How to tell if my auto is going to last

[joshtjeerdsma]

Newbie here. I am picking up an 85 westy weekender tomorrow with auto tranny and no engine. I have a suby 2.2 and harness waiting in the garage. I was just wondering if there is any way to tell if the auto is in good shape or going to last without being able to drive it? This is my first VW, but I have built many toyotas in the past so I feel I could probably rebuild the tranny with a Bently if need be. But, I dont want to spend the money on a rebuild kit if the tranny is good. The seller says that the westy has 127K miles and that the tranny was working when the engine went. Anyway to test the tranny for future reliability without hooking it up to a running engine. If it matters, this westy will not be a daily driver. I just need a reliable camper. Thanks

[peasant]

The auto tranny is not supposed to be towed with it in neutral. Book says its ok for short distances but not to exceed 30mph or 30miles. So barring that, if they said it worked good, hopefully it does. Good luck
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89 wolfsberg weekender carat
89 Westfalia

[XXX/Rx/RnR]

You can remove the pan and check the smell and color of the ATF. Replace the screen and paper gasket and check for metal chips. See if any cluch material buildup in bottom of pan. Seals to the final drive need to be r&r @ 90k miles. PO have any record of that. Clean the relief valve on top. All I can think of . Welcome and good luck.

[AtlasShrugged]

The Vanagon Automatic Transmission is a tough unit. If you are mechanically inclined, while the engine is being swapped, I would disassemble the transmission and replace the piston seals, clutch discs, "O"rings and brake band. You could make a real strong gearbox by adding internals from an Audi turbo. Double down on the torque converter seals for sure and maybe replace the torque converter with a rebuilt. The TCs will fill up with junk after many years.

The back to back seals between the transmission and transaxle need to be done for sure.

Put a remote cooler on it too.The OEM antifreeze to ATF cooler can be a problem.

At a minimum, do as XXX suggested and service the transmission

Master rebuild kit for the transmission/transaxle is about $120. The piston seals (3) are about $100. Rebuilt TC about $120 and the remote cooler about $100. It is money well spent.

[Terry Kay]

How can you tell how long the trans is going to last by looking at it externally?

You can't, it's a crap shoot.

If you reallly want to know the answer to this question, tear it down, and do as mentioned above.
Then you'll have the answer.
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T.K.

[joshtjeerdsma]

Where can I get a master rebuild kit for $120 and the piston seals for $100. I called german transaxle and they quoted me $330 for the rebuild kit. Thanks for all the good info

[JeffRobenolt]

Ever think that GTA uses the best parts they can find since they put a warranty on there trans?

I have found that it is not always best to get the cheapest parts you can find.

This is something you do not want to second guess and have to do over.

I bought everything from them and they gave a lot of tech support to me when I built mine.

And it feels good to support the people that help keep our Van hobby going.

Jeff
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[AtlasShrugged]

[JeffRobenolt]

Hopefully the kit won't have any other parts that don't fit.

I'm sure if you have any problems that transmissionpartsusa.com will answer all you questions.

Just think if you found the kit on your own, would you have noticed the seals that AtlasShrugged warned you about?

I'm all for saving $$ but if you haven't done a lot of these is it worth risking it?


Jeff
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[Vango Conversions]

I'd just run it and see what you have.

With the added power of the subaru it'll raise the ATF pressure and you're likely to blow the cooler so some sort of aftermarket cooler will be mandatory.

Otherwise, if it ain't broke... just change the filter and fluid and see how it works.

I think somone posted a likk above to a 010 transmission and the vanagon has an 090 transmission so make sure you get the right parts if you do need to do a rebuild.

I've also heard that the 3 speed autos from 2wd turbo audis are stronger so if you do need a rebuild that may make sense. The stock trans will handle a 2.2 without any problems though.

[joshtjeerdsma]

Thanks for all the replies. So far the vw forum community is way more responsive than the toyota forums im used to. This gets me excited for the step into the vw world.

[joshtjeerdsma]

Now I just have to decide if I want to source a 4 speed (what Id prefer) to better suite the subaru or just run with what I have.

[t3 kopf]

if you can afford to buy the van and do the subaru swap, then i would think it wouldn't break you to get another tranny if it turns out that this one is bad. a used one probably wouldnt cost you too much and new ones arent terribly expensive compared to what engines cost.
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'90 Carat w/ '95 phase 1 EJ22 OBD2 conversion

[Howesight]