Manx Club

Hi all,

I need some advice on a local transmission shop in the San Fernando Valley area.  My buggy will only go into reverse and I'm trying to make it to the Santa Barbara Manx Club run next weekend.  AAMCO wants $2800 to replace it with a rebuilt transmission (price includes 10 hours labor).  I thought it's steep.  Please chime in if you have any thoughts or advice.

Thanks,
Dave

AAMCO is NOT the place for you. All you need is a rebuilt transmission installed. I understand you want it done quickly, but they are gouging you for expediency. Please call Doug at Jim's VW Service in Monterey Park, CA, or Russ at Old Speed in Paramount CA, or Rancho Performance Transaxles in Fullerton, CA and talk to any one of them. Even if you have to pay to have it towed, you will get better service, quality work, and a much lower price. Really, get your buggy out of there. 

Hi Dave I agree with Scott, also did you check your shifter and shift rod connector or shift rod bushing all of these can cause all kinds of problems. Had a Buddy that was going to buy a new Trans until we found the shift rod coupler was bad, easy fix. Hope you make it to Solvang. SeeYa Jay

Good Point Jay, I didn't even think about what else could be wrong. 

Dave, I just checked out the Rancho PerformanceTransaxle site and a standard rebuilt transaxle starts at $599.00, with a Type 1 Pro Street rebuilt transaxle (in swing or IRS) pricing out at $749.00 with exchange.  It's been a couple yeas since I've changed out a transaxle, but the last time it was a full days work doing it by myself. So, it could take a mechanic 10 hours to replace it, but even if they charge $100.00 an hour, you're still looking at $1,749.00 plus tax for the work. That's $1,000.00 less than AMMCO, and with a transaxle that's built by a well-known company with a good reputation. Who knows where AMMCO gets their rebuilt units from, but I'll bet they won't take into consideration the gearing necessary to turn those large diameter rear tires.  You can actually use this opportunity to upgrade you transaxle to improve drivability at the same time.
Even if your buggy isn't ready in time for Buellton . . .all is not lost, you can still come and we'll find a seat in somebody's buggy.

http://www.transaxleengineering.com/

Jeff Fields, Chatsworth. 818-998-2739

Did the trams work before? We're there any shifting issues? If it worked fine and stopped shifting, I would also check the shift coupler between the trans and the end of the shift rod. The retainer bolts might have come loose or I have even had the square housing on the late model shift connecter (it looks like a square) weld break and prevented shifting from happening. I would also check the shifter itself to make sure the 2 mounting bolts haven't loosened. Doran

How did you determine the transaxle went bad? Was it making noise before it stopped working? Did you do some work on something else, then it stopped? Like was said before, start with checking the shift rod. Many shifting issues begin there. Also, if the shifter itself is misaligned or loose, it can keep you from getting into certain gears. Finally, to pull the transaxle, just tag and remove the wires from the motor. Use a friend and a floor jack and remove the four bolts holding the motor, then just a few more bolts to drop the transaxle with the floor jack. Should only take an hour and save you a bunch of money. Then you can transport the transaxle to where ever you need to to get it worked on. We used Rancho, but they are often backed up and it might take some time. If you don't have the Haynes VW Beetle service manual, you should get it as it has step by step instructions and photos on how to do most things you might need to do on a VW based buggy.

Thanks so much for all your quick replies.  I was able to find a mechanic nearby that "loves buggies" and sure enough had a couple beetles in his shop and echoed a lot of what you guys mentioned above so it sounds like he knows what he's talking about so far.  He changed out the coupler first (it was severely worn out from what I remember anyway) but the problem persists so it looks like we're going to the trany next.  He was recommended by the local supplier of VW parts, Corbin Automotive if anyone knows him.  (yelp review looks good too).  Towing to locations kindly recommended above was too difficult since I was managing all this from out of town past couple days.  Now I'm back.  Hope to see you all in Solvang!

Oh, I was able to release it from AAMCO by the way armed with the knowledge of how much this work should really cost from here, Samba, and Facebook Manx page. Man was that a lesson!