1) Should I get a new one now, or wait for this one to bust? I plan to keep
the van for few more years.
----------------------- Clip ------------------------------
My 3-4 slider failed in Monroe LA. That was 300 miles from home. My Westy
has 155K on it.
Fortunately I was only 10 miles from the freeway and 1-3 gears got me to the
freeway.
Once on the freeway and Interstate highway I persuaded it into 4th and made
a non stop (one fuel stop) into Dallas at 4 AM in the morning.
Even if the 3-4 slider fails you'll most likely still have 4th. You might
just need to kill the engine to get it out of 4th or kill the engine to get
it into 4th.
Look for Gas Stations on hills with a down hill run when you stop for fuel
if your tranny locks in any gear.

Stan Wilder
www.engineceramics.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Daniel Brideau" <dan@HOBBYETC.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 10:41 AM
Subject: should I get a new transmission?

Hi,

I'm going to take a 3 week road trip in September.  My '85 is running well,
and I'm confident it will stay that way.

The only item I'm concerned with is the infamous 3-4th gear failure.  My
Westfalia just flipped 140,000 miles - from what I read, this is the spot on
the odometer when the transmission is most likely to fail.

1) Should I get a new one now, or wait for this one to bust? I plan to keep
the van for few more years.

2) What's an easy way to see if the trans has been replaced before?  I
bought the van without any records of service.  I did have it out to replace
the clutch last fall, but didn't notice any signs of work. (but I wasn't
really looking)

Thanks for your guidance,

Dan