2052 transmission tool wanted to buy/rent/borrow

[DanHoug]

i'm stuck in my trans rebuild at the point where i need VAG tool 2052 to unscrew the 1st gear collar holding the pinion bearing to the pinion shaft. anyone have a source that sells it? Baum and Samstagsales are out of stock, eBay has not produced.

i'd be interested in buying/renting/borrowing (with deposit of course). otherwise i can send the shaft out to have the bearing replaced but i've gotten this far on my own it want to do it myself!

-dan

[Alan Brase]

Dan,
I'm one state south of you. I HAD one. Got a nasty divorce. Bad people were in my shop for a couple years till I got my ex evicted. Now I cannot find the outer clamp part. If you want to borrow the other half, pm me.
Al
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Al Brase
Projects: 67 sunroof bug, 67 Porsche 912 Targa, 70 Westy
Dec 1955 Single Cab pickup WANT 15" BUS RIMS dated 8/55, thru 12/55
To New owners: 1969 doublecab, 1971 Dormobile
Vanagons:
80 P27 Westy JUL 1979, 3rd oldest known US
83 1.6TD Vanagon, 87 Wolfie Westy daily driver, swap meet home

[IdahoDoug]

Pic? I dont remember needing special tools beyond the pinion.
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1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[Alan Brase]

[danfromsyr]

Baum tools indicates it's for the pinion.

http://www.baumtools.com/shop/35manual-transmissio...NtB4fkrLIU

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[IdahoDoug]

Ah - got it. I stripped down only my mainshaft and didn't have to strip the pinion shaft completely - just needed to get the pinion bearing off with a borrowed tool for that. Wow, that's a pricey tool. Maybe call around. I paid a shop handsomely to use their tool for a few minutes, and I've done stuff like that before when the tool is scarce or pricey.

On some other make forums I participate in, there's a nice tool loaner vibe where a tool used once in a lifetime is often passed around a bit.

Doug
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1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[Alan Brase]

[DanHoug]

frustratingly, Weddle ($288!!), Baum, Samstag, and SnapOn Special Tools ($108!!) are all out of stock with shipments coming in "sometime this summer".

what are y'alls opinion on changing the pinion bearing at 225k miles.. seems like a no-brainer but the bearing feels very smooth. Rick from Long Enterprises cautions to not be fooled by a smooth pinion, that it really needs to be taken apart and examined. Weddle has the FAG pinion for $110 so i'm more than game to change it if i can get it apart.

-dan

[MR GAS]

I bought a couple from this guy in the samba ADS recently $45 each !! Prescott Phillips ad for tool is down but maybe....
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Transaxles Rebuilt, Repaired and Re Geared 25 years. www.MRGASRebuilds.com

[MR GAS]

definitely change the pinion bearing at 225k! stick the old part in the case I bet it has radial play (no Preload) at that mileage.
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Transaxles Rebuilt, Repaired and Re Geared 25 years. www.MRGASRebuilds.com

[Waldi]

Eeasy to do this tool by yourself for.
Take 3cm long tube with the right inside diametr and weld some points inside.
Weld a ca. 1m 2-3cm diametr tube to it.
Weld a old 3rd or 4th gear wheel to your metal work bench for holding the pinion.

[DanHoug]

thanks for the advice on the pinion, Mr Gas. the bearing was tight in all directions when i removed it but i'll replace it anyway once i get or make the tool. which brings me to Waldi's suggestions that i make it...

the 2052 tool looks to me made of steel but i wonder if i drill out a block of aluminum to the right diameter and slot it for clamping power if that alone would grip well enough to loosen/tighten? i'm worried about scratching the 1st gear needle bearing surface with steel if the shaft rotates a bit.

i've been thinking of avoiding the notches in the tool construction just because they'd be so fiddly to make, but they probably serve a critical function to prevent said shaft rotation.

-dan

[DanHoug]

i just bought this tool from Prescott Phillips that will grab the first gear surface splines, thanks for the lead Mr GAS. i like this tool because it doesn't touch the needle bearing surface at all. bought the last one, it was $50. Prescott said he just holds the pinion in a soft jawed vise. can finally move forward on the rebuild!

