trans help

joemama · Post by **joemama** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 10:23 pm

Is there any way to check the condition of a trans once its out of the car? I drained the oil and did not see any obvious metal, the drain plug had some black stuff on it, again no large chunks of metal. Working on my sons 71 bug, bought without an engine, planning on changing front seal, tailshaft bushing and seal, but would be nice to know more about the condition of the trans before it goes back into the car with the engine. Thanks for any ideas.

TMc2548 · Post by **TMc2548** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 12:03 am

Not really sure you'd be able to tell without actually driving it. The black stuff on the drain plug is somewhat normal. The only thing to check other than geal oil condition would be to see if the trans rotates well enough in each gear. Raise the rear wheels off the ground and with the shifter in each gear turn one of the rear wheels with the other blocked. This will check the diff too. Each gear can be checked this way for feel. Not really scientific but it would get you a little more info. As long as you don't feel or hear and thing crunch or grind I guess you'd be OK. At least that's what I'm telling myself. I'm in the same boat as you are. I wasn't able to drive the donor at all so I don't know the condition of my trans either.

jsturtlebuggy · Post by **jsturtlebuggy** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 3:58 am

Really hard to tell what kind of condition until you are able to put it under a load with the engine. If no big chunks on drain plugs or plugs (some years had 2) or brass flakes or metal flakes floating in oil you may be all right.

fubar · Post by **fubar** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 4:53 pm

Something I would consider is where it came from. If it came from a dune buggy with a large motor and large tires it is probably shot. Personally I have never heard of a VW trans failure in a car with a stock motor and tires. (believe me when I say that I tried) The 3-rib bus in my yellow buggy sat in a field for over 30 years and works fine. I changed the oil and input seal. It has a little gear wine, but I belive that is normal on those . If not maybe I will have the money to fix it when it splodes. Something else to consider is how much it cost vs rebuilding it. I cannot see puting a $1200 trans into a car when a stock $300 wrecking yard one will do. Plus if you see the car that it came out of and it is really crinkled in the front end it means that at least one of the forward gears was working at impact....

joemama · Post by **joemama** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 6:16 pm

Thanks guys. Guess I will just have to move on and just give the trans a try, with a little luck it might be O.K. And Fubar, looks like reverse was probably working O.K. also, or maybe the brake lights were not?