I have replaced the seal, the old one was not hard and crunchy, it seemed
like it was just worn out. The seal offered no resistance when I pushed the
selector shaft through and the opening is visibly larger in comparison to a
new seal. The boot that covers the seal was loose and no longer attached to
the transmission. I don't know how long it's been this way but I'm
wondering if dirt on the shaft may have contributed to the seal wearing
out. Thinking about it though, that seems unlikely.

-Mark

On Tue, Jul 26, 2016 at 11:04 AM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
wrote:

> These transmissions especially Syncros can and do overheat even with the
> stock engines. Oiling plates have been developed to improve lubrication to
> the main shaft and pinion bearings to reduce failures there. The problem is
> extended high speed operation with the sustained load of pushing these
> things and the Syncro adds to the heat load with those gears in the low
> gear housing helping to mix and churn up the oil.
>
> If the seal comes out hard and crunchy the box has been overheating.
>
> Dennis
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
> Of Mark McCulley
> Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2016 10:02 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: replacing transmission selector shaft seal
>
> Thanks Dennis. I'll check the fluid level and vent tube. There's no reason
> I can think of that the transmissions would overheat, still have the stock
> 2.1L and don't pull a trailer. I did switch the type of oil I use a few
> years back, 3 years ago I switched from Redline to Delvac and then a year
> later I switched back to Redline when I installed a driveshaft decoupler.
> Both oils are synthetic 75W90. The transmission has just under 200K total
> miles, 80K since rebuild (I don't know if seal was replaced then or not).
>
> -Mark
>
> On Mon, Jul 25, 2016 at 7:08 PM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Yes this seal is easy to replace. However its leaking is usually a
> > symptom of something else going on. There is also an insert-bushing
> > behind it that may be cracked. Make sure the transmission is not
> > overfilled and that the vent tube is not kinked or otherwise clogged.
> > This seal never sees enough action that it should wear out. For it to
> > go bad is a sign the transmission has been over heating.
> >
> > Dennis
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
> > Behalf Of Mark McCulley
> > Sent: Monday, July 25, 2016 9:26 PM
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Subject: replacing transmission selector shaft seal
> >
> > My '87 has transmission oil leaking from where the selector shaft
> > enters the transmission case. Is it fairly straight forward to replace
> > the seal with the transmission installed? This is a syncro if it makes a
> difference.
> > I see van-cafe has a write-up here:
> >
> > http://www.van-cafe.com/home/van/page_131_783/transmission-selector-sh
> > aft-seal.html
> > ,
> > seems like it's not particularly difficult.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Mark
> > Seattle, WA
> >
>