You'll probably hear from others better informed than me, but I did a 
transmission-only pull last summer on a diesel. Since the transmission 
is the same, here's what to expect:

1. Your biggest concern will be lifting and lowering. I bought a 
transmission jack adapter for my floor jack, but ended up not being 
able to use it because my floor jack couldn't get the back of the van 
up high enough to allow me to use it. It turned out to be no problem, 
though. I placed the transmission on the cup of the floor jack at the 
balance point, and rolled all under the car, steadying the transmission 
with my free hand. Still steadying as I pumped it up to the proper 
height. It helps if your engine can tilt down some toward the front, as 
the diesel does. You may have to think about how to acheive a little 
tilt with the waterboxer, presuming that is what you have. Some people 
have lain on their backs, lifted the transmission to their chest, and 
put it in that way. It could work.

Once the front bracket hits the body near where it will mount, it is a 
simple matter to match height and slide the transmission into place. I 
can't think of an easier car I've done that on.

2. The axles will be messy when you drop them. Have some good rags, 
bags and ties. Tie them up out of the way as soon as you can.

3. The CV joint fasteners must be clean and the wrench tapped home 
before you attempt to loosen them. Easy to mess up.

4. Put the engine cover back on when you're not working on the car. I 
didn't, and had to clean out a huge bird nest from the poptop canvas. 
It's springtime, and birds will find their way into a parked van if you 
leave it for even an hour.

5. Drop the shift mechanism at the rear only. Don't do anything that 
will upset the shift adjustment. You'll be sorry if you do.

Enjoy the repair. It's about the only thing you'll ever do to a vanagon 
where you don't have to bleed the cooling system when you're done.

Jim

On Apr 6, 2005, at 6:21 PM, jimt wrote:

> All the years I have pulled VW apart this will be the first time I am 
> going
> to try a transmission only pull.  Any tricks or warnings?
>
> Thanks
>
>
>
> ����������������������������������������
> jimt
> Planned insanity is best.
> Remember that sanity is optional.
> http://www.tactical-bus.info (tech info)
> http://www.westydriver.com
>