John, Good point..

Dennis do you recommend anyone in the Long Beach/Ocean side area?

How do I find a good place? What do I look for?

What kids of questions do I need to ask?

Robert

on 7/20/06 11:39 PM, John Lauterbach at lauterba@bellsouth.net wrote:

> Rob, around 2001-2002,  the AT in my '84 started doing strange things,
> popping seals, burping, slipping, etc.  One of the techs at what is now a
> Tires Plus store suggested I get the van towed to an AT shop on the other
> side of the city.  He and his boss arrange the towing and a couple of days
> later the AT shop called me up and said my van was ready.  I asked how much
> and I was told to bring $125.  I had a buddy drive me to the shop, which
> from the outside looked worse than a bad junk yard.  Inside the building was
> a different story.
> 
> In any case, I was glad that I took the van to some real AT pros, people who
> were doing AT for a living and had their own shop, not a franchise.
> 
> John
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "robertmstewart" <robertmstewart@MAC.COM>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2006 11:24 PM
> Subject: Re: AT Fluid Burping out of ATF Dip Stick Tube? Causes Trans
> Malfunction, 88 Auto
> 
> 
> John,
> 
> Thanks for this info, what's a good cleaning run?
> 
> My mechanics all charge around $85 an hour.
> 
> Do I need to take it a professional Transmission mechanic?
> 
> Do I even think of going to a place like Midas?
> 
> My closest VW mechanics are very finicky, they are bit lazy too. Old timers.
> 
> They are good but hate to get really messy.
> 
> Rob
> 
> 
> on 7/20/06 11:15 PM, John Lauterbach at lauterba@bellsouth.net wrote:
> 
>> One good thing about the Vanagon AT is that it is relatively simple and a
>> good, honest AT shop should be able to fix the problem.  My guess would be
>> that some of the critical fluid passages are clogged up and the internal
>> fluid pressures aren't correct.  It may be that all the transmission needs
>> is a good professional cleaning.
>> 
>> John
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "robertmstewart" <robertmstewart@MAC.COM>
>> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>> Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2006 9:52 PM
>> 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
>