I experience this same thing in my 90 GL.. Purchased a A/T off craigslist
to rebuild as a backup... I'll be interested to see this thread play out..

someone else suggest a dirty valve body, but I havent had time to drop it
and look.
On Oct 15, 2012 7:51 PM, "william landsman" <unclebeer@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I have a 1990 Westy  with very similar problem to the info I found below.
> For my van it usually takes anywhere from .5 miles to 1 mile to shift into
> 2nd gear. It is also usually after a few days of non-use. If I drive one
> day and then the next it will be fine about half the time. I recently
> changed the transmission fluid and changed the screen, and seems the same
> if not a little better than before.
>
> 1. If it is a defective Automatic Transmission Governor (Where do you find
> these?)
> 2. If the governor is dirty/gunked up (How do you go about cleaning it?)
>
> Any help on the above questions would be great.
>
> Regards,
> Bill
>
>
>
> Problem - "My '87 Westy automatic transmission operates well after about 2
> miles,
> but will not shift into drive during the first mile or two of travel.
> This is only a problem on the initial trip per time period, ie. if the
> tranny is warm from recent travel it shifts fine."
>
>
>
> Capt. Mike, Moderator, 10-25-2000 08:05 AM
>
>
>
> Nice of VW to leave it out of the Vanagon edition of the Bentley, but
> the older Type II edition has an excellent troubleshooting chart for
> A/T's. Section 7-3.1.a.
>
>
>
> Although your symptom could come from several causes, the prime suspect
> is #7: "Transmission stays in 1st gear with lever at 2 or D." Their
> probably cause is a. Governor dirty or defective; b. Valve body assembly
>  dirty. There are a couple of others that may also be applicable.
>
>
>
> I'm not too versed on A/T's but that you got an improvement with a
> screen cleaning and Dexron III change is encouraging. Tranny fluids do
> contain cleaning additives and if you have a blocked or sticky valve,
> it's possible it will work out as varnish dissolves or the piece of trash
>  breaks free and moves to the filter. You might check with a reputable
> tranny shop to see if there's a safe and effective tranny cleaner
> additive. One that you can put in, run the specified miles, then drain
> and refill with fresh Dexron.
>
>
>
> Do check your vacuum connections. A slight leak or deficiency,
> compounded by cold oil could leave you with incorrect vacuum until
> things warm up and seal.
>
>
>
> Like oil changes in a gunked up engine, several changes in a short
> sequence could clear you out. Hope so rather than have to pull the
> tranny for a valve plate cleaning or worse.
>
>