[metropoj]

http://thedubshop.com/pinion-nut-wrench-type-2-bus/

A little late to the party, I know.

This tool above looks similar to the Prescott Phillips tool offering posted above, but yet it looks different than the original tool pics, namely the nut with the splines inside it.

1. Can this tool be used on a later model ( 86 ) watercooled 2wd tranny ? No, I haven't had a chance to ask the company who is selling this yet. This tool says 15 spline but early aircooled up to 83 listed.

2. Why does the nut part of the tool look so different than the original pic at the start of this thread ? I don't have a lot of experience with the tool or the area to use it yet ...
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John.
86 TiiCo powered Westy.

[MarkWard]

Will that tool fit the 86 transaxle? It should. Will it work? The original tool was designed to "hold" the pinion shaft in a vice while you used the other tool with the splines and hex above to turn the pinion shaft to torque the assembly together. If you use the tool directly above, you will need to figure out a way to hold the shaft without damaging it, while you tighten the pinion nut. I'm not doing a good job explaining this. I purchased a new tool from Weddle. Well worth the cost in my opinion considering you are paying $300 round trip shipping cross country for a rebuilt transaxle.
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[metropoj]

Ah, I found a pic of how tool is used ... interesting ...

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1233374.jpg
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John.
86 TiiCo powered Westy.

[MarkWard]

I took it one step further and cut a socket in half and welded in tube so that I could actually torque it to spec as the manual shows. Not saying there isn't a way to use the simpler tool above. I don't know the torque off hand, but you do heat the nut/race, prior to installing and then torqueing it to spec. When I took my syncro transmission apart, I found that nut to be finger tight. Technically that sets the pinion bearing preload. So it is probably important to get it torque to spec.

I like to buy tools when I need them even if only for occasional use. I'm probably going to buy the pinion nut fixture for the front differential as well. Weddle lists that one, but don't need it for the moment.

Over the years, I have worked with a lot of factory techs, that refuse to go into transaxles. Its like they think they are full of spiders and snakes. Personally, I'd rather rebuild transmissions and transaxles vs rebuilding engines.

If you come up with a way to use the tool above, please post a picture of how you secured the pinion shaft. You could make a fixture from a used gear that you would sacrifice to the cause.
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[gears]

A very kind Samba member saw that I needed the long socket (for the longer Syncro pinion, not shown in Bentley illustrations), and made one for me : ^)

I still find that holding the assembly in a press is a far more secure way of performing the job .. 152 ft/lbs is a fair amount.

The simpler PHP tool shown would work fine, although not precise with torque amount. Personally, I always use red Loctite for a little extra insurance.
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aka Pablo, Geary
9.36 @ 146 in '86 Hot & Sticky
'90 Syncro Westy SVX
'87 Syncro GL 2.5
https://guardtransaxle.com

[metropoj]

Thanks for the input guys, appreciated.

Tranny internals always seemed foreign to me compared to tearing down an aircooled motor. Mind you, I never got down into bearings or things like that.

And reading the threads, it seems like you need to mark a lot of things and check many settings, etc during dismantle otherwise you need a lot of special tools to re set things properly ...

I'm going to dive into the Bentley and read up more on dismantling.

I read some people get creative making up some other tools with JB Weld, or Waldi making tools from other pieces as also suggested here. I wish i had some spare pieces to do that with ...

Was anyone ever able to get a CD copy of the Long Enterprises CD on tranny rebuild ? I ask because someone mentioned in a thread they were waiting to hear back and I wondered if they ever got it ...


The thing is just sitting on the floor anyways, I should open it up and see what's inside, maybe some new bearings and a few parts would save it ...
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John.
86 TiiCo powered Westy.

[DanHoug]

i have the Long CD and they are probably still available. it goes over the 091 used in breadloafs, not specifically the 091/1 of the vanagon but there is enough useful info to make it very worthwhile. i wish the photos had been in higher resolution as there was still room left on the CD for the data.
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-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.

'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd

Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com