[T3] pinion gear gone-need a tranny '70 sqbk

[Jim Adney]

On 21 Jul 2011 at 16:22, Fred Simmons wrote:

> is there any way to tell if a junk yard  tranny is okay?  any advice appreciated,

I don't think there is any sure fire way to know, but most are fine. 
One thing you could do would be to turn the junkyard tranny on its 
side and pull out the drain plug. There's a magnet in the middle of 
the plug; look at what's accumulated there. Normal stuff is black and 
smooth between the fingers. If there's anything gritty, that's not a 
good sign.

Some junkyards will give guarantees and replace bad items, but that's 
small consolation given all the work that you have to do to swap a 
tranny. Nevertheless, your odds of getting a good transmission are 
MUCH better than for getting a good engine.  

It should not be hard to find a good late Type 3 tranny in SoCal. The 
best one would be late, with the larger, longer throwout bearing arm 
outside the case and the integral right side cover. With the late 
tranny, you would also have to replace your pressure plate, but 
that's not a big deal.

At the same time, inspect the flywheel surface and clutch disk, and 
it's probably worth pulling the flywheel and replacing the flywheel 
seal. Oil the seal surfaces before you reinstall the flywheel. Do 
this work carefully, following the Bentley instructions.

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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