Gearbox Woes

[mrbodly]

Hi All

I have a 2L Aircooled joker with a 4 speed box. I bought the van in October last year and promptly replaced the gearbox oil.

I've removed the box and engine from the van to replace seals and clutch. I drained the gearbox oil this evening to discovered not only was the plug furry but also has the dreaded sludge, please see pics below.

I've also recently had trouble, although not always, shifting from 2nd to 1st. Its also just started jumping out of 3rd from time to time. I thought these might have been linkage related issues.

I assume the prognosis isn't good. What are my options? A rebuild with Aiden springs to mind but I don't think he does Aircooled boxes.

Cheers in advance for any advice.
Myles

[Westy23]

On the plus side they are pretty cool pictures!

[Westy23]

image.jpg

See

[mrbodly]

Ha, I thought it looked a lot like the spaceship from the 1978 Superman movie!

[CovKid]

Thats VW Kryptonite

[mrbodly]

Regarding the sludge on the drain plug stem, does anyone know what this is an indicator of, in terms of wear in the gearbox?

I'm just trying to get an idea of how serious it is. Not sure if a rebuild of this box or a recon unit is the way forward.

Cheers

[ermie571]

Aidan is the chap you want....he will be able to pin point where the sludge is from and what needs doing

Aidan Talbot Gearboxes...
Send him a pm with a link to the thread...or give him a call

should google ok

Good luck!

[mrbodly]

Thanks I'll email Aidan.

In the meantime, is it worth opening up the box to see if there is any obvious damage, or is it better left to the experts?

[CovKid]

If you have no experience of gearboxes, leave well alone. You won't be able to tell much without all the tools and to my knowledge Aidan doesn't do Aircooled boxes.

Have a chat with my old friend Frank at Frank's bus parts as he goes in and out of Germany all the time and may well have a good second hand box:

http://www.vwbusparts.freeserve.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - tell him Ralph sent you. Not much he doesn't know about buses and where to get parts. Plus he's only up the road from you at Walton-on-sea! 20 min drive at most - through Thorpe-Le-Soken and you'll be there in no time. Take your bucket and spade. Sound bloke.

[mrbodly]

Thanks Covkid

Yep, 20mins down the road from me. Will contact him and see if he has anything available.

[faggie]

bears transmissions is the only place to rebuild these boxes as they have been doing it for many years

[mrbodly]

Still waiting on a reply from Frank tried calling and emailing. He is obviously busy sourcing parts from Germany!

[mrbodly]

Had an email from Frank today, unfortunately he doesn't have any boxes available.

I'll email Aiden and see if he has any advice regarding the sludge and swarf on the drain plug. Just need to find out which is the most economical, a rebuild of this box or a recon'd one.

[mrbodly]

Spoke to Bears Motorsport today, my box shall be couriered over to them tomorrow.

Look forward to getting it back and putting the van back on the road!!

[mrbodly]

Received my refurbed box back from Bears today. Can't wait to get it back in the van and go for a drive.

One question, I've got the paper gasket to fit between the box and bell housing - do I need to use some gasket sealant also? Its just that the gasket doesn't seem very substantial.

Cheers