Scott,

That's pretty much the drill for changing transmission fluid, the pipe 
has a big flare nut on it and when it's completely loose, you may have 
to grab the pipe and shake hard, the fitting tends to stick in the 
hole.  The filter screen is behind an odd shaped plate held on with 
screws...also, more oil will come out when you remove the plate, so be 
prepared.  I usually wash the filter screen, plate, and pan with paint 
thinner, then blow dry with compressed air.  The pan will probably 
have a layer of microfine black "dust", actually metal particles from 
normal wear... not to worry unless they're silver/shiny and big enough 
to see individually with the naked eye.  I keep a small magnet in the 
bottom of my pan to keep as much gunk off the filter as I can.

I look carefully at the pan gasket, if it's still pliable and not 
cracked, I reuse it.  VW charges a lot for them, they don't need any 
donations unnecessarily.  If you start seeing red puddles under your 
van in the morning, maybe you need a new one. Careful with the pan 
bolts, that's aluminum they screw into.  Consider lock washers.

Checking the final drive oil is fairly easy.  There is a plug in the 
side (big hex key, 17mm?) take it out, oil should be to the level of 
the bottom of the hole with the van level. Easy if you're skinny, I'm 
not, so I jack up the van on the side of the hole, dump in the gear 
oil till it leaks out, then drop the van back level with a drain pan 
underneath, let it drip, then jack it back up and put in the plug.

Oh yeah, keep everything clean as you can. I rebuilt my transmission 
in my garage, was careful, and still pulled a handful of dog fur off 
the strainer after the first oil change.

Dan Fuller
'90 Carat