Dennis, 

Excellent advice, and indeed I will take you up the training offer!

I was planning on driving the Van cross country from Long Island to Los
Angeles California this January 07, so yes I need a plan on how to keep it
alive. 

Pmail with when your available for training.

Thank again, 

Rob
-- 
Rob
NYC/Long Beach, NY
88 Wolfsburg, Silver

on 7/21/06 12:30 AM, Dennis Haynes at dhaynes@optonline.net wrote:

> Robert,
> I am only about a 1/2 hour or so away from you. I'm sure I can help.
> If you can do your own oil change, you do not need a shop to check and
> adjust the ATF level. Unscrewing the dip stick tube will drain it fast
> and 2.5 quarts will pretty much refill it. It really has to be super
> overfilled to burp out of the tube. I'll bet money on a breather
> problem. Under filling can starve the oil pump and that can be damaged
> but that takes some doing. Having the tranny slip from trying to drive
> it when low will burn up the clutches and that is bad. Do you have a
> Bentley? Check it. It will ID the breathers.
> 
> If you have a lot of money to get rid of, keep bringing the van to
> shops. If you want any resemblance of economy of operation, you need
> some training. I can help there also. You also need a really good
> evaluation and then a plan to keep this thing alive and well.
> 
> Another thing to check is the ATF cooler. You need to make sure it is
> getting good water flow.
> 
> Dennis
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: robertmstewart [mailto:robertmstewart@mac.com]
> Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2006 11:48 PM
> To: John Lauterbach; Vanagon List Serv; Dennis Haynes
> Subject: Re: AT Fluid Burping out of ATF Dip Stick Tube? Causes Trans
> Malfunction, 88 Auto
> 
> 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
>> 
> 
>