Engine warmed up for at least a few minutes. Vehicle fairly level including
side to side. Engine still running in neutral, ATF should be between the
marks on the dipstick. Just like the engine the top mark is not the full
mark. It is the maximum do not exceed mark.

The symptoms she described are the result of in internal pressure loss.
Broken seal rings on the direct clutch drum or a ripped piston. A competent
shop can do a pressure test (in the Bentley) or drop the valve body and do
what is called an "air test" We use compressed air to operate the clutches
to see if one has obviously failed.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Jim Felder
Sent: Tuesday, October 20, 2009 9:24 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Automatic transmission question--slipping

My daughter's 91 automatic has been behaving fine, but recently I
noticed a little spotting on the back hatch, which led me to check the
AT fluid level and it was a little bit low.

When I mentioned it to her, she said that the car had recently been
doing a weird thing starting off. The engine would race, sometimes
barking the tires when things engaged. At a stop sign, rather than
keeping the car at the line on a hill, the slack in the transmission
sometimes--randomly--lets the car roll back a few feet before it will
"catch" again.

I have never had a vanagon with an AT. What's the proper procedure for
checking the level? The owners manual gives some detail but does not
even specify whether the car is to be running or not when the level is
checked.

Anything else I should be considering?

Jim