Changing the transmission fluid

[Zundfolge1432]

[Frodge]

[Zundfolge1432]

Wow senior discounts and AARP. Hell ya.

[Frodge]

Can you elaborate on noises and shifting funny? I'd like to know. Like I originally said, at what point low would you estimate it starts to act weird. An ounce, a pint. When would you say you start doing damage by being low. I know vw has a margin for error in being topped off, to where it becomes bad for the trans when it starts getting low. I remember back in the late 90s people were complaining on another vw forum about the transaxle fluid being about 1/2" low from the side of the case fill plug, I'm also sure that there are tons of bugs and buses running around with gear oil not topped up. So zundfolge, what is your opinion? I hold it very highly.

[Zundfolge1432]

I was thinking about a couple of posts yesterday concerning jack stands and was surprised at what sounds to me like irrational fears. Having done it and seen others do it this way for 40 years I wondered how else could you work on your car. First place I worked had a three bay garage with two in ground lifts, state of the art built in 1969. These were the old center lift where hydraulics were in ground, you don't see them anymore because EPA didn't like fluid leaking into ground. Now you can purchase two post or four post, I like two post. A few scissor lifts around, I don't care for these at all to restrictive. Bumper lifts are out because everything is plastic now.

So Whats left? How do you get a car up high enough to work on it? Then I thought about what I'd seen for the last 30 plus years in aviation. How do you get a 767 up and work under it safely? Answer jackstands. Yep. It's the same thing just on a larger scale. You jack a specific points and nobody questions this, it's accepted practice. So I took a walk to find one jacked up and closest I came was this 737 with nose jack installed but not up. Don't be afraid to work on your car with jacks, be smart enough to locate them properly. As an aside I've seen and done this ------> place the wheels you take off as a block under the car so if it fell it would land on the wheels instead of you. funny noises from low fluid level would be howling,squealing and shifting might be rough because sycronizers aren't getting enough lube.

[Zundfolge1432]

So here are aircraft jack, same principle just bigger would you tell the man no I'm not going to work under that jack I'm a puss?

We used to jack it up then run the landing gear up and down. It's called a gear swing.

[Frodge]

[Cusser]

If the transmission is actually leaking gear oil, there will be evidence of that; so in that case I'd check periodically - like once a year - and top up if necessary.

Swing axle VWs can also leak at the boots or the rear axle seals.
_________________
1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[Zundfolge1432]