Which Transmission Rebuild Shop?

[Sodo]

[dobryan]

[Sodo]

[Sodo]

Bill T:

Stock is .85. .82 is referred to as "a taller 4th gear" but it's only 3.5% taller.
Some say "longer 4th".

1.8Turbo has such a fat lump of torque at ~65-70mph, I will guess that .82 is a good 4th ratio. But some people with a 1.8T might prefer a .78 to drop the RPMs at 70mph.
.78 is a little harder on your transmission though.
at 3500RPM, stock .85 goes 70mph, .82 goes 72mph, .78 goes 76mph

You wrote that you have a GT 4th gear? I think a GT 4th gear is probably better than a Weddle 4th but we don't really KNOW that unless people start taking gearboxes apart and specifically comparing wear. Weddle gears have not been great for longevity. Weddle are made for racing thus softer, to resist breakage. Think of it like a plexiglas mirror vs glass mirror.
Depending upon the usage, if one is correct material then the other was wrong.
GoWesty races their Westafari Van in Baja. We don't race.

GT Gears are probably better for us RV-drivers who prefer a "hardened gear" to be longer-lasting.
We accept the risk of breaking (in a long off-road race).
_________________


'90 Westy EJ25, NEW oil rings (!) 2Peloquins, 3knobs, SyncroShop pressure-oiled pinion-bearing & GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox.
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered original gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[dobryan]

Darryl installed a taller Weddle third and fourth many years ago. Only lasted about 50,000 miles before they wore out and we replaced with stock gears that lasted 120,000.
_________________
Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2010 Subaru EJ25 (Vanaru) and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[Bill D]

[Bill D]

Do you guys thin that adding a Peloquin or other LSD during my current tranny rebuild would unnecessarily complicate things and/or create yet something else to fail?

Would a Peloquin make is less likely that I get stuck in deep sand?
Would it complicate or interfere with a filter/cooler system?

thanks,
Bill D

[dobryan]

I have 160,000 on a Peloquin. Does not interfere with anything. And it is awesome! Definitely helps in sand.
_________________
Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2010 Subaru EJ25 (Vanaru) and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[Sodo]

At 3500RPM, stock .85 goes 70mph, .82 goes 72mph
Not worth spending another $570 on a different 4th for a difference this small.
That's if your 30,000 mile GT 4th is still in nice condition.
I would tend to agree with Stephan that the FAT torque of the turbo would be good with .82.

Yes don't be averse to downshifting. Proper smooth downshifting.

FYI .78 goes 76mph at 3500RPM. You would feel that difference.

Downshifting periodically is good for a Vanagon gearbox, it floods the inside of 4th gear with oil.
But you gotta be a "good downshifter" to have a net gain in gearbox happiness.
A periodic 'decel' helps too, but nothing like downshifting.
A long decel in 4th like downhill is probably good.


Link
This video shows the gap that opens up. 4th gear moves to the left when you "decel".
Downshifting to 3rd also pulls 4th to the left, and freewheels 4th on it's needle bearing too.
Perhaps for a longer period, perhaps allowing more oil to enter 4th gear.

Peloquin does not complicate anything.
Peloquin is pretty important if your van does NOT have a locker.
If your van already has a locker, the Peloquin will barely make any difference.

If sand is something you need to prepare your van for, you need a "Solid Shaft" and a decoupler.

If you see other cars driving on sand, your Syncro can always do better.
It's when you DON'T see any other cars, or ONLY 4X4s with wide tires.... that you need to consider the solid-shaft.
_________________


'90 Westy EJ25, NEW oil rings (!) 2Peloquins, 3knobs, SyncroShop pressure-oiled pinion-bearing & GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox.
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered original gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[Bill D]

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[Sodo]

[Bill D]

[Sodo]

I took out all the 6 bolts of one rear CV joint.
then the rear was just free-wheeling, just rolling.
Not pushing.

I agree it's not easy to see the behavior.
You have to watch for dust and rocks being thrown up by the slipping tire.

