Advice on buying a used GEARBOX

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epowell
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Advice on buying a used GEARBOX

Beitrag von epowell »

Can anyone offer any tips and tricks to use when buying a used GEARBOX.

Very soon I will be checking out some old gearboxes (probably in Poland) - early diesel short 4 speed 091 gearboxes.... like DM, DH, etc.

I have found some in Poland at good prices, but when I go to see them, how can I test them to make sure they are good? Is it possible to assess the condition of a gearbox without installing it in the van and driving?

Thanks!
Fränkie
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Re: Advice on buying a used GEARBOX

Beitrag von Fränkie »

1st and most important advice:

Don't buy a used one!

Except u r shure that it is below 10000 km, or is rebuilt properly.

95% of the used gearboxes are worn out, and the 5 Speed are useless expensive, if u have Gearbox go to a guy who knows about vw-gearboxes and rebuild it!.

In the most of the Gearboxes the pinion Bearing is worn out, and depending on how long this ist the case the 1st gear Wheel ist damaged... so in the end u will have no fun with and old one.. if u have bad luck the Pionshaft ist worn out as well with the plate only this part ist 3-800€. The synchron elemente often are bad.......

But the fun is, if all that ist worn out and damaged the gearbox run for a while until it totally break down....
Or at least a gear is out not shiftable any more....

4 speed-ones u cant get for a pretty small mony because no one want to have these...
But they have the same difficults.
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epowell
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Re: Advice on buying a used GEARBOX

Beitrag von epowell »

Fränkie hat geschrieben: In the most of the Gearboxes the pinion Bearing is worn out, and depending on how long this ist the case the 1st gear Wheel ist damaged... so in the end u will have no fun with and old one.. if u have bad luck the Pionshaft ist worn out as well with the plate only this part ist 3-800€. The synchron elemente often are bad.......

But the fun is, if all that ist worn out and damaged the gearbox run for a while until it totally break down....
Or at least a gear is out not shiftable any more....

4 speed-ones u cant get for a pretty small mony because no one want to have these...
But they have the same difficults.
At the moment, my gearbox, which is an old original DM I think... it feels really very very good. Shifts perfectly, cleanly, in all gears, and with very little noise. The gears never grind, and goes easily into reverse. It also gears down to 2nd very smoothly, and even putting in 1st when moving is easy. So --- to me feels like the best gearbox I have ever had - BUT it is 35 years old (I do NOT know anything about it's history), and the case is very badly corroded... it's ugly as Hell :evil: ....I am also a very gentle gear shifter and in all the 15 years I used to drive T2s, I never had any gearbox problems.

But.... I have heard about this notorious T3 gearbox defect, the 3rd - 4th slider which can suddenly break without warning. Do you think that even with my gearbox which seems so healthy, there is a significant risk of sudden death because of this common defect?
newt3
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Re: Advice on buying a used GEARBOX

Beitrag von newt3 »

0. the best way to buy a used gearbox is to
a) drive it before (in the old car)
b) install it at the buying point together (so that you can drive it and if it doesn't work correct you leave it there)

---------
1. if your gearbox works correct there is no need to buy another one. and if you housing goes defect perhaps in some years search a guy who rebuild gearboxes. he should have some other housing for you. in most cases the housing is fine so a gearbox rebuilder will have enough housings)

2. poland doesn't have so many t3. so i would say the price for a gearbox should be higher there then in germany - if not it's a thing to think about why not. (so it should be the same in your country)

3. if someone has more than one gearbox you should ask yourself if he really knows somethin about the box. perhaps he has never driven it or only for a short time in a 'dying car with lots of other bad noise' so he can't really hear or feel if there is something wrong

