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SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO
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oceanair
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2021 4:31 pm    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

A new tranny might not be all -- where did all of the fluid come from? The Trans cooler or the diff? Will need to be sorted out too.

Try a Trans shop -- these are not special or difficult for a trans shop to work with or install.
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?Waldo?
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2021 4:43 pm    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

Overfull with coolant or diff fluid?
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mtnhome Premium Member
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2021 4:48 pm    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

Sent a PM
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brickster
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2021 5:06 pm    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

There’s also this option. Call first as I recently ordered something there and got an email that it was out of stock and a higher price.
https://countryhomescampers.com/shop/freeway-flier-automatic-transmission/

Regarding seeing the ocean, it’s not the same, but you could see if he would be interested in Dillon Reservoir. Your wife could rent a pontoon, kayak or SUP while you cope.
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bobhill8
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2021 5:29 pm    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

Stay positive and don't beat yourself up about you might or might not have done wrong. You will figure something out and there's still a lot of summer left. I would rather be broken down with my family in CO than at Disney World any day.
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Yellow Rabbit
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2021 5:45 pm    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

Bummer. If you are still in Breck, take the family to see the troll. It’s kinda neat and might cheer everyone up by taking your mind off the van.

https://brecktroll.com/
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kguarnotta
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2021 7:10 pm    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

Sorry I can't help but I just want to 2nd the notions...
"I would rather be broken down with my family in CO than at Disney World any day."
"My boys remember the "adventures" more than the smooth,, uneventful trips.
"

During any breakdown or inconvenience my wife gets fairly upset, but I've found them to make a trip more memorable...

Good luck...
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xoo00oox
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2021 7:15 pm    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

One thing to keep in mind is that the auto section can be sourced from most any automatic VW or Audi from 1975ish to 1992. It may not have the port for an oil cooler but they work fine in the vans. You don’t even need to drop the engine or diff, just unbolt the auto section.
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skills@eurocarsplus
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2021 7:27 pm    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

xoo00oox wrote:
One thing to keep in mind is that the auto section can be sourced from most any automatic VW or Audi from 1975ish to 1992. It may not have the port for an oil cooler but they work fine in the vans. You don’t even need to drop the engine or diff, just unbolt the auto section.


although i agree...

good luck finding one. i've been looking for over a year for ANY automatic and have come up with nothing.

also FWD cases are different in terms of linkage and they have a huge dipstick tube hole in the case that needs to be dealt with. you can swap linkage easy enough

another issue is just removing the auto section could be a real nightmare if one buggered up the oil pump drive. not very easy to align in the torque converter and oil pump.

break either one of those and it's all over.

please, don't try and drive it. yes, rebuild kits are out there but there are NO hard parts meaning drums/shells/planetary etc so damage to them can be a show stopper in terms of a rebuild.

this is my one fear of being a automatic van owner. before i got it going again i had mine 100% gone thru bus shit happens.
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my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese.......
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most VW enthusiasts are stuck in 80's price land.

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Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public.

Brian wrote:
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history
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MI-Bug
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2021 7:55 pm    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

Not sure this will be of any help. But, interesting reading none the less:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=253381

I also work part time for an RV rental business and just last week one of our class C motorhomes had the tranny go out somewhere in Montana (we're based in West Michigan). The owner called all around but found no transmission shops within 60 miles. But, somehow managed to get the name and phone number of the recently retired local transmission guru. He was able to get the motorhome repaired and back on the road. Providence! So if it's any comfort, you are not alone.

