Rancho Transaxles

[pupjoint]

got some gears from Mike at Rancho, swift emails, parts arrived fast and better than i had expected.

Great place , great guy to deal with!

[AirSchnitz]

I received mine this week. A 002 for a T2a. The transmission looks great, but I can't put it in yet. Ranch sent it in a regular old cardboard box without any labeling. Suffice it to say UPS dropped it and the bellhouse cracked.

Rancho did do me good by replacing the bellhouse and sending it over night free of charge. I can't wait to get it in my bus and get her back on the road.

[AirSchnitz]

After the whole cracked bellhousing during shipping, Rancho said they would overnight (friday to a saturday) a new bell housing and gasket to me. It arrived 5 days later and without the gasket. This time it was at least packed in foam peanuts. I found a gasket kit locally, got the tranny in, and so far it is running well. I just wish that when you pay top dollar based upon reputation they would be a little more on the ball. Here's to hoping for many good years ahead with their tranny.

AirSchnitz

[RTKings]

Wow................ Sam and Rancho are truly top notch........... I had my original 1964 Ghia tranny rebuilt by Rancho......... about 2,000 miles in, it started howling in 4th gear. Called Sam, and after the tranny was pulled, he had UPS pick it up, had it torn down and gone through, and then re-shipped back to me - all at NO COST! They truly stand behind their workmanship. A+ organization!
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'64 1500 'S' with sunroof
'64 Ghia convertible
'61 Bug
'79 Super Beetle Convertible

[ONEBADBUG]

I am not happy. Got my bus trans from Rancho, had to change the bellhousing, not their problem, I didn't tell them I was using a late throwout setup. The transmission is sealed with clear household silicone.
I notice the nosecone is very corroded, so I think about changing that but I don't. Bad idea. Because of the corrosion, the front seal/bushing fits so tight that I can barely shift gears, I am going to have to take it back out of the bus to fix that. I send them a core, that I have inspected the ring and pinion on, when I call and ask about my credit, "no that ring and pinion is no good".
Sure glad I spent half a day and $70 to pack the damn thing up and ship it, if they were gonna screw me on the core, I wish they would have just said so I would be out $400 instead $470.

[CLASSIC CAR GUY]

I was at Rancho this morning 8am, drove up from San Diego with my busted axle, bend tube and beat up fulcrum plates I broke in the Baja last Sunday at Glamis.
Sam replaced the tube, installed new axle boots, set me up with 2 polished and shot peened axles, new gaskets and seals bead blasted everything and had me out in under 30mins on Christmas eve!! and even got a Christmas cupcake while I was there waiting!!!, the company is top notch and a first class operation, Sam will do what ever he has to to get you out there and fixed, great guy!!
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(0\!/0)
58' Rag'
60' Type 1
61' Type 1
62' Type 1
64' Type 1
66' Type 1
66' Vert'
67' Type 1

"every one wants to reinvent the wheel, but nobody knows how to make it round"

Vintage Volkswagen Sales and Service as well as Classics and Muslcecars all located here in Phoenix Arizona at www.rpmotorcars.com

[neil68]

I can add to the previous poster, by saying that Rancho also supports their long distance customers (I live 1500 miles away, outside the country).

I've purchased two Pro-Comps through our local dealer and had an issue with the second one (gear oil leak due to a dog plug issue) and they returned my long-distance phone messages promptly and got me set up for a race that I was targeting last summer. They even offered to replace the tranny for me, if the interim fix didn't take. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a stock or hi-po gearbox
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Neil.

Der Kleiner Rennwagens
68 Beetle 2332 cc, 204 WHP
12.5 seconds @ 107 mph
Dynojet Test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9B_H3eklAo

[JoelH]

I got a new bus nosecone from Rancho. Someone forgot to put the gasket in the box, I live a long ways from them, and that gasket was here within 48 hrs. Standup company for sure! I'd buy from them anyday.

Thanks again,
Joel
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RED RIVER VW CLUB---www.redrivervwclub.com


'60 DD SWR Panel
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2522353#2522353

'62 Gulf Blue Ragtop Bug
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=420720&highlight=

'60 Black RHD Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6478591#6478591

1965 Sea Sand L568 Notchback
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8307805#8307805

[risk]

Recently dealt with Sam at Rancho... I have to say the customer service was outstanding! Thanks guys!

