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DanHoug
Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2016
Posts: 4791
Location: Bemidji, MN
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 Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 5:21 pm Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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that's great news! now change that gear oil yourself in a 100 miles or so. this will do several things:
- it will wash out metal swarf that may have formed from running without lubricant. this is essential for long life of the differential and ring/pinion.
- you'll be looking for black fuzz on the drain plug or possibly metallic chips. if none, it's really good news for the mistake. post a photo!
- you'll also be looking for "unicorn blood" in the drain pan... a swirling metallic sheen in the oil. if none, more good news!
this is very basic maintenance for an old vehicle that you need to know how to do yourself otherwise you'll go broke or broke down. learn it, do it, cost will be minimal.
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-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.
'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd
Past projects can be found at--
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outcaststudios
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2015
Posts: 1732
Location: Maine
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| Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2022 8:05 am Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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hey man! good news! enjoy, and always be ready to fail and learn, everyone here has.
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'88Doka JX td
'69 westy
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a bunch of french stuff,and 9 motorcycles.
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steve244
Samba Member
Joined: March 18, 2022
Posts: 1666
Location: GA
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shagginwagon83
Samba Member
Joined: February 07, 2016
Posts: 3800
Location: VA/TN
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| Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2022 8:16 am Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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| DanHoug wrote: |
that's great news! now change that gear oil yourself in a 100 miles or so.
this is very basic maintenance for an old vehicle that you need to know how to do yourself otherwise you'll go broke or broke down. learn it, do it, cost will be minimal. |
Totally agree with the above. Awesome it worked!
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Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan |
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kamzcab86
Samba Moderator
Joined: July 26, 2008
Posts: 7923
Location: Arizona
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| Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2022 10:09 am Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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Excellent update! 
| DanHoug wrote: |
| - you'll be looking for black fuzz on the drain plug or possibly metallic chips. if none, it's really good news for the mistake. post a photo! |
The OP's van is an automatic. The auto trans differential does not have a drain plug.
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1986 Cabriolet: www.Cabby-Info.com
 1990 Vanagon Westfalia: Old Blue's Blog
2016 Golf GTI S
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." - 孔子 |
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mikemtnbike
Samba Member
Joined: March 26, 2015
Posts: 2796
Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2022 12:28 pm Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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Member kourt lives in Austin I'm pretty sure and is an established guru on the vanagon automatic. If you run into more issues, I'd suggest pm-ing him and seeing if he can be of assistance.
Hi kourt.
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1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled  https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
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2020 GTI SE manual |
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MarkWard
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 17153
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2022 1:54 pm Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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Glad to read. Did the shop visually check the ring and pinion and measure backlash while the differential pan was off? I can’t see where the differential locking up bringing the van to a stop was cured with a fluid change. Hopefully I’m wrong. If it works out, your one of the luckiest vanagon owners.
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longhairedkid
Samba Member
Joined: January 15, 2022
Posts: 14
Location: TX
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| Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:58 am Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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I’ve been driving the van for the past week. Mainly just around town and a took it on the highway last night for a bit. Put only about 40 miles on it thus far. Today I did a little 8 mile drive to and from a friends house and the transmission kept slipping back into first gear. I would feel it try to drop into second but then the engine would rev and it wouldn’t go any faster. When I got home I noticed a pretty bad leak here.
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Abscate
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22668
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 11:02 am Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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You’ve blown out all the fluid which will stop the trans ftom working. The pan wasn’t installed correctly , either wrong gasket or workmanship
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MarkWard
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 17153
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 3:56 pm Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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| longhairedkid wrote: |
I have a 1985 VW Vanagon auto trans. I recently replaced all the fuel lines and upon doing so I noticed a oil leak coming from underneath. I thought it might of been coming from the rear differential plate. I'm an idiot and didn't know a bunch of oil would come out. I figured, oh well, I'm doing an oil change anyways. Did the oil change, replaced the fuel lines, replaced the fuel injectors.
I drove it around town for about 10 miles and then into a parking garage. In the garage I heard some grinding noise, like clunking metal, then the van came to a dead stop. Almost as if the wheels locked in place. I put it in reverse and it seemed to have unlocked it but then again, dead stop nearly screeching the tires. I could rev the engine and basically had to have it floored to get it into. spot.
I got it towed to a mechanic and the same thing happened to him on a test drive. But then when he got it up on a lift everything worked fine.
Also, I should mention that, once again, I'm an idiot and didn't know that there is a difference between gear oil and motor oil. I put new motor oil in but didn't put in new gear oil So i'm pretty sure I was driving the rear differential dry.
The mechanic says he thinks I need a new transmission. But the tranny was rebuilt about 5 years ago already so I'm thinking if I just put gear oil in it then I'll be okay? Maybe flush the tranny fluid? I'm at a loss and worried I'm in over my head. |
Sorry but you are correct. You are in over your head. Your last picture of the transmission leak shows both the automatic pan and the differential pan. Which pan did you originally remove? Anyhow. I wouldn’t be so quick to blame anyone other than yourself till you know for sure. I can tell you based on my experience you can’t run a transmission or differential without fluid and get away with it like you thought. I’d plan on getting yours rebuilt by a VW Audi specialist shop if you want some reliability.
