Itinerant Air-Cooled

Dropped the transaxle off with Matney today. Hope to pick it back up Monday. He assured me there would be no additional cost. I told him I had put 300 miles on it. He said I could have put 10k miles on it, wouldn't have made a difference in his book.

neal

You are busy. I'll bet dropping the engine was a lot faster this time.

Always something. Thought I was free and clear with it, but it was hanging up on something, I'd give a tug and the body would move. Got everything but the groundstrap to the transaxle. Doh! Tugging was gentle. Under 2 hours. I'm still not that quick.


neal

Picking up the transaxle tomorrow. He says he really didn't see anything wrong with it. If it persists, I'll let him drive it.


neal

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
OY VEY

ruckman101 wrote:Picking up the transaxle tomorrow. He says he really didn't see anything wrong with it. If it persists, I'll let him drive it.


neal

I am the last person to knowledgeably point out anything inside a transaxle, having never rebuilt one, but I have seen damaged synchro/dog teeth on the gears that were worn to a little triangular edge that allows the slider to ramp out of gear.
I "assume" you have new synchronizers.
I "assume" you have good keys and healthy spring thingys or whatever they are called.
I "assume" that the detent springs and balls and forks are all within spec.
I "assume" that the mainshaft/pinion bearings are excellent and shaft endplay/preload is within spec.
ColinJustShutUpAndPrayForSuccessfulOutcome

Alright, so still haven't picked up the transmission, he's of the opinion it wasn't the transmission, but something else. Today it dawned on me perhaps the only other thing it might be, a worn stick shift assembly. Now the only wear was on the ridge, or ring, or rim on it, that has worn from it's eighth inch thickness square dimension to a slope. Apparently it is designed to prevent you from accidentally getting reverse when trying to get to second. Could this be it?

neal

ruckman101 wrote:Alright, so still haven't picked up the transmission, he's of the opinion it wasn't the transmission, but something else. Today it dawned on me perhaps the only other thing it might be, a worn stick shift assembly. Now the only wear was on the ridge, or ring, or rim on it, that has worn from it's eighth inch thickness square dimension to a slope. Apparently it is designed to prevent you from accidentally getting reverse when trying to get to second. Could this be it?

neal

No. If you have good nose cone and engine mounts and it *pops out of gear*, it is internal.
The "stick shift assembly" you speak of is known in these parts as the stop plate.
Colin

Trying to cover all bases. It seemed far fetched. Apparently the nose cone had some hammering on the inside and may have had too much slop for things. I'm hopeful. He said he has only had issues with two other transmissions the entire time he's been rebuilding. Picked it up today. Hope to get it back together tomorrow.

neal

What's the deal with nose cones? Do they last forever, or are there symptoms of wear *impending doooooom*?

Things press against it and tolerances loosen as metal is hammered down, and then the play of the post where the shift rod connects gets loose in the nose cone housing and the "hockey stick" starts waggling about. Sorry about the lack of technical expertise in my description. Being clueless hasn't helped me in this process. How loose is too loose? I'm actually eager now to attempt to wrap my head around the workings now in an effort to understand better what da heck be going on dere myself.

He asked about the engine mounts and the coupler cage between the shift assembly/transaxle. I assured him their integrity was sound. I also told him that, having pulled up the stick shift and connecting rod assembly, replacing the bushings, I had explored both extremes of possible positioning of the base plate on the stick shift fore and aft before calling him to let him know the issue of popping out of fourth gear still existed.

Fingers are crossed, hope to get things back together tomorrow. If the issue persists, he's going to drive it before I pull things back out.


neal

Alright, still not running, but engine and transaxle is back in with shift linkage hooked up. Forgot I still needed to adjust the valves, and in the process notice the fan belt tension wasn't consistent. In spots it was much looser. In 300 miles, it had worn narrower in a spot. I hope it isn't an indicator of a larger issue with the pulleys. Had a new one, and it seems fine, but I'll be keeping a close eye on it.

I did have an epiphany, as the issue with the transaxle seems to be the shift linkage not fully engaging fourth gear. There is no room for play at the transmission mount, the mount itself was fine, as are the motor mounts, but the brackets the mustache bar mounts to do have room to adjust fore and aft a quarter inch or so, so I made sure the bolts and the mustache bar were fully forward.

Should be able to get the rest put together tomorrow for a test run.


neal

It's F@@@@@@ worse.


neal

Could it be the transmission mount? Saggy and old? But then, IT SHOULDN'T BE THAT TEMPERAMENTAL!!!

neal

It's crap like this that drives people to sell their VWs.

neal