[69 Jim]

I'm done with Rancho. I payed a premium price for a transaxle twice and had problems both times. The first one was a Pro Street swingaxle for my 67 bug. I installed it, the brakes and everything else involved. The next morning I went out to the garage and there was a puddle of gear oil on the floor. Great. I pulled it and drove 50 miles into Orange County to have it repaired. They said there was excessive powdercoating on the sealing surface of the housing. They did repair it and sent me on my way. That was a lot of work on my behalf for carelessness on their behalf. Well the 67 belongs to a good friend of mine now and has had bearing issues with it. I guess he is going to have to have it gone through, even though there are very little miles on it over the last few years. That sucks.
Earlier this year I foolishly purchased an IRS Pro Street from them. Now I live 1400 miles away, no longer in the next county. When it arrived, the box was beat to hell and the clutch arm was bent. The first time I called them, whoever answered the phone said some of them are curved. I said great, but the one on mine was bent. I sent a few pictures to them showing the damage, and they sent me another arm. The trans had a loose piece of cardboard around it and a piece of PVC to protect the hockey stick which worked well, except the trans could flop around in the box. Very poor packing procedure. Well I installed the trans in my 69 a few weeks ago and noticed there was a strange noise during deceleration. Today after going for a short ride it sounds much worse. It needs to come out now, there is a real problem in there. I chose not to even screw with them again. The piece of shit trans is now on core status. It may sound a little harsh, but there is no way in hell I am going to have them look at the trans with the same eye they used the first time. It's just too much work to swap them out, especially after it wasn't right the first time. I am trying a new vendor who seems on top of his game. Sometimes you have to lick your wounds and move on.

[Seb67]

[69 Jim]

[jnr356]

great product...when i finally got one
you guys really need someone to "answer" phonecalls and e-mails

it really lets your business down
_________________
melburgluft.com

australias real aircooled community

[deadwesty]

I bought a complete beefed up trans with RGBs from Rancho five years ago. It's a pro street with .082 4th gear/super diff. The first one was defective. I forgot what was wrong with it, there was too much metal shavings when I changed oil. They exchanged the trans at no cost.

On the first day with the exchanged trans, I knew it won't last and got some pop noises. I complained to no avail, I was told I am being paranoid, etc.

Now it's pretty messed up inside. Barely 40k miles. It's disappointing, gut wrenching. My brother's bone stock used trans out lived my trans.

Before you guys jump, I made sure all mounts, shifting stuff is in a top notch condition. So it's not an issue of other parts or so.

So stay away from them! I would stick to well known local builder in your area.
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Instagram- @vwwanderers

1986 westy syncro
1990 tin top syncro

[charliet159]

I thought I would share my Rancho experience with the SAMBA community as it unfolds. I need my 1965 Swing axle re-built for '65 Manx. SO here goes.

I have seen a lot of positive feed back about Rancho and have decided to try them out. I live on the east coast, NEPA Scranton area and could not find any east coast shops with same feed back or who had time to do the rebuild in 2-4 weeks.. SO you can imagine I had some reservations about shipping to CA. Anyway I called May.28 and Sam answered the phone and was polite and helpful. He explained the core charge, but said they rarely had to charge it, unless you ran the tranny without oil or really abused it, they can save & re-build it. This answer had big impact on my decision, due to freight costs. I spoke to Sam in detail about the condition, leaking oil, hard to down shift from 2nd to 1st, unless U came to full stop, etc... He felt there should be no problem, they almost always re-use the customer's core. I also told Sam I was going to build a custom box and requested that Rancho re-use it to return the tranny and he said OK providing it was not destroyed during shipping [ important b/c I spent 3-4 hours building it]. Sam told me to just e-mail the tracking number once I shipped it and that Rancho would contact me once they received the tranny... Ok, no problem. !

So.. 1st impression was great.

May.28 that night I sent an e-mail to Rancho requesting their current lead-time to perform a re-build on my 1965 swing [i forgot to ask Sam that day]. Mike replied the very next day with 2-3 weeks. OK.. I like that.. Quick reply to e-mail and reasonable turn-a-round time.