=======

You should rebuild the front diff while it's still quiet.
I did mine at 225k miles and the builder told me I caught it "just in time";
that my R&P was still good but bearings were getting loose and would have ruined my R&P if I drove it until it vibrated.
And I thought I was being "highly prudent".
He said I was "a little prudent".
There are no more front R&Ps, make sure yours has good bearings to protect your original R&P.

If you have a vibration at 60-65mph, that behavior is "emerging theory" as "front diff needs rebuild".

Front diffs get ruined when the Viscous Coupler leaks silicone into the oil, degrading the oil, then the bearings and gears wear out.
So you should change front diff oil often just in case the VC is leaking.
If the VC is kinda old you shou;ld assume that its ready to leak anytime.
More likely if it got abused by wrong size tires etc sometime in it's lifetime.

If it's leaking there will be a black coating on the fill plug (and everything, blackened oil).
So on the front you need to be hyper-observant for blackening.
Don't just "have a guy change the oil".
"The guy" needs to know how to look for blackening.
The Silicone VC fluid is clear when new but very pitch black when old.

When you do the front diff you will have to decide what kind of (rebuilt) VC to use, "normal", "sport" or "solid shaft".
_________________


'90 Westy EJ25, NEW oil rings (!) 2Peloquins, 3knobs, SyncroShop pressure-oiled pinion-bearing & GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox.
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered original gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[Bill D]

I took out all the 6 bolts of one rear CV joint.
then the rear was just free-wheeling, just rolling.

I can see now that we are not dealing with just any normal person here...
a true Vanagon fanatic! ))

b

[dobryan]

[Bill D]

[MarkWard]

Bill I know you were asking about reputable rebuilders originally. But I had the impression the shop that did your conversion was sending it back to the original rebuilder. If, that’s the case, I’d wait for the autopsy before deciding on add ons. There may be some good will if just a main bearing has failed. A Peloquin for example on a fresh rebuild is more work to do correctly. Unfortunately the Peloquin dimensions are not exactly the same as the stock locker, so there is more labor involved$ vs just swapping out a mainshaft bearing. The builder might have some flex on cost.

I had a pro built transaxle for my TDI by one of the vendors mentioned. I got about 60k before it started jamming in forth gear.

I purchased the special tools and am doing my own now. I have a combination of stock parts, parts from Weddle and from GT Gear. I feel I have better control over workmanship and I’m not paying crazy shipping fees.

I don’t have any special cooling system. I see hoses, pumps, coolers, etc as points of failure. I also don’t use all the power I have available all the time. I’m actually gentle on it compared to some of my other fleet. I intend to tear it down at 60k to see if mainbearing wear is improved.

[Bill D]

[MarkWard]

There are a few critical measurements and adjustments when changing a ring and pinion or the stock differential housing/peloguin.

For the differential, you have to set bearing preload and ring gear backlash. It’s often ok just to mark the side bearing housings prior to disassembling and if it was setup correctly and those parts aren’t changing to reassemble using those markings.

The Peloquin is slightly wider than the stock carrier and so you likely can’t reuse those marks and would to go through setting bearing preload and backlash vs just checking it.

If pinion bearings and ring gear bearings are being replaced or the actual ring and pinion or a combination, you are setting pinion depth, bearing preload, and backlash from scratch and that would be the time to swap in a Peloquin locker or other type. It takes a lot of time to get this correct.

If just the mainshaft bearing as suggested has failed, that could be a much quicker job and possibly the original rebuilder would make a deal. Something like they pay for the part and you pay labor. Or maybe a discount on the labor. No way to tell at this point. It’s all speculation.

Certainly if the transaxle is disassembled, that would be a good time for any internal upgrades. GT, I believe German Transaxle has made a big investment in the 091/1 and 094 transaxles with gear options, shaft options, billet housings and hubs. That is not who built my original transaxle. I used a pro originally because I did not have the special tools. As I mentioned the tools were less than shipping 2 ways and I’ve since built my syncro transaxle and my camper transaxle.

There are quite a few members here that have the skills to rebuild their own. The special tools is the barrier. Otherwise there are no snakes and spiders hiding in these. I’ve come across way more difficult ones to rebuild.