Educate me transmissions and Timing belts/chains

[msuguydon]

My son is out looking to buy a car.  I have been going along to look at these cream puffs.  

We drove one, a mid 60's aged Ponatic, that had an automatic transmission.  Once it was in high gear and you slowed to stop.. CLUNK.. owner told me it was fine, just started doing that because it doesn't get driven much. And when he drives it more it stops..RIGHT... any thoughts on the issue?  Educate me please..

So we drive another, 2000 VW... guy says the car needs a new timing belt.. we drive the car.. idles rough, like it has a loose motor mount, smells of gas... TIMING issue?  Educate me please.. 4 cy...

[57larry]

buy him a 81-87 chevy truck, parts are reasonable, you can still work on these and plenty of parts out there

[msuguydon]

buy him a 81-87 chevy truck, parts are reasonable, you can still work on these and plenty of parts out there

The chances of him buying an 82 Chevy pick-up truck are about the same as you buying a Nissan 240SX.  

[river1]

how old is he?

his money or yours?

[reborn55]

If memory serves me(old age setting in) the Pontiac may have the Roto-Hydramatic trans and unless you are as gifted as Crosley you won't find too many to work on it or even find pats for it.  If ST 300 or later maybe a modulator or vacuum problem.
VW ugh

[msuguydon]

If memory serves me(old age setting in) the Pontiac may have the Roto-Hydramatic trans and unless you are as gifted as Crosley you won't find too many to work on it or even find pats for it.  If ST 300 or later maybe a modulator or vacuum problem.
VW ugh

Thats what I thought on the Pontiac.. anyway its not one that he is buying.. I was just curious for my own education what might cause the down shifting clunk.

[tomslik]

as far as the vw,how deep are your pockets?
you haven't told much about it, what model, enging, etc.
1 thing i WILL tell ya is, a lot of 'em ain't making the 90K timing belt interval.
read that as about 4K to fix....if it's a 4 cyl...
tomorrow, i get to put a water pump on an overheating jetta.
why?
impellers are made of plastic and break ALL the time...
i could go on...

[wayne petty]

for the clunk... power glides would do a weird clunk when the throttle valve linkage was mis adjusted...  but a pg in a pontiac.  

it could also be a worn out Universal joint...    that will for sure make a clunk... so many things it could be...

as for later model volkswagen 4 bangers....

the cap and rotor get dirty..    the paper thin plastic crankcase breather tubing cracks.. the rubber... (if that is what they call it..) elbows on the upper end of the same breather tube go bad... crack, melt, just fall apart...  this lets in excess air into the crankcase... and the pcv system just lets it all in throwing off the fuel mixture.. even if the lock that holds the dip stick in place goes bad... it throws off stuff...  and those latches are available...

when the timing belt gets worn...  it gets loose... if the cam or aux shaft junp timing one or two teeth.. it may still run...  but run bad... sometimes when the belt gets replaced... the aux shaft is not put back in the right spot...  the engine again.. will run..  but badly... pull the dizzy and reset it...

and on stick shift models...     if the clutch is acting really strange... like the pedal going to the floor  once in a while..   then totally bad... the have weird self adjusting clutch cables...    but... even though you thing that it is that....     grab the clutch fork... pull it up... see if you can feel the clutch action...     many times.... too many to count... the splined lever that is hidden under the big freeze type plug on the end of the trans has cracked..  so it is sometimes free to rotate  ...  the replacement from vw is thicker around the base circle... more meat... less chance of breakage...

and ... the clutch cable is a real bear to install... the barrel end that latches into the top of the clutch pedal.. is almost impossible to snap in... it takes 2 tech's ....   and a pair of offset long nose pliers to hold it in place  on top of the pedal... while another tech pulls on the core as hard as he can...  to snap it in.. ....  i have replaced them by my self... but it is really hard...     the non self adjusting cables will retro fit.. but you have to buy the clutch fork rubber isolator and clip...  it is different...

to unsnap the clutch cable from the top of the pedal... i have only been able to cut the cable... with bolt cutters ... push it back through the hole... then with the core dangling inside the car... you can pull it out...

hopefully it will help someone...

[Crosley.In.AZ]

some confusion with Pontiac transmission..... confusion is the marketing guys called the ST-300 trans a Jetaway too.   A ST-300 2 speed trans is similar to the power glide , yet quite different in some design .

On the VW car thing... be careful as tomslik  mentions.  A common process on a VW  4 cyl car is to service the timing belt, water pump (metal impeller) , belt tensioners, drive belts , coolant  around 75k miles.  Check the book on this. Some cars call for 80k on the timing belt , others call for 100k IF my memory is working.

[msuguydon]

some confusion with Pontiac transmission..... confusion is the marketing guys called the ST-300 trans a Jetaway too.   A ST-300 2 speed trans is similar to the power glide , yet quite different in some design .

On the VW car thing... be careful as tomslik  mentions.  A common process on a VW  4 cyl car is to service the timing belt, water pump (metal impeller) , belt tensioners, drive belts , coolant  around 75k miles.  Check the book on this. Some cars call for 80k on the timing belt , others call for 100k IF my memory is working.

The VW is a 1999/2000 Passat Wagon..GLS with a turbo.. about 85K miles on it.. says he has not done the timing belt, so I think you are telling me that its time to service it... I called a local VW place and they said about $700 bucks to service, with tensioners.. etc..  Car starts and runs well, but has this fuel smell, that both my son and I noticed, and idles rough...

As for the Pontiac.. it is a 1966 Tempest/Lemans, 2DR hardtop with a straight six OHC... pretty cool car all and all, would be a great canidate for a GTO clone, if you are into that sorta thing, but after further review it has been nixed from the list

[tomslik]

yep,it's overdue.
do the water pump too.

fuel smell isn't a common thing but you might have a leaking injector...

myself, i'd keep looking...
but i just work on 'em.

[msuguydon]

yep,it's overdue.
do the water pump too.

fuel smell isn't a common thing but you might have a leaking injector...

myself, i'd keep looking...
but i just work on 'em.

Hmmm ... Tom... so it is just the two of us here...    you can you whisper your answer in my ear so know one else hears it... should I just avoid VW's

[wayne petty]

it's not just the two of you..... i am drooling over the straight six lemans...

i miss my 66 GTO...  the 460  in the econoline just does not match the raw power that rat could put out.. but the van does weigh twice as much....

i know it is a moot point... but was the six a 4 barrel carb motor ?

those things fixed up were until the bottom fell out... still worth over 10 grand... easy...

[tomslik]

yep,it's overdue.
do the water pump too.

fuel smell isn't a common thing but you might have a leaking injector...

myself, i'd keep looking...
but i just work on 'em.

Hmmm ... Tom... so it is just the two of us here...    you can you whisper your answer in my ear so know one else hears it... should I just avoid VW's

unless you like spending lots of money on upkeep (read that as you can't do it yourself), i would run far away, forrest.


got another jetta in today, said "engine falling out" on the RO.
yep, sure is.
the idiot drove it to the shop.
bolts broke on the rh side mount, dropped motor down on the timing belt.
why it still ran, i don't know....

[msuguydon]

it's not just the two of you..... i am drooling over the straight six lemans...


i know it is a moot point... but was the six a 4 barrel carb motor ?

those things fixed up were until the bottom fell out... still worth over 10 grand... easy...

I think so, never asked.. two owner car, 56K miles... he wants 5K