On 2/5/07, Trevor Hislop (Training) <Trevor.Hislop2@det.wa.edu.au> wrote:
>
> I have a 1985 Transporter (1.9 water boxer) camper in  good condition.
> However its 3 speed auto transmission has recently destructed. These
> particular Transporters, especially autos, are rare in Western Australia
> and although I trust my mechanic I know he is also a bit unused to
> automatics on these vans and is relying on advice from others who may
> also be a bit unused to these transmissions. I have been told I need a
> new crown wheel / pinion ex Germany which will cost about $US2,200 then
> another $US3,000 for the rest of the rebuild (it seems a bearing seized
> and the crown wheel/pinion shatterred sending bits everywhere.  The
> total cost is about what I paid for my camper and about 2-3 times cost
> of locally built car. I don't mind paying, as we enjoy the car, and we
> got into it cheap, but want to know if we are being ripped off - eg is
> there another supply of crown wheel / pinions other than ex Germany? As
> you can probably guess from this email I am not very mechanically minded
> and would apreciate any advice.
>
> Regards
>
> Trevor

Trevor,

Complete good used transmissions seel from $100-$500 in these parts. Rebuilt
ones are probabably in the $1000-$2000 core included. In other words, you
can buy a whole trasmission for what you are being charged for a crown wheel
and pinion. Now I am assuming that is what we in the US call ring and
pinion. CUrrency I refer to is US Dollars.

You may want to contact some of the transmission rebuilders in this forum.
One who comes to mind is Daryl Christensen at www.aatransaxle.com.

Autotrans Vanagons are quite plentiful here. The autotrans on these vehicles
are quite long lived. As a consequence of all these factors, the auto trans
is fairly easy and relatively in expensive to acquire here. The downside is
the cost of shipping to downunder.

--
BenT
www.vanagoncafe.com