[T3] Type 3 Auto Trans

[Jim Adney]

On 30 Nov 2011 at 8:49, David Caton wrote:

> I have  general questions about the '68-69 Type 3 auto transmissions..
> .Are they any good?  
> Is one year better then the other?
>   Are they efficient at all or reliable at all?  and  can they be "modified" to make them 'good" ?

The Type 3 AT has been a very good little 3 speed automatic 
transmission. My impression is that all years have been very 
reliable. While VW introduced it in mid '68, that first half year was 
sold only together with the dual carb engine. Since only the FI 
engine was sold in the US from '68 on, there were no '68 AT Type 3s 
sold in the US in '68.  

Starting in '69, the AT was available with the FI, so there are lots 
of US FI/ATs sold from '69 on. I've had several, including a current 
'69 and they've all been good.

The '68-9 AT had a more complicated design around the side output 
shafts, but that didn't hurt anything, just made service a bit more 
complicated. You can tell those by the extra flange around each 
output shaft.

Early ATs, probably ending sometime in mid-69, came with torque 
converters with fewer fins and a tendency to crack at a weld. I 
believe most of those were probably replaced long ago, but there was 
one NOS early AT for sale on eBay recently. It had the early output 
shaft design and the early torque converter. I would not buy that one 
at the premium price they were asking.

ALL of them will need to have the O-ring under the governor cover 
replaced by now. You can tell the leaky ones by the fact that the 
left side of the AT is oily while the right side is not. Replacing 
the O-ring is fairly easy, and I stock the O-rings.

Note also that the AT and the final drive (differential) are actually 
2 separate units, bolted together, but with separate oil baths. The 
AT uses ATF, but the diff uses GL-5 gear oil. If you're buying a used 
one, it's worth checking the oil level right away. If the output 
seals have been leaking, the final drive can run dry and destroy 
itself. I've heard of this happening to people who thought they were 
checking everything when they checked the ATF dipstick. The gear oil 
has to be checked from below, not something most people would ever 
do.

Starting in '72, VW changed some things in the shift controls, 
including a much more expensive vacuum modulator. These tend to work 
okay, but service info on them is not as easily available as on the 
early ones.

So, if I had a choice, I'd go for '71 or earlier, but not so early 
that it had the extra side cover flanges or the early torque 
converter. (The late TC is a direct replacement for the early one, so 
that's an easy thing to change if you have one lying around.)

Just like all ATs, they are slightly less efficient than the MTs. 
There is no modification that I know of that I would suggest as an 
improvement. Leave it alone and stock, make sure it has good 
lubrication, and make sure the vacuum modulator is properly adjusted.

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