Club 80-90 Forums

i all. Have just looked at a 2L air cooled having sold our last one a couple of years back. I liked the van and it drove very well. However it had a whine which I think was coming from the gear box. While driving and in gear, if I pushed the stick to the left the noise got considerably louder. The seller said it had been like this ever since he got it and he had done 3 gearbox oil changes over the years and there had never been any debris on the drain plug. He was very present and was honest about a number of other small issues so I have no reason not to believe him. I’d be very grateful for opinions. I don’t really want to buy it and then need a gearbox rebuild.

Thanks

if the gearbox makes a noise then something is wrong it should basically be unnoticeable in operation
chances are it's been repaired previously and not set up correctly or has a worn or damaged crown and pinion set that was judged to be okay to reuse but was so worn or damaged that it will never be quiet even if set up correctly, it could be that bearings that should have been replaced weren't
if it is road speed dependent it could also be a driveshaft or wheel bearing issue but they don't tend to be whines like a gearbox, but wheel bearings can make a similar sort of noise but generally at a lower volume than the transmission, if it's engine speed dependent and isn't the fan or alternator then it's the input side of the gearbox

Hi Aidan,

Thanks for your response. Im certain its the gearbox as the noise got much louder when i pushed the gear stick left while it was in gear.

So that I can factor the cost of repair into any offer that I make. Are you able to give me a rough idea of what you would charge based on the items that you mentioned. I appreciate that its just an estimate and could change once you get the box open. Its worth noting that gear selection felt perfectly smooth and none of the gears were difficult to engage.

Aidan only works on the water cooled van gearbox. A good second hand DK code gearbox for the 2 ltr air cooled would be about £300 .

I thought Aidan worked on all types of manual boxes, but that he didn't work on automatic boxes?

In any case, I think he's closed his books for the moment to deal with the backlog of orders he has and get in a holiday, so it may be that finding a second-hand box is your only option in the short term.

Hello,

It might be worth checking the (probably worn out or existent), plastic flexy bush that should be on the front part of the main gear linkage...

That's right...its the one that goes above the petrol tank..

Otherwise the linkage touches the chassis and vibrates when the gear stick is leaning left..

However, as you will be wanting to remove the tank any way to paint it, repair the hot air feed, renew the throttle cable, maybe the heater cables at the same time, and of course renew all the old breather pipes....

It won't be a problem........

Air-cooled Bliss.....

Cordialement,

Thanks all for your responses. I am collecting the Van on Sunday so I will investigate further and then take it from there.