I would think it is the pilot bearing ...They seem to work ok cold and get
worse when hot when they first go bad...Gotta pull the trans anyway, so repl
the clutch and change teh trasn fluid just for giggles...Daryl of AA Trans
----- Original Message -----
From: "Shawn Wright" <swright@ZUIKO.SLS.BC.CA>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, September 25, 2005 6:11 PM
Subject: 4 speed shift problems

>A friend of a friend just drove their '84 Westy from Quebec to BC, and it
> began having shifting problems in the Rockies, trouble getting into gear
> without grinding. I spoke to the them on the phone and it sounds like it
> is
> common to all gears. I drove it today, and couldn't get it to *not* shift,
> but it
> was cold, and I could detect slightly more difficult shifting after only 5
> minutes of driving. I noticed it appears to be leaking gear oil, so I
> suspect
> low gear oil causing overheating. Master and slave cylinders are new, and
> operate fine, no sign of air in the system. Clutch is definitely worn, but
> not
> slipping. No tranny noises, but I didn't get it to highway speed, only
> about
> 40mph on backroads, and engine had bad lifter noise, so hard to hear
> anything else.
> I'm advising they get the oil drained & measure the amount which comes
> out, check for metal in the oil and on the plug, and refill. Depending on
> the
> amount/size of metal, either investigate further or just drive it. I would
> do it
> myself, but am simply swamped trying to get ready for a trip in 3 days, so
> gave them the name of the only local guy I would recommend. Any further
> insights would be appreciated. I've heard of the 3/4 slider problem of
> course, but does it affect all gears? Does it come and go?
>
> It's an '84 4 speed, with 170k miles, originally from Vermont. They
> believe
> it to be original clutch and tranny.
>
> Thanks.Shawn Wright
> http://zuiko.sls.bc.ca/~swright
> '85 Jetta D
> '88 Westy 1.6TD 5 speed
> (see progress at http://members.shaw.ca/vwdiesels)
> '82 Diesel Westy
>