93 EV Auto trans issues

[69tr6r]

Hi, first time poster here. I've been looking for an EV for a while now and came across a 1993 Westfalia with the auto trans. Van has 150k on it and has had some recent maintenance done, including a new water pump, timing belt and serpentine belt. Additionally it has had a trans fluid change recently. The owner has had it for 3 years, but only put about 3000 miles on it.

On the test drive I noticed 2 things with regards to the transmission.

1. When in Drive and holding the van with the brakes on, the engine really vibrated and it seemed like it was hard to hold from creeping forward. Almost like the stall speed was too high.

2. When coasting along with no throttle, the van would occasionally jerk back and forth.

Other than that, it drove and shifted fine.

Both of these things caused me to walk away, even though the asking price of $3k was really tempting.

Has anyone had these issues and found something wrong besides needing a transmission rebuild? Fingers crossed, but very doubtful!

Thanks in advance.

[danfromsyr]

a recent trans fluid change is a yellow flag in my book
it may mean the PO knows there's something amiss and gave that a try then is punting the project
it may be the cause of the lurching, if it's too full, or the wrong kind of fluid.

what condition is the corrosion on the body and within the engine compartment?
the ecu, coil and radiator fan controls are in a bad location rust wise on EVs.
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[gakali]

The vibration could have been a bad engine mount. Can't say about the hard to hold part...

As for the jerking while coasting it is possible you were feeling the trans downshifting or maybe kicking in and out of gear. Doesn't sound right though.

If the van is super nice and your're willing to deal with a possible trans issue a $3000 price could work. Price a tranny rebuild, deduct it from the vans estimated value, compare it to the $3000 asking price and go from there. That's what I would do if the van was really nice other than the tranny concern.

A $3000 low mileage camper in decent shape that didn't need something major (like a transmission rebuild) would be like winning the lottery. To me anyways.
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Why do it? Because you can.

1999 Eurovan
2003 A4 Avant 1.8T Quattro
1992 W201 190e 2.3 Mercedes
2006 W220 S600 V12 Twin Turbo 5.5 Mercedes

[69tr6r]

The engine compartment is pretty clean. There is some minor rust on the edge of one fender and a little starting on a vertical seam. Honestly not that bad considering the New England location.

I thought of the same things as you guys, possibly a bad motor mount, wrong or overfilled fluid, etc. I'm also thinking it could be the torque converter, which would end up leading to a full rebuild, I'm sure.

The van was pretty nice, and even adding the cost of a full transmission rebuild, would probably be a decent deal compared to what I'm seeing in the classifieds here, ebay and craigslist.

A couple of other things I didn't mention - the owners service records had shown the power steering lines were notably rusty but fluid was not leaking. Although it did seem hard to steer, but I've never driven a Eurovan before.

The AC was not cold. The owner said that he had it recharged and it did work but only lasted a month before going warm again. So definitely a leak somewhere.

Thanks guys!