way up with water. Burns the skin pretty quickly now. Use elbow length rubber gloves if you do that. And yeah, it does de-grease parts...and takes paint off if you let it sit submerged overnight.

Even though I bought a rebuild kit, I decided to gather seals and O-rings from local suppliers just in case of problems.

I used metal etching primer and appliance epoxy to paint the oustide of the case. Careful masking kept the paint from fouling mating surfaces and threads.

I'm not sure about these cast in numbers, likely the P/N for the Final Drive case.

Getting ready for reassembly. Kids in school, phone turned off. Parts laid out, manual at hand. Items (2) and (3) are the O-rings and seals. I decided to use theloose O-rings and seals I found locally, and save as much of the kit as a back-up. Item (1) is the Tool 182 I made to turn the Adjusting Rings.

Using the Depth gage locked into the correct depth, and setting the Adjusting Rings back how I found them. (1) My alignment marks, (2) Case fill plug, and (3) new seal in place. Reassembly of the unit is basically the reverse of disasssembly, but make sure that you note the preload of the bearings as previously discussed.

Part 2: Transmission half rebuild
Here:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=570692[url][/url][url][/url]

Automatic Transmission Torque Specifications T2
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=1690464

[Gatorbus]

Excellent write-up, thanks for taking the time to document. I got my spare 003 out back and this post will come in handy.
_________________
1973 Automatic Transporter
2.0 Single Weber

[Red Fau Veh]

Really good and timely post, well done. I'm going to attempt to refurbish mine. Have you come across a flex plate and torque converter for a 010 trans? I need them for mine if anyone knows where to find them.
_________________
1971 Deluxe Sunroof Bay 1905 stroker, dual idf40's, 74mm Scat forged crank, engle 110 cam. CB 044 heads, AutoCraft rockers, chromoly push rods
1973 Orange transporter stock type 4 with dual 40 Dellortos and Empi single quiet pack
1969 Adventurewagen blue whale Gene Berg 1776 built by Dave Kawell dual 36 DRLA's, Vintage Speed exhaust, Bosch 019 screamer
1961 Swivel Seat camper, L345 grey

[skills@eurocarsplus]

i applaud you for taking this on, but as a professional volvo tech, i have to say, you would be fired on the spot for not cleaning the outside before exposing it's insides.

not trying to be a dick, but one little crumb in the wrong place will ruin your day.

just sayin'

carry on. looks like a fun project
_________________

[Wasted youth]

I agree to a very large extent. I had two options to clean this, given that I am not set up as a shop: Use my Honda pressure washer , or dip it in the parts tank whole

I didn't want to use the Honda for risking getting water blasted into the case and start rust on the parts, and I didn't want to dip the whole thing in the parts washer either. There's no way I would trust those O-rings and pan gasket at their advanced age. What I did was scrape and wire brush away the caked grime and carefully opened it up. It's a given that particles of shit got in there, but my plan was to disassemble it, place all the machined parts in lidded tubs, then dip the case. That is what I ultimately did, and I hope to add more pictures and details this week.

It's true that I probably could have put a lot more effort by hand, though. If you think that's bad, wait 'til you see how unsanitary the Transmission side was when it got rebuilt!

So far, I have only uploaded some of the pictures and just a little bit of reference. I finished this up a few months ago, and so far the bus is a good driver, except for a valve seat that's about to drop on No. 2 I

Many more pictures to come, I'm just getting started on this thread. Stay tuned!

[skills@eurocarsplus]

just be careful...i would hade to see you smoke a NLA bearing because of a hunk of crud. it's nice to see people dive in!
_________________

[HapyBus]

Hello Skills.. I hope this is not hijacking the thread. I just today called a transmission shop to determine how to clean the exterior.

Reading your advice, I am asking you.. best way to clean the entire tranny while out of vehicle?

The local advice was a wire gringing wheel, or polish it as he said, and plenty of brake clean.

Thank you for reading
_________________
Beep Beep

HapyBus

[VeeDubb steppin]

Great work,awesome and thoughtful documentation for others to refer to .I have been hunting for 003 information and there was a wealth of it in your post .I am re assembling a semi-basket case. 75 automatic Bus, At the moment I am working without the so called Bible .I have gathered up the made of Unobtanium linkage and have it installed ,and lo and behold it appears a 2.99 $ bushing has me stymied .At the transmission lever arm where the selector lever cable hooks to , there appears to be a missing plastic bushing that has me held up ! Would you know where I can find one , and where might I find a diagram or picture of the lever arm and the 003 in general . one more question , I have two complete drivetrains 1 1975 fuel injected w/ 003 " trans original bus engine combo , and one 1977 bus engine and trans 010 Im going to go completely rebuild one or the other ...any suggestions to which would be the better setup ...anybody ? Again thnks for the info Ben

[raygreenwood]

To answer an, earlier question.....how, best to clean the case.

I am no trans expert...but have been through several 003....most especially the diff section from 411 and 412 cars.....and completely through numerous 004 manual trans and early rabbit 4 and 5 speeds. I learned about cleaning the hard way.

And about refurbishing trans with parts that are NLA.....some rules of thumb I now use:

1. Do not begin cleaning the trans until the day you plan to begin work...and start early so that it gets cleaned spotless AND disassembled, degreased, sorted/laid out, prtectibely oiled....all in one day.

