I have 440,000 km on mine which is about 260,000 miles (mainly highway) and
have no issues on original transmission.  At what point do I go ahead and
rebuild it even without any symptoms. I have been told they can last for a
very long time.
Thank you,

Bernie
Vancouver

On Mon, Aug 29, 2016 at 5:53 AM, Steven Shelton <shelton4@gmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks, Dennis.  Now whenever I'm 100 miles from home I'll be straining to
> listen for the slightest whine from my 280,000 mile never overhauled
> transmission.  In the meantime, my schedule says it's time to change the
> fluid again.  It's been 3 years, even thought I've only put 20,000 miles on
> the van since the last change.  Is 3 years or 30,000 miles the recommended
> schedule for fluid change?  I used Swepco 201 the last two changes.
>
> On Sun, Aug 28, 2016 at 3:10 PM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > At 300,000 km (192,000 miles) if that is the original transmission it is
> > on a lot of borrowed time. Whining noises are usually the result of
> bearing
> > failures along with the resulting gear miss alignment. Most common and
> > critical is the main pinion bearing. Next is the needle bearing on the
> > input end of the main or input shaft or the ball bearing on the other
> end.
> > An oil change won't solve any of these conditions.  If it is the main
> > pinion bearing continued operation will damage the ring-pinion gear set.
> > This will significantly to the cost of overhaul or a core charge if
> > replacing with an exchange. It is probably time to do what you need for
> > this trip and then plan for the overhaul while the van is down for the
> > season.
> >
> > Dennis
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
> > Of Steve Williams
> > Sent: Saturday, August 27, 2016 11:47 PM
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Subject: Re: Transmission fluid change - 1991 4 spd
> >
> > Thanks everyone!
> >
> > That will be my adventure this week.  I'm curious to see what the
> magnetic
> > drain plug looks like (if it has one).
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Steve W.
> >
> > On 27/08/2016 6:06 PM, Steve Williams wrote:
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > I have a 1991 Westfalia with the stock 2.1 and 4 speed manual
> > > transmisison.  I live in Canada, though don't drive my van in the
> > > winter.  I don't generally drive it much below freezing.
> > >
> > > I have noticed a very slight whine coming from my drivetrain after
> > > extended (3-4 hours) of driving.
> > >
> > > I don't have any maintenance records indicating the transmission fluid
> > > has been changed and I'm coming up on 300,000 km.
> > >
> > > I've got a 2 week road trip soon & I would like to change the
> > > tranmission fluid prior to that trip.
> > >
> > > What are the recommendations for new transmission fluid?
> > >
> > > I know about removing the "filler" plug before the drain to make sure
> > > you can get fluid back into it.  Other than that, I know nothing about
> > > replacing the transmission fluid.
> > >
> > > I do most of the work on my van myself & generally don't have too many
> > > problems.
> > >
> > > Thanks for any advise!
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > > Steve W.
> >
>