[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index] [New Search]
As many of you know, my 1969 Squareback's automatic transmission started acting up on the way to the Bug-o-Rama last May. When I (finally) got around to dropping the ATF pan, I found what turned out to be bits of destroyed friction bands sitting in the bottom. Uh-oh. I pulled the tranny in January, and took it to get rebuilt at Ron's Transaxles in San Pablo, CA -- http://maps.google.com/maps?q=ron's%20transaxles%20loc%3A%20san%20pablo%2C%20ca&ll=37.97%2C-122.35 Now, there isn't much call for 003 transmission rebuilding these days, but Ron seems to be the only guy in town who does them. Well, not only in town -- when he does see an 003 these days, it's often shipped to him from out of state, since there apparently aren't too many experienced rebuilders *anywhere* who work on them these days. Ron, however, is well-equipped to work on them. He had probably a dozen 003 cores in stock in the back. His shop was full of VW transaxles... swing axle, IRS, bug, bus, you name it. When Ron got into my transmission, he found it to be in a pretty sad state. Bare metal where friction material should be, a worn pump, a miserable governor, and some dodgy threads in the case -- for starters. He used a number of parts from a donor he had on the shelf, in addition to the standard rebuild kit. Actually, he even swapped AT housings entirely. I should have taken my camera -- he showed me so many worn parts! Ron's turn-around time was inside of a week. I brought it to him on a Monday, and they'd called me back by Thursday to arrange pick-up. I picked it up on the Friday of the same week. By the way -- he doesn't like the quality of the torque converter seal that comes in the standard rebuild kit, so he throws them out and uses higher quality TC seals from a different supplier. As part of their standard AT overhaul, they exchange torque converters for rebuilt units. I ended up with a newer model in the exchange; Ron believed it came from a Vanagon. Ron did a limited inspection of the gear box (the gear oil part, not the AT part), to the extent that's possible with the unit assembled. No unusual play was discovered, which was good news. Ron and Brad were very friendly, and really know their VWs. Like any VW nuts, they love to chat about them. Lots of show-and-tell items in their shop. They also had plenty of advice regarding reinstallation, and encouraged me to call them back if I had any questions. They want to know right away if there are any leaks, as they don't want their rebuilds dripping. They have a 12 month warranty on their work. A random tip from Ron: lubricate the torque converter where it meets the seal with petroleum jelly, as it dissolves nicely in ATF. Regular automotive grease does not, and can gum up the ATF passageways. So! The Squareback moved again under its own power this weekend, amid lots of other busy-ness preparing for a bunch of house work. Ron delivered the transmission with the AT section dry. He suggested starting with four and a half quarts, then running the engine for a couple to drive the ATF pump. Check with dipstick, and fill to within the marks. At 4.5 quarts, it would engage the forward and reverse gears with the car up on jackstands. I added about another quart to bring it up to 5.5 quarts. Curiously, Bentley indicates that the maintenance fluid change refill amount is 3 quarts, iirc. With the engine running, but relatively cold, I was getting a level a bit below the lower mark, but only on the left side of the dipstick, which seemed odd. I drove it up and down the block with 5.5 quarts. Seemed to go just fine. Early on, and a couple of times, it didn't engage drive right away, but I do believe it's still low on ATF. I did drive it a gentle mile or two on Sunday, and it performed nicely. Thanks to all the listees who provided help and advice! Removing and reinstalling the transmission isn't the most fun job around, but hopefully I won't have to do it again for a very long time. -Greg ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List info at http://www.vwtype3.org/list | mailto:gregm@vwtype3.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~