2. Pressure washing will not....by itself....remove caked on layers of water borne dirst and oil. Its just too tough. Spend elbow grease and some strong slow evaporating solvent with wire brushes...powered and unpowered to fully scour yh3 outside in every nook and cranny. Drain the oil now.

3. Then rinse with solvent...self emulsifying solvent similar to brake cleaner.

4. Pressure wash hard....not with a p*ssy unit from Sears.....a real pressure washer with 1200 to 1500 psi at 2.0 gpm average....preferably with hot water and an industrial degreasing soap. Dont worry about getting water in it... because you are going to dry it well and immediately disassemble it.

If you dont have access to a real pressure washer...bag it, still wet with, solvent and take it, down and pay to have it, steam cleaned.

5. Disassemble and give everything at least a cursory dip in the parts washer to remove water....then use WD40...then dip it in oil and lay it out on a squeeky clean bench and cover it up.
Now you can go back to the case and clean anything you missed.

Really nice write up and pictures. I will be starting one similar on the 004 trans in a couple of months.

The last rule I now have.....because most of these trans are getting hard to get parts for...get them and use them while you can. If you have to open the case and you have the $ and time...do it all. In lieu of that....even if working on say....just the diff section....its worthwhile to at least strip and meticulously clean.....all of it. Ray

[Wasted youth]

For what it's worth, I was pleasantly surprised about the effectiveness of the Harbor Freight parts tank. Key thing here, though is to not dilute their solvent as directed. I think it was like 1:12 solvent/water. I did about a 50% ratio. It stings the skin after about a minute, so wear dip gloves (Home Depot).

As Ray says, begin with a pressure washing first. I have a nice one, and it makes a huge mess, but totally worth it.

The only thing I part ways with Ray on is that I feel it is unnecessary to plan on cleaning the case on the same day you will be rebuilding it. YES... you will be exposing bare cast iron to water and solvents... so YES you must plan on ridding ALL of that before you 'bag and tag' it in a dust free, dry storage. I simply don't have the luxury to do all that in one day.

Thanks for the comments. There are a few parts identification/labeling errors in the Part 2 - Transmission Half of this thread. Be wary of this, and carefully follow your service manual. I have simply not gone back in here to fix the errors. My responsibility, I know!!

[Wasted youth]

VWStepper... not sure which parts you are troubled by... Can you PM some pics to me?

[SGKent]

We always found it easiest to just spray down a trans with a spray bottle filled with Stoddard solvent, sit 5 - 10 minutes then pressure wash it. You can also use store bought engine cleaner or simple green too. Try to do it away from where it will wash into streams etc. Then proceed with the rest of the job including cleaning. The solvent will dissolve the oil and grease based grime, and the soapy mixture will dissolve the dirt based grime.

If one watches CL they can find inexpensive used solvent tanks designed for Stoddard solvent. This is the same parts cleaner Safety Clean uses. One can buy Stoddard solvent from any oil dealership by the gallon. Most parts washers like this will do a better job than the soap based units. Unfortunately the cheap ones HF sells etc are not fire safe and Stoddard solvent safe. Many shops when they upgrade or close have parts washers they sell cheaply. I paid about $75 for mine. If one lacks that a big plastic tube will work but sometimes they crack from the weight of the parts and look out. Stoddard solvent is flammable.
_________________
“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[Tcash]

[raygreenwood]

[Wasted youth]

[ksternquist]

I've looked around on various forums and found this the best place to try to ask my question. I've got a 75 automatic baywindow with an 003 transmission with a type 4 2.0L engine. I am missing the torque converter and trying to source one has been a nightmare. Am I correct in thinking I can use a torque converter sourced from a type 3 with an 003 transmission?

[skills@eurocarsplus]

pretty sure they are different

stall speed would almost certainly be different.

talk to wildthings. he claims these parts are plentiful and are easily found...

seriously if you find one, they are going to want a core back

a friend who owns a shop in CA just went thru this and there was a 700.00 core

anyway, post a WTB ad and pray. and if you find one, just pay the price and have it rebuilt. they don't grow on trees

i paid almost 200 bux for a fucking transmission pan.

yea, the joy of automatics....
_________________

[Wasted youth]

I still have the old torque converter from when I rebuilt this unit. At the time, I decided I would buy a rebuilt TC for my project and hold onto the old one. That one was married up to the 1700 with the correct camshaft.

I will see if there is a part number on it, and there is likely paperwork available with sourcing information.

[SGKent]

I'd be asking Chris in Oakland https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=19586 or Avery's Air Cooled in Kelso WA.

Also read this thread. https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=445060&start=0 I believe that it is the Z model based on the fiche but someone who understands ETKA can do a better job than me.

090323571
090323571X ( I believe X means remanufactured)

TCS has lots of VW convertors in their catalog but they are by style and size.

ECS: https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-volkswagen-audi-parts/converter/090323571x/

There is a list at the bottom what that part number fits also
https://www.ebay.com/itm/203035779132

ALSO contact Scott at German Supply. The fiche shows that number as 1973-75 as I read it. Scott shows 76-79, and EBay showed all the bays. I don't know but here is Scott's ad, and he would know. https://germansupply.com/torque-converter-rebuilt-bus-76-79-w-auto-transmission.html
_________________
“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[Wasted youth]

I had a chance to look today, unfortunately I was not able to determine a part number. But it was sourced from Axiom Technologies through an online vendor.

Here are some probably useless pictures of two Type 3 / 003 VW torque converters. The one in the cardboard box is the original out of my 73 bus. The other with the flex plate is a core from the junkyard.