It sounds to me like the transmission is slipping. This could be due to
hydraulics, a broken seal ring, or the clutch packs are just worn.

Get it repaired quickly as running like this will burn up additional parts
and increase the cost. This is an extremely simple auto tranny. Any local
"competent" tranny shop should be able to handle this for you. Considering
the miles you will definitely want the torque converter rebuilt.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Ron LK Johnson
Sent: Sunday, February 24, 2008 4:04 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: AT trans on the way out?

Howdy - I have a '91 w/ AT, 189k miles. No records from P.O., so do
not know mechanical history of the vehicle. Purchased last summer;
approx 5k miles added. Last Fall, I had a shop change the AT fluid
and filter.

Everything seemed okay until last week when my wife said it was
having trouble on hills. So, I drove it a bit and it is slow to come
up to speed and does not shift crisply. At this time I do not suspect
engine compression - ran a check last Summer:  135/135/120/135 - I
know, not great, but not catastrophic. It does not burn oil, but the
oil looks dark even after a change out.

Other symptoms. The Tach shows engine revs coming up immediately, but
vehicle speed lagging. After 15 minutes warm-up, the lag to final
speed is not as pronounced. Seems like it will not run over 65 mph.

Checked AT fluid level - okay, not cloudy, still red. BTW, how
serious is an overfill?

So, does this sound like a common AT problem? If so, is it
repairable? At what cost? Better just to throw in the towel and
replace w/ rebuild? GoWesty rebuilds OK?

Many Thanks,
Ron Johnson
PDX, OR
'91 Weekender, Orly Blue, "Betty"