Transaxle Sudden Death Syndrome. Really?

[LarsHepping]

A friend of mine sent me this GoWesty article last week and it’s got me thinking over so many questions

https://gowesty.com/blogs/article-library/transaxle-sudden-death-syndrome-in-vanagons

I had heard that there were some trans issues with these vans but is there really a syndrome? I didn’t realize that all of us with a pre 1990 transaxle are getting closer every time we drive to calling AAA from the side of the road when our 3/4 hub shatters. But I don’t see a lot of sudden transaxle death threads on this forum so I dunno what to think.

Has anyone been a victim of this syndrome?

I got a little over 102k miles on my original transaxle in my 85 and now whenever I shift from 3rd to 4th or 4th to 3rd I clench up a little. Is there anything we can do to baby the trans until we can get it rebuilt?

[MarkWard]

and

Not sure I'd use syndrome to describe it or sudden, but here is the mainshaft out of my 87 syncro that was still shifting fine. Member Sodo will be adding to your thread.
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[LarsHepping]

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WOW!!! That looks awful. And it was shifting fine? How many miles were on it?

[ZsZ]

I bought a 5spd tranny from one of my friends like 8-10 yrs ago when he converted his to auto. Standard 2.1 DJ passenger van, ~2-300k kms.
I disassembled it as I was to put in longer 5th.
The 4/5 hub (same as 3/4 on 4spd) had all its "ears" were broken off but still in place. No shift problems whatsoever.
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Zoltan
1.9 MTdi 2wd Multivan (ex Caravelle)
Van since 2006, engine since 2008

[Abscate]

Must get to 10 posts before Sodo……
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.ssS!

[MarkWard]

Here is another post to get to 10 Even though the hub was broken in 2 parts, the slider ring was holding it all together. The problem is when the parts get into the other parts that you have on the road trouble. How does your drain magnet look?
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[dobryan]

I have broken a 3/4 slider on my '87 at about 175,000 miles. I drove home in 3rd.... and kept my fingers crossed it did not ingest anything along the way.

At your low mileage I would not sweat it at all. You are very likely fine for many 10's of thousands of miles. I know it is an issue for some at about 175,000+.

Mine happened when I was with another Vanagon on the highway and we decided to see who was faster from 30-70 mph. He has a 5 cylinder Audi turbodiesel and I have a Subie 2.5. I beat him but could not get back into 4th gear after that experiment. So I abused it and got what was coming to me. As usual...
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 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

[E1]

It almost sickens me how fear has invaded our culture for profit in almost every way possible. Don’t buy into it.

Shift nicely, change oil, don’t hammer on it when hot, don’t throw 150 hp at it, pull over to cool if ever worried and every time.

It’s bemusing if not telling that the guys making us fear our own vans also have theirs torn apart more than the rest of us.

Our first van’s tranny went over 300,000 miles, possibly only on a single oil change. One very simple life enhancer is warming up the box before driving off and forcing into gear. I won’t bother repeating the value of rev-matching on downshifts, Oops, did it, to be ignored again.

Also know that GoWesty rebuilds transmissions for profit.

Let’s keep the fear going so our vans rapidly become unsellable, too. Just be nice to them, and drive and enjoy.
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‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
— Colin Chapman

[silversync]

Sure, twice. Both the 3/4 slider.

Once on our '89 Blue Star that we bought new, it happened after a few years. Sad news is we bought the "extended warranty" that was supposed to cover the repair cost. But it turns out that we didn't check the warranty very well. It was issued / backed by the dealer, not VW of America. And the dealer closed, so we were out the cost of the warranty without any recovery at all.

And then with my current Syncro, at about 185K miles. This time the shifter was stuck, in 2nd gear IIRC, and would not move. We were about 3 hours into a 5-day trip. We towed it back home (200 miles) and cancelled the trip.
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Roland: '89 Syncro, '02 911 C4S, '10 Audi A4 Avant

[crazyvwvanman]

The "sudden death" part is a little overblown but the failure is quite common with enough miles on the tranny.
The failure happens gradually and often gives advance notice to an attentive driver.

My first rebuilt tranny was 23 years ago and when I dropped it off the tranny guy warned me that there would be an additional charge for the updated part.
After he opened it up he saw that the part had already been replaced with the newer version so I saved a few bucks.

This was an 87 Syncro tranny.

Mark

[Vanagon Nut]

[E1]

Neil, our van stuck in 4th a couple months ago, and was a combo of:
— Rushing to get somewhere on the Interstate at 70+
— Warm enough day
— Bad fluid in slave
— Dirty shift box

Basically, user errors.
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‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
— Colin Chapman

[crazyvwvanman]

Consider yourself warned.....

[E1]

On not ignoring my own gut again, absolutely!
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‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
— Colin Chapman

[Vanagon Nut]

[Van den Broke]

I bought mine with a transaxle that was difficult to get into third or fourth without babying the thing. So I didn't go on long trips for two years until I got around to fixing it, after reading up on the "sudden death syndrome".

When I took it apart I discovered the third and fourth synchro rings were completely worn out, and the 3/4 hub was cracked. I bought the Weddle improved hub and new rings, and didn't buy a ton of other parts I was supposed to. I'm not too worried.

This beast has about 95,000 miles on it, most of it with a Subaru 2.2 turbo engine.

[E1]

[Sodo]

Timing belts run longer than the recommended limit too.
Lots of people do it, and are successful.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[E1]

True… but that’s rubber and prone to high-revvers and/or sudden and dramatic rpm changes by the mechanically insensitive.

I guess what I wonder is why some need rebuilds at 100K, with and without clean oil, and others go 300+?

These discussions invariably focus away from owner errors, as I admitted my own tentative one above. Won’t happen again.

The idea of replacing great, original parts that could well go 300 as ours did, based on a miles-traveled number alone is flawed theory, as are so many premature expenditures. False economy far more often than not, and “logic” possible to apply to every moving system, and everything else in life. Read that, “a total waste of money” well in advance of actual need.

In some cases, it’s valid, Yes. And everyone’s free to spend as they wish, but we owe fellow owners ways to keep going as opposed to keeping parked.

Out here on the road, the travelers we discuss this with agree so much doom-and-gloom on this otherwise-oft-helpful site is unnecessarily freaking out owners who don’t see these vans as weekend toys and endless money pits — but rather, machines to care for and enjoy.
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‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
— Colin Chapman

[crazyvwvanman]

I'm ok with cautious optimism, I even favor it at times.

Mark