4. if the oil is already emptied i would be extra careful
->perhaps the gearbox was sent. if you send it you have empty the oil. a sent gearbox means 99% that the seller hasn't driven it by himself
->perhaps the seller or someone else emptied the oil to look if there is strange metall at the oil screw. when he will do this? oft coure when he thougt/heard/feelt that somethin is wrong in the box
---->for someone who has a fully working gearbox in the garage which he has driven by himself there is no reason to empty the oil (rather he install it in his car. than he could empty it und refill whith new immidatly before installing in his car)

5. perhaps your housing is dying of electrical problems? perhaps you install a new 'electric mass cable' directyl from batterie to chassis
(the original way of the 'electricmass' is ->battery->engin->gearbox->chassis (and maybe the way directly from batterie to chassic would be the better one for your old gearbox)
an easy way for such a mass cable is from batterie to the screw of the water-box. it's a short way and you don't need to screw any new holes in the chassis.
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epowell
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Re: Advice on buying a used GEARBOX

Beitrag von epowell »

Thanks so much for this very comprehensive and useful answer! I can see that buying a used gearbox is an Art form in itself which involves a lot of Psychology and detective work! I am glad that probably my existing gearbox will be good for a while... ...but I definitely do intend to take some action regarding a new gearbox before crisis inevitably will happen.

Can anyone suggest an on-line bazar in Germany where people are selling T3 gearboxes?
newt3 hat geschrieben:0. the best way to buy a used gearbox is to
a) drive it before (in the old car)
b) install it at the buying point together (so that you can drive it and if it doesn't work correct you leave it there)

---------
1. if your gearbox works correct there is no need to buy another one. and if you housing goes defect perhaps in some years search a guy who rebuild gearboxes. he should have some other housing for you. in most cases the housing is fine so a gearbox rebuilder will have enough housings)

2. poland doesn't have so many t3. so i would say the price for a gearbox should be higher there then in germany - if not it's a thing to think about why not. (so it should be the same in your country)

3. if someone has more than one gearbox you should ask yourself if he really knows somethin about the box. perhaps he has never driven it or only for a short time in a 'dying car with lots of other bad noise' so he can't really hear or feel if there is something wrong

4. if the oil is already emptied i would be extra careful
->perhaps the gearbox was sent. if you send it you have empty the oil. a sent gearbox means 99% that the seller hasn't driven it by himself
->perhaps the seller or someone else emptied the oil to look if there is strange metall at the oil screw. when he will do this? oft coure when he thougt/heard/feelt that somethin is wrong in the box
---->for someone who has a fully working gearbox in the garage which he has driven by himself there is no reason to empty the oil (rather he install it in his car. than he could empty it und refill whith new immidatly before installing in his car)

5. perhaps your housing is dying of electrical problems? perhaps you install a new 'electric mass cable' directyl from batterie to chassis
(the original way of the 'electricmass' is ->battery->engin->gearbox->chassis (and maybe the way directly from batterie to chassic would be the better one for your old gearbox)
an easy way for such a mass cable is from batterie to the screw of the water-box. it's a short way and you don't need to screw any new holes in the chassis.
Max Power
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Re: Advice on buying a used GEARBOX

Beitrag von Max Power »

Ich zeig mal ein Bild, weil ich versuche epowell mein DM schmackhaft zu machen.http://www.bulliforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=94674
Vielleicht kann ja jemand was daraus schliessen.

Bild

Irgendwas ist auf jeden Fall zerbrochen, das ist das einzige grosse Stück, der Rest der Späne ist nur Staub.

Danke
Max Power
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Re: Advice on buying a used GEARBOX

Beitrag von Max Power »

Ich hab Getriebeteile verglichen, es ist ziemlich sicher die Spitze eines Zahns.
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epowell
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Re: Advice on buying a used GEARBOX

Beitrag von epowell »

Max, is this what the plug magnet looks like on your old DM? I guess the broken tooth is the reason why 1st gear doesn't work?

Anyhow 50eur is not much so I am seriously considering taking your DM and using it as something to learn on... open it up and see how I like tinkering with these things :mrgreen:
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