Dennis, 

When the transmission overheats, does that prevent the transmission from
operating properly?

Conversely if there is too little ATF does it damage the van if run for a
short time period? Does that prevent the AT from operating normally?

If I had overfilled the ATF does that hurt the van?

Does the van - burp the excess out or is that bull crap?

Rob

on 7/20/06 11:06 PM, Dennis Haynes at dhaynes@optonline.net wrote:

> The breathers are basically a small pipe with a loose fitting cap on it.
> They are on top of the transmission. If they can't be seen, they are
> buried under road muck or missing. If your mechanic does not know where
> they are, what they look like, and how they work I would be a little
> concerned. Maybe just a memory lapse. Yes, they are easy to clean and
> fix. If that is not the problem, then you need to find a cause of
> overheating. 
> 
> Dennis 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
> Of robertmstewart
> Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2006 10:49 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: AT Fluid Burping out of ATF Dip Stick Tube? Causes Trans
> Malfunction, 88 Auto
> 
> Dennis, 
> 
> I am not sure what you mean by the breather, where on the van is it
> located?
> I am not a mechanic so please excuse my ignorance.
> 
> What are my options, what should I tell the mechanic's to look for?
> 
> Is this something fixable?
> 
> Does this mean I need a new tranny?
> 
> Can I actually fix this?
> 
> Thanks again, 
> rob
> 
> 
> on 7/20/06 10:26 PM, Dennis Haynes at dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET wrote:
> 
>> The first thing to check is the breather on top. There are two of
> them.
>> One is for the differential and the other for the auto section. They
>> tend to get blocked with road dirt. As the van is driven, the fluid in
>> the torque converter heats up and expands rapidly. If air can��t escape
>> out the breather, fluid will be pushed out of the dipstick as it is
>> connected at the bottom of the pan.
>> 
>> Auto transmissions often fail suddenly. Get an internal seal leak so
>> there is not sufficient pressure for the clutches to lock and they
> start
>> to slip and things can burn up quickly.
>> 
>> Dennis
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
> Behalf
>> Of robertmstewart
>> Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2006 9:53 PM
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: AT Fluid Burping out of ATF Dip Stick Tube? Causes Trans
>> Malfunction, 88 Auto
>> 
>> Hello everyone, 
>> 
>> I have a question for you, my 88 Auto with a used good condition
> Tranny
>> all
>> of a sudden today started to fail and I am at a loss and need your
>> feedback...
>> 
>> (The short version is this: ATF burping and how does a perfectly
> working
>> AT
>> go to a non-functioning AT?)
>> 
>> Here��s the background:
>> 
>> The van��s past owner before the person I purchased it from was a VW
>> Mechanic
>> and the prior owner and he installed another auto trans from another
>> good
>> working van��s tranny several years ago.
>> 
>> I have had the van since January 06. Since then the transmission has
>> been
>> shifting normally, and for the last month I have been traveling 3-4
> hour
>> trips from Long Island to Upstate NY and doing some serious highway
>> driving
>> and mountain driving. Usually I put in at least 8 hours of solid
> driving
>> per
>> weekend for 4 weekends. All in all the van has performed great..
>> 
>> Here��s where the story starts.. Just before my first long trip (4
> weeks
>> ago)
>> I check all fluids, stupidly I did it when the van was cold, and in
>> doing so
>> thought the ATF was low so I added just a little bit to what was in
>> there,
>> now after about 3hrs of driving, I pull into the driveway at my
>> destination
>> and park the van, well I see ATF fluid burping out of the Dip Stick
>> tube!
>> Not much just a little 1/4 cup. I figure it��s just the overflow
> kicking
>> out.
>> I check it in 10 minutes and the level is fine.
>> 
>> Well 4 weeks pass and I drive it pretty hard to and from the LI to
>> Upstate
>> NY, 8 hrs per weekend (3x) all is good. Today I start the van up and
>> drive 1
>> mile away from the house in Long Island to the grocery, on the way I
> can
>> see
>> smoke from the back of the van, it smells like the ATF burping and
>> leaking
>> onto the exhaust. I park at the grocery and see it burping out, about
>> 1/4 ��
>> 1/2 cup.  I do some shopping come back 15 min. later, and drive the 1
>> mile
>> home, all seems fine. No smoke. After it cools down a bit I check the
>> ATF
>> fluid and it appears a bit low, so I top it off with Dexron III and
>> accidentally over fill it but not by much.
>> 
>> About 4 hours later I get in the van and drive back the same direction
>> about
>> 1 mile to go to the post office and immediately I can detect something
>> is
>> not right. 
>> At the stop light with the brake on I can see the rpm��s go from about
>> 875
>> and revs to about 1,000, then levels off again, normally at idle it
>> stays
>> right at 875. I thought the surging was strange. I then continue to
>> drive
>> and again I see the smoke occurring again from the back of the van,
>> smells
>> again like ATF on the exhaust, now I decide to head right to me local
>> standard mechanic not my VW guy cause he was closed.
>> 
>> The local guy tells me the burping is normal if there is to much ATF
> in
>> the
>> case. So he checks the fluid and he says the level is good. He tells
> me
>> to
>> bring it by in the morning as I wanted them to check the brakes since
> I
>> just
>> had all the brakes replaced (the original ones were too rusty). I then
>> decide to take a little drive just a mile down the road along beach to
>> let
>> the fluid cycle through and burn off the stuff was sitting on the
>> exhaust
>> and I thought that maybe taking it up to highway speed would be good,
> to
>> get
>> the fluid really circulating. Bad idea...
>> 
>> As I drive this simple little straight route I notice the transmission
>> is
>> not engaging right, when I take my foot off the brake it usually goes
>> forward on its own, this time nothing.. I have to gas it. Then it gets
>> progressively worse. It goes into 1st, then second, then it rev��s and
>> then
>> goes to 3rd, and then I thought, oh crap! I have problems. Time to get
>> it
>> back to the mechanic!
>> 
>> Well To late, I turn it around to go back the mile I came and now at
> the
>> stop light I give it gas and it goes now where!
>> 
>> I am stuck during rush hour and everyone is honking, my flasher are
> on,
>> but
>> people don��t pay attention. I signal for them to go around me. People
>> are
>> screaming, others understand..
>> 
>> I call the mechanic and see if they can come by and push me the 4
> blocks
>> to
>> the garage, he says he can��t.  I then call AAA to haul my van back,
> but
>> right after I decide to start the van and try... Well it starts to
> move,
>> each time I stop it��s a crap shoot to whether it will move. It never
>> gets
>> past 1st gear. I have to literally move my body a little forward to
> try
>> and
>> coax the van to get in gear and move, but somehow I get to the garage.
>> While
>> the engine is still hot I check the ATF level, I see a hair on the
> end,
>> but
>> it was pretty try.
>> 
>> So what is going on with all the burping and how does a perfectly
>> working AT
>> go to a non-functioning AT?  The mechanic suspected that the AT is
>> overheating.. What does this mean? I just hope this does turn into a
>> massive
>> money pit now.....
>> 
>> I hope someone here can shed some light on the burping issue, and why
>> all of
>> a sudden the transmission would not engage...
>> 
>> Thanks in advance,
>> Robert
>