Hoping for a good outcome for you!
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Corwyn Premium Member
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:07 pm    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

Embrace the adventure! Of course, Im retired so have all the time in the world . . .
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danfromsyr
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2021 9:32 pm    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

I do not believe this is exclusively what happened.
you need to tell me/us how you hooked up your subaru conversion throttle linkage?
from this only image I can find on your other thread. it appears you have a cable to the throttle body.
is this cable a direct feed from the pedal? what do you have going to the automatic transmission?
the AT REQUIRES a throttle input.
the throttle 'relay lever' on the side of the transmission is the manual valve
this tells the transmission if you are softly accelerating through a neighborhood OR heavy footing it on an onramp.
if this is not hooked up it will shift too softly and burn out the clutches. with never fully engaging the 'gears'
we learned this the hard way on an early 5cyl turbo build.

soo knee bone connected to the hip bone..
how is your throttle linkage run?

crobox wrote:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


This is apparently true.
I'm embarrassed to admit, but I believe this is what happened


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

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skills@eurocarsplus
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2021 10:12 pm    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

danfromsyr wrote:
I do not believe this is exclusively what happened.
you need to tell me/us how you hooked up your subaru conversion throttle linkage?


from his post directly under that photo:

Quote:
One of the cooler things I did was this little intermediate arm mechanism in the throttle cable system which allows the proper functioning of the automatic transmission kick-down. Basically, the two arms act as one because of a torsion spring sandwiched between them, until the arm which is cabled to the throttle shaft reached its hard stop. Then the other arm, cabled to the accelerator pedal, can move just a bit further, which enables the transmission kick-down. It works perfectly.


without seeing the rest of it, it sounds to me like it's hooked up properly
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gprudenciop wrote:

my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese.......
[email protected] wrote:
most VW enthusiasts are stuck in 80's price land.

Jake Raby wrote:
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public.

Brian wrote:
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history
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danfromsyr
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:15 am    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

OK, thanks, missed that at midnight..
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joetiger Premium Member
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:59 am    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

Give John at Urabus a call. He's a very good dude and is about 70 miles south in Buena Vista. He might be able to offer some options.

(303) 921-0601
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Zeitgeist 13
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2021 7:06 am    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

Steve M. wrote:


Aside from all the negativity, how was the trip up to this point?


"Besides all that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?"
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crobox
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2021 7:21 am    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

Hey, thanks everybody for the outpouring of ideas.
I spoke to about 4 different people here in CO yesterday on the phone, looking for a replacement transmission, but no one actually had one. John from URABUS was nice, but couldn’t really help.
In these various phone calls I learned more about the transmission than I’d known previously. The consensus across three different conversations with knowledgeable people is that the “direct / reverse clutch” died. This accounts for the loss of reverse and high gear. I also learned that the failure of the transmission was likely not related to overfilling. The “damage” that the Bentley threatens is failure of seals and associated leaks, not total transmission / clutch failure.
The only transmissions I was able to locate were one near Colorado Springs, but still in a van and condition unknown, and another 8 hours away in Utah from the classifieds. But my shop is only 4.5 hours away.
So we’ve given up on the dream of a trip to the coast, which was the goal of working on the van all summer. Oh well, sometimes life has other plans. My wife and son are getting used to it.
I’m working on a ride home to Taos, and then I will come back up in my truck and trailer and tow the beast home. I’ll have time to work out the best solution.
Cheers,
Thanks again
Christian
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Last edited by crobox on Fri Jul 30, 2021 10:53 am; edited 1 time in total
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dobryan
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2021 7:34 am    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

Christian, Sorry to hear your troubles. There will be a next time. Safe travels.
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Steve M.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2021 8:32 am    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

Well if you are going to rent a vehicle to drive home get something with a little room and maybe you can make some adventures on the way.
Sorry to hear the problems, but once you get it organized and sorted they'll be good times ahead
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blackglasspirate
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:48 am    Post subject: Re: SOS: stuck with family and dead auto trans near Breckenridge, CO Reply with quote

I've got an automatic sitting in Durango, CO. It was supposedly still driving fine when it was removed, but it's been sitting with no fluid in the auto section for a few years now so I wouldn't really trust it to just bolt in and go. Maybe if you were lucky. I do, however, have some experience rebuilding these (out of necessity...), so in a pinch we could probably at least get it to working order. I'm definitely no expert and it may not be a longer term solution, I'm just talking about getting it back on the road.

Either way, I have a used trans here if you need it.
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