Hello once again! After a long hiatus from the list (happily due to a
another little one arriving) I am seeking advice again. I asked this
question a while back, and got some good advice, but thought I'd
check once more before taking the plunge.

My '88 now has 352K, and about 190k km on a VW rebuilt trans and
motor. The trans now whines loudly in all gears, and makes a
clicking/rattling sound in reverse. I've been told it's likely a final drive
bearing, and a full rebuild will cost from 1500-2000 at two shops, to
a low of $1000-1500 at a local shop.

I'm tempted to try the low priced local shop, although it's only been
in business a year, he works mostly on Vanagons, and seems very
busy. My Uncle's 89 is in there now having the same job done, and
he has been happy with the shop so far.

I've looked at used, but there's none available, and the cost is over
$1000 CDN. Also, the rebuilds from Fast German would work out to
over $1000 CDN. The catch is we are planning a 3 week trip in a
month, so I need to act fairly fast. I'm near Victoria, BC.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Shawn Wright, I.T. Manager
Shawnigan Lake School
swright@SLS.bc.ca
http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright
http://www.sls.bc.ca