Could improper transmission mount be causing transmission issues

[thevanpire]

The Van: 1987 Westfalia automatic Vanagon with swapped Subaru engine with modified VW transaxle running an aftermarket final drive to reduce cruising RPM ( https://countryhomescampers.com/shop/freeway-flier-automatic-transmission/amp/ )


Issue 1: Transmission mounted with incorrect hardware (looks like Toggler Snaptoggle drywall anchors were used) and in incorrect position. Likely do to poor workmanship and failure of crossmember.

See photos:

Picture 1/2

Picture 1 is the automatic tranny from the Bentley manual as you can see there are two extra holes (circled in red) on the right next to the ground strap in the stock van picture. Picture 2 of my van shows the two holes (circled in red) are on the left side which means he mounted the transmission in the wrong holes and the transmission placement is now 1-2 inches to the right of where it should be (towards the driver's side)

Picture 3

Picture 3 shows up-close the improper hardware used to mount the transmission and an up-close of how the holes, where the transmission, should have been mounted have been modified with a bad weld job.

Issue 2: Transmission Issues

⁃Transmission will not reverse up an incline.
⁃Tranmission is slow to engage in Drive or Reverse when car first starts
⁃Heard a clunk on last drive and lost power in drive
⁃Immediately after heard grinding in reverse and could not reverse on a flat
⁃Drive home felt jerky as the van switched gears

Unsure if this is “slippage” or failure to fully engage selected gear.

Possibly related:
⁃Trouble with reverse lights
⁃Intermittent no-start no-crank condition with selector in park, resolved by shifting into neutral
⁃Accelerator pedal/linkage sloppy

Theory: that because the transaxle mount is misaligned both shift and accelerator linkages are misadjusted. Also, aware it could be an unrelated transaxle failure, and that additional torque produced by engine upgrade, and additional resistance produced by final drive will/have stressed the transaxle

I have checked my transmission fluid levels and they are good.
Also looking for advice on how to repair my cross member so transmission can be properly mounted.

[MarkWard]

There are actually 8, 8mm holes in the frame for different configurations. Your frame looks very rusted and likely the holes required were beyond the installer’s abilities to properly repair.

The non stock fasteners were probably the best they could do. As long as the transaxle did not fall out, I don’t feel the mounting is causing your problems.

The frame can properly be repaired with some metal work. Most auto shops wouldn’t have those tools or skills. There would be different degrees of repair.

[Sodo]

The proper bolt is M8x1.25.
My van had a similar problem and I drilled + threaded to M10x1.25.
The bolts hold the specified torque and no problems.
It was an “easy” and permanent repair (if you know how to thread a hole).
_________________


'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

[MarkWard]

[skills@eurocarsplus]

i saw your last thread and have to say that if your R+P really and truly has been swapped to one that "lowers your RPMs by 1,000" then your transmission is never going to be right

I have a subaru pushing a stock automatic and decided on playing with tire size vs doing the R+P

I can cruise at 80 at about 4200 rpm and all is well. if your R+P is too tall you are going to have some real issues.

That said, you have some weird shit going on with that mount, but i doubt it's 100% your issue
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[Wildthings]

If part of your problem is that after the van has sat overnight it will not move for a few seconds after starting, it is likely because the anti drain down valve buried deep in the transaxle was damage when the inner pinion shaft seal was replaced at some point in the past. To the best of my knowledge this valve can not be repaired, and you just need to leave an extra 5-10 seconds for the torque converter to refill when you start it up each day.

[MarkWard]

Upon closer inspection, it does appear when comparing the photo from the factory manual of the automatic bracket, compared to the "cheesy" photo, that the wrong set of holes were used. If thats the case, the engine mounts are likely in bind and one cv shaft is overextended and the other cv shaft is likely binding. Did you mention the year of your van? I can't see when I reply.

As I mentioned, there are two sets of 4 holes for different configurations through the years from at least 82 on.

[thevanpire]

[MarkWard]

Can’t really judge by the boot. Anyhow, with the Subaru engine, you can’t really judge the location of the trans mount by comparing to the manual. I’ve used both sets of holes depending on transmission and bracket.

You sort of got 2 posts going which gets confusing for those trying to help. You’ve got a few things going on. Going to ask a few basic questions.
1 who rebuilt the transmission and setup the ring and pinion?
2 who installed the transmission? The rebuilder or another shop?
3 was the engine conversion already done or at the same time?
4 who did the conversion?
5 what was wrong with the transmission that required it to be worked on?

I’ve installed quite a few different ratio ring and pinions for multiple types of vehicles. There hasn’t been one I’ve done where the owner hasn’t right off the bat noticed the change in reverse feel just as they are backing out after taking possession.

As I said earlier, to me the cross member likely needs to be repaired/reinforced. Most auto shops don’t have the tools for tackling this. To do it correctly, the transmission would need to be in place and supported. Most body shops wouldn’t want to deal with it. So, you are in a bit of a pickle. If you can find someone, it’s going to be expensive. I’d expect to do it proper 16 hours start to finish. Not much in materials. There are ways as suggested that shortcut the repair but getting it positioned correctly with the Subaru engine will require some attention to detail.

The transmission itself is an entire project. As mentioned, I would not have gone with the taller ring and pinion. Especially if you are in hills. Answer the above questions and we can probably make some recommendations, but long road ahead for you. What is the condition of the rest of the van rust wise?

[Sodo]

Stellar assistance here Mr MarkWard!

way back in '19 MarkWard posted some pics of the underside of that area on this thread: syncro transaxle mount plate - chassis bolts broke
I think this pic is from a 2wd/auto Vanagon.

Next post down in ^^the 2019 thread^^ is my tips how to thread M10x1.25 bolts into those holes.
Note the square weld-nuts. There's plenty of material to enlarge to M10X1.25.
_________________


'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

[MarkWard]

That’s actually the one I cut out of an 87 syncro. I was going to use it to fabricate a fixture for hole placement when converting a 2wd to syncro transaxle. Spent a lot of time locating those holes and fabricating nut plates. I’m not going to be doing anymore conversions and finally scrapped it.

I can’t tell by the poster’s picture the condition of the surrounding sheet metal. I can almost see some dribble welds. If the sheet metal is gone, those weld nuts won’t have much purchase even if tapped oversize.