Per--Yes you are going to have more questions..guarraanteeeeed..  Your
3rd/4th slider hub has failed...I wil be happy to answer your
questions..should I post to the list or P-mail...I don't know if anyone
else would find the info usefull....or just waste more
bandwidth....(personal pet peeve) I usually respond off list.
 You are going to need a couple special tools...the big nut that holds
the pinion bearing into the case requires a special tool (its 4" in diam)
to start with. The flange retainers that the final drive flanges go into
are a wierd tool..and HAVE to be marked for reinstallation to keep the
R&P backlash & preload close to correct.
You DO have to remove the diff and pinion and mainshaft all from the
case...press required..patience required
Yes you can replace just the broken 3/4 slider assy and maybe 3rd or 4th
syncro's and leave all else.
Its a 6hr job minimum for me to do...quadruple at least for you....Good
Luck
Daryl of AA Transaxle (Seattle, Wa.)

>>I was just driving along, and when I was to pull it out of 3rd into
4th,
it was stuck in 3rd. I couldn't get it out of 3rd until the speed was
below 50 km/h (30 mph), and it was not smooth. It sorta clunked out of
gear. It shifted smoothly into 4th, and also into 3rd. It goes out of
4th smoothly, but not 3rd. 1st and 2nd is unaffected.

So what went wrong? Since it will not go out of 3rd smoothly, but 4th
seems to be ok, I assume it is the 3rd synchronizing ring, not the
3rd/4th synchronizer. And since I am on a very strict budget now, just
dropping the van or even the tranny off at the dealer is not an option.
That would cost as much as the value of the Van with a good tranny!

So I figured I could maybe do what very few Vanagon owners would do, I
wanna go in and fix it myself. This leads to a row of questions. I
looked through the pages of the Bentley (thanks again, Tony!), and it
looks like I may be able to do the job myself.

I feel qualified to the job, I do have access to a 25 ton hydraulic
press, and access to a mechanic that has worked a few years in a Vanagon
workshop. I have not spoken with him yet, but am going to do so in the
weekend. He was about to buy the car, but backed out when he heard of
the tranny problems. Maybe, maybe he will buy it if I fix the tranny.

The things I wonder about:

1) It is a bit unclear in the manual, do I have to remove the diff to
get the main shaft out, and do I have to remove the pinion shaft to
remove the main shaft?

2) Can I get through this "rebuild" by just replacing the damaged parts,
and leave everything else as is? I was hopping for this, as it would be
cheapest. I don't care how long it will last, I'm selling the car.

3) Which parts "must" be replaced except the 3rd/4th synchronizer and
the 3rd and 4th Synchronizing rings?

TIA, more questions are on the way, guaranteed.
)