Jeff Birk wrote:

> So I've done all the checks on my AT and I believe the seal is gone between
> the final drive and AT; smelly, dark, overfilled AT and underfilled final
> drive (after replacing final drive fluid 1 yr ago)...and I'm wondering 'who
> around here can fix this thing?'.  I can remove the drivetrain, separate
> the engine from trans, maybe separate AT from final drive but then what?
> Do I have a shop rebuild it?  Will they want the van intact before working
> the trans?  Does anyone know of a reputable AT rebuilder?  I once owned a
> SAAB and it was going to cost me $3500 for a reman tranny...I traded it for
> something else but that's another story.
> I've read on the archives (search keeps timing out tonight) about AT's from
> Golfs or Jettas or Audis being of similar specs that could be used in the
> Vanagon application...anyone know the story here?  Any conversions out
> there?
>
> Any help is most appreciated.
>
> Jeff Birk
> '89 Wolfsburg GL - shifting with a funky jitter and getting worse
> '82 MB240D
> '59 Commando Runabout - with tailfins

My daughter and I rebuilt the AT from our 84 about 5 years ago.  It had been
"rebuilt" poorly shortly before I got it after the same type of seal problem
that you are contemplating.  It shifted very erratically for the first couple
of years I had it and finally started to slip.  I believe that the previous
rebuilder failed to clean the gunk out of the valve body completely.  It is
sort of a hydraulic ECU that controls the shifting, very interesting to work
on.
  Anyway, I could be wrong, but I don't think that the Rabbit AT can be
substituted as a whole; the output end is rather different.  I think many of
the internal parts may be the same, but you would need to check with a Pro.  I
found most of the useful  info about the rebuilding in a Rabbit Bentley manual
since the Vanagon book had very little.  The job can be done without special
tools, if you find the right manuals and are patient and determined.
  I have not gone into the final drive (differential).  Perhaps someone else
can advise you about the seals.  I suspect that my current van (91 GL) has a
similar seal weakness, so I try to change the AT fluid and the final drive oil
regularly.
  BTW   I got a rebuilt AT for a Saab  900 in Chicago about a year ago for
$995.
I think the name of the place is Classic Imports; they have a website.
 Good luck,

Larry A.
Chicago