Robert,
thanks again for your help.  I think that your idea about the chain
being too tight is probably correct.  I had the chain fairly tight
last night to limit front-to-back movement of the tranny on the
plywood platform attached to my jack. I was trying to loosen it, but
the chains were actually supporting some of the weight of the tranny,
so it was difficult to loosen.  I think that I may add some additional
2x4's to limit movement front-to-rear and then make the chains looser.
 This modification to the holder plus lowering the van might do the
trick.

BTW, I never feel that I'm the only one with a vanagon.  The community
is extremely supportive.  :-)   The transmission is quite dirty with
oil and dirt and I've been reluctant to ask for a helping hand from
anyone.  I haven't reached the point where I'm in a tight enough jam
to ask a generous person to join me crawling around in tranny fluid.
If I don't get this tranny in by labor day weekend, I'll be asking for
help.  However, I think that I'm close to tranny success.   :-)   With
this last set of info that I can do the job in the next few days.  If
not, people will be hearing more questions from me.  ( ^_^)

Thanks again.

Regards,
Craig

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 11:08:13 -0700, Robert Fisher <refisher@mchsi.com> wrote:

> Just to clarify; when I did my tranny it wasn't strapped down in any way- if
> yours is bound down too tight, it might be part of the problem.
> When you get the first bolt caught in the hole, and then gently continue
> jacking, it forces the tranny to rotate a bit on that pivot point. It just
> naturally lifts the other side to where it lines up, assuming the engine is
> lowered enough to create the proper angle. As for the short floor jack under
> the engine, I've often used a cinder block as a base to set the jack on; if
> it isn't cracked and you're not trying to lift the world with it, it
> generally works well.
>