Now SMS was 4k tranny?

[rapieper at yahoo.com (Ron Pieper)]

Whew...of all the trannies I have torn down, a surprisingly high number either had SMS or were
about to.  I'd guess at least 25%, maybe up to 40% I wasn't comfortable with when I opened them.  

Remember I got a lot of SMSd trannies in partial trade for a good one I'd supply (most folks just
want to get rid of them).

I do not recall having seen SMS on an F- tranny, probably because of better rivets.

Some trannies that were about to go have had the little hats (that are supposed to keep that
little shaft contained) either loose or worn through from the shaft, but the major catastrophe
hadn't happened yet.

Frankly, it's a bitch for a normal DIYer to tear down a tranny, apply the bolt kit, and
reassemble.  On top of that, it's a "while I'm in here" sort of thing...the project can keep
growing.  Roughly $200 in parts alone if'n you put all new synchros in (which I don't do for my
trannies because some just don't wear out and I'm a cheapass besides).  This when we can get
replacement boxes for a lot less, if you're connected to other VW fans.  Still, if you want to be
sure of many miles, it has to be done, because Fritz decided to be cheap, stupid, or both.

For anyone doing this, I'd at least replace (with bolts) the two rivets that align with the shaft
(but I've always replaced them all, because I'm cheap but not stupid)  And of course add the
circlips.

Maybe someday I'll be doing more...it's been a year at least (ask Daun!!).

HTH

Ron



--- C Boyko <roccit_53@scirocco.cs.uoguelph.ca> wrote:

> I'm not sure exactly how common the problem really is, but it IS a pretty
> scary problem. I've never had any SMS on my fleet of junk, and they'd all
> be 020s (except the daily) and all have been pretty abused. The 16Vs the
> only one with the bolt kit, and only because it got rebuilt for upgrades.
>  
> So now a quickie stats type question, how many of you have had SMS and what
> condition was the tranny in (mileage,etc)/how many other healthy ones do
> you have? I mean if someone has experience with 20 trannies and the only
> one they had the problem with was a 500,000 mile example that went dry a
> few times, then that's different from every second person on the list
> having one go. OTOH, if I ever have one torn down again, bolts will go in.
> I'd like to hear from Ron/Dan etc on this, given their experience with this
> stuff. 
> cathy
> 
> 
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