Date:         Sun, 28 Sep 2003 12:10:47 -0700
Reply-To:     Tom Young <tomyoung1@COMCAST.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Tom Young <tomyoung1@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      Re: 82 auto cv/differential help
Comments: To: Simplstupd@AOL.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Paul:

I suspect you're not going to get a lot of replies re: possible bad bearings
in the differential just because I'd be surprised if very many people have
been inside a VW auto trans like that.  As I was reading the first part of
your description of the problem my first thought was "someone reversed the
CV joints."  You can flip CV joints around so that the ball/inner CV joint
pressure moves to the opposite faces of the inner CV joint, giving you more
miles on the joint.  Of course if that happened when the joints were
well-worn you'd probably get CV joint noise going in reverse (ball/inner CV
joint pressure goes back to where it was before) and, eventually, the CV
joint just plain wears out.

As the first stage of the investigation I'd check out the CV joints.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Young                       '81 Vanagon
Lafayette, CA 94549         '82 Westfalia
---------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Wies" <Simplstupd@AOL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2003 9:53 AM
Subject: 82 auto cv/differential help
> When going in *reverse* the Van makes a noise that sounds *exactly* like a
> bad cv joint.
> Click click click.  Sounds exactly like a Honda or Toyota FWD making a
turn
> with a bad cv joint.  It makes this clicking in reverse probably 90% of
the
> time.
>
> Going forward it did not start making the noise until last week.  It would
> click when going from a stop and would occur up to like 15 mph then stop.
Then
> as the week went on it would make the noise *real loud* when the trans was
> changing like from 2nd to 3rd gear.  But, it only did this 2x and I drove
the van
> 300 miles last week.
>
> Last night I checked all 4 boots and made sure the 12 pt bolts were tight.
I
> then grabbed the cv axle in the middle and rocked it side to side.  The
> drivers side rocked about an inch or two and made a very slight click on
each end.
> To me kinda normal although the one to two inch play seemed excessive.  On
> the passenger side, though, it made a real bad clunk when I rocked the
axle
> towards the differential.  Clunk clunk when doing that.
>
> Finally, I grabbed the flange of the differential to see if there was any
> play, and there is.
>
> So, after looking in the manual, there are some bearings in that
> differential.  Has anyone had this type of bearing failure before on an
auto?  Not sure
> what year this trans is from; the Van was originally a 4spd.  Otherwise,
it
> shifts great, does fine in forward gears(up until this week).