I want to drain (and refill with synthetic oil) both the automatic
transmission and the final drive (differential) on my 1988 Vanagon.  As the
Bentley manual is spectacularly unhelpful on this, I have some questions.

For the automatic transmission, I have tried draining it using the dipstick
tube (with a plastic tube down into it and a hand pump) to siphon the oil
out, with very limited results (maybe 1/2 cup - it's a cheap pump).  As I
plan on replacing the pan gasket and filter (screen) in the transmission,
can I just crack open the pan (carefully) to drain the transmission?  I have
a very large (5 gallon) oil drain container to drain into, probably 3'x2',
and lots of shop towels...

As for the final drive, Bentley shows a bottom pan with no drain plug and
shows no fill plug either.  Where are these located, so that I can find them
when I crawl under there?  Is it best to remove the pan on this to inspect
it as well?

Don in Reidsville, NC
1987 Vanagon GL Syncro (Suzie) - For Sale!
1988 Vanagon GL (Sylvia)
Why do they call it a fixed income, when mine is always broke?