May.31, I shipped the tranny in my custom box by Fed-x ground w/ $600.00 insurance. ETA Rancho is June.6th Thursday [today].

Jun.3rd, I sent the e-mail to Sam & Mike with tracking number, pictures of the shipping box and instructions to note any shipping damage, just in case, so I can make a claim if needed. Also sent unpacking instructions, b/c the box was glued and screwed, so only the top and front should be removed for access and they were not glued joints [I will up=load some pictures later]. I also included my contact data taped to the tranny and drew arrows and notes to the screws that should be removed.

June.6th - Rancho received the tranny today at about 11am as scheduled. I will post an update once I hear from Rancho.

[charliet159]

Here are the pictures promised, It took 3-4 hours total, just a few hours a couple nites after work. The Transaxle has to go from PA to CA. I bolted the bell housing and rear mount to the bottom of the box on the main 2x4's. The 1.5 x 1.75 uprights were just to hold the cardboard and create the cube. All joints were glued and 3" dry wall screws..

[charliet159]

Ok folks, here is my update. As noted the Transaxle arrived Jun.6th, so it took 4 days to ship from PA to CA, not bad.

June.7, I called Rancho and spoke to Dave. He sounded very busy but was polite and helpful.. He said it would take about 1 week to get my tranny on the bench and taken apart for inspection. Once that was done they would call me with an update & evaluation of it's condition. Seemed fair enough and pretty much what Sam told me when I first called weeks ago.

June.14, Rancho called me but I missed the call, so I called back and got Sam. He was a bit confused at first, because I guess some one else had called my house. We got it sorted out pretty fast and discussed what should be done. We also discussed the need for a Freeway flyer 4th gear, but determined my Manx would do best with stock gearing based on the 25" height of my tires. Sam was helpful for sure and said he would call me with an update. He also said my custom crate made the trip in good shape and commented about how well it was constructed [nice the hear]..

June.21, I called Sam and he told me the tranny was apart, but their Magnaflux machine was down for 2+ days waiting parts and my tranny still needed to be inspected. Sam expected the parts today and said he would call me Monday of next week.

June.27, Sam called me with an update. He said everything looked good and that my early '65 swing axle had the older, narrower 1st & 2nd gears and that Rancho replaced them with the newer "67/'68 gears that were wider and stronger, no charge, it was part of the rebuild. It is something they do as part of the normal rebuild to ensure a reliable tranny. Nice!!! I am very pleased so far & happy to know the gears were Magnaflux inspected and upgraded 1st & 2nd gears!! Sam said the tranny would be ready early in the week of July.1 and I was to call with credit card data and shipping instructions. We plan on shipping the tranny back in my custom crate box.. Will keep you posted..

[pupjoint]

thumbs up to Rancho from Asia!

[charliet159]

Hi All, Update on my 1965 Swing Transaxle Stock Rebuild. I am REALLY happy with the service Sam & Mike provided. The Transaxle arrived at Rancho on June 6th and was rebuilt and Shipped out July.2nd, 18 working days. With 2 days lost to broken Magniflux Machine. So it took 3 weeks as Sam quoted. Rancho also shipped it back to me in the custom box I made so, that was real nice plus. Mike was also real accommodating. There was a small mix-up with some custom stud lengths I had requested to mount the camber compensator bracket and Mike was real nice, answered my e-mail with a phone call the very next morning and shipped the correct studs to PA 2nd day air UPS at their cost so I had them for the weekend. Excellent service. The tranny was cleaned and painted black with axle tube gaskets included. I can not wait to get the tranny back in and running. I figure in about 1 month it should be running and I will post a final based on it's operation.

[Derek Cobb]

I replaced my 002 with a freeway flyer from Rancho in my 69 Westy. I am really pleased with the final product, and the way Rancho treated me. There was about a week delay when they were building it as their supply of 4.57 R&P's was on back order, but it was all good. Sounds like they are a very busy shop.
When they put you on hold you get to hear an ancient recording of "Rough Boy" by ZZ Top. That always made me chuckle.