When I did mine I had to relax the tension on the diff by backing off
the lockring on the outside of the tranny. You guys managed to get the
input shaft out without this? 

-----Original Message-----
From: mark drillock [mailto:drillock@EARTHLINK.NET] 
Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2002 8:06 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: removing diesel input shaft

The trick is you have to slide the sleeve out far enough so it exposes
the joint between the input shaft and the tranny main shaft. The only
way to do this is to turn the diff until one of the recesses in the diff
line up with the sleeve. Then the sleeve can move into the recess and
expose the joint.

You can't see the exposed joint but you may be able to feel it. Once the
sleeve is no longer bridging both parts you unscrew the input shaft CCW
and remove it and the sleeve.

Mark

Bradley Flubacher wrote:
>
> Hi everyone! I'm in the process of putting together a working 
> transmission for my '82 diesel vanagon. I have to remove the input 
> shaft and install it on another unit. I have removed the clip (slid it

> up the shaft a bit), and tried to unthread it. It won't budge. What's 
> the trick to removing the shaft?
>
> Thanks,
> Bradley Flubacher
> State College, PA