Sorry about this. Getting experience can be a bitch sometimes.
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longhairedkid
Samba Member
Joined: January 15, 2022
Posts: 14
Location: TX
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| Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 4:17 pm Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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So when I did it I removed just the diffential pan. But my guess is the mechanic removed the transmission pan and didn’t put it back right or didn’t put a new gasket in.
I was thinking about removing everything and putting a new gasket on with this kit from gowesty.
https://gowesty.com/products/filter-screen-kit-3-speed-auto?_pos=1&_sid=9220d581d&_ss=r
And if you’re saying it’s time for a rebuild then I think selling might be my next step. I’m looking to move out of the country soon and letting this stay in the USA and rot would break my heart. |
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MarkWard
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 17153
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2022 5:41 am Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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Post a photo of the repair order from the shop. Not sure why the shop would have even touched the automatic pan if it was the differential that was run empty. No reason you can’t reseal the auto pan and refill with ATF. Something about your van is not being communicated correctly. Plenty of folks looking for project vans. They likely won’t be paying top dollar if the auto is shot.
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Diy2k
Samba Member
Joined: October 25, 2020
Posts: 149
Location: Lb,Ca
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| Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2022 11:15 am Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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That shop did you dirty.
Removing incorrect items and not installing them back correctly.
Charging you an hours worth of work for filling up oil they SHOULD have checked in the first place
...and wasting your time and money
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2012 Ford Transit Connect Xlt |
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MarkWard
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 17153
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 10:08 am Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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| Diy2k wrote: |
That shop did you dirty.
Removing incorrect items and not installing them back correctly.
Charging you an hours worth of work for filling up oil they SHOULD have checked in the first place
...and wasting your time and money |
We don't know yet which shop did what. Or what the owner actually did, but it is getting clearer. We also haven't seen a repair order for the last shop. From experience, it does not look like the automatic pan has been off recently.
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longhairedkid
Samba Member
Joined: January 15, 2022
Posts: 14
Location: TX
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| Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 3:56 pm Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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Here’s the shop receipt
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MarkWard
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 17153
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 4:18 pm Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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I don’t see where they had the automatic pan off or charged to change the ATF. While expensive 2 hours to test drive, fill differential, and test drive again seems high, you were originally excited to get the van back with the original problem cured that you likely accidentally caused. Now the automatic has leaked down and you can’t hold a gear any longer. I don’t see how either shop is to blame for either problem. Probably not what you want to hear. Sorry.
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longhairedkid
Samba Member
Joined: January 15, 2022
Posts: 14
Location: TX
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| Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 4:24 pm Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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It’s okay. This is why I normally don’t take it to mechanics. I’m pretty good at following directions off here or on YouTube.
That being said I think my plan is to remove both the differential pan and trans pan. Put new gaskets on both and fill them up with fluid again. Do you think this is the right approach or should I do something else/ different? |
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shagginwagon83
Samba Member
Joined: February 07, 2016
Posts: 3800
Location: VA/TN
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| Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 7:59 pm Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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Man where are you at where they tax you only 0.7%? It's 7% here in TN!
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Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan |
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kamzcab86
Samba Moderator
Joined: July 26, 2008
Posts: 7923
Location: Arizona
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| Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 8:44 pm Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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| shagginwagon83 wrote: |
| Man where are you at where they tax you only 0.7%? It's 7% here in TN! |
Texas has an 8.3% tax rate, depending on jurisdiction, thus the tax you see is for parts only. 
| longhairedkid wrote: |
| That being said I think my plan is to remove both the differential pan and trans pan. Put new gaskets on both and fill them up with fluid again. Do you think this is the right approach or should I do something else/ different? |
I'd remove the trans pan, remove the filter, closely inspect the internals, and if everything appears kosher, install new filter and gaskets, and refill (be sure to read up on how to do this process). More experienced folks will chime in with their ideas.
https://www.buslab.com/product-p/010398009.htm
_________________
~Kamz
1986 Cabriolet: www.Cabby-Info.com
1990 Vanagon Westfalia: Old Blue's Blog
2016 Golf GTI S
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." - 孔子 |
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longhairedkid
Samba Member
Joined: January 15, 2022
Posts: 14
Location: TX
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| Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 10:00 pm Post subject: Re: My van is coming to a dead stop when driving |
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| kamzcab86 wrote: |
| I'd remove the trans pan, remove the filter, closely inspect the internals, and if everything appears kosher, install new filter and gaskets, and refill (be sure to read up on how to do this process). More experienced folks will chime in with their ideas. |
I’ll do next week when I have some time. Luckily I live close enough to work and downtown that a bicycle can get me around. I’ll be sure to upload pictures of everything once I remove the pans.
I know that replacing the gear oil is pretty straight forward but when it comes to transmission stuff I feel I lack a bit of expertise. Is there any resources you favor over another to follow. Should I be flushing the system somehow? Or is it at simple as letting it all run out and then refilling?
I know I sound naive. Replacing parts is one thing but when it comes to fluids I am still in the learning process. |
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