Yep,,, another gearbox goes "Bang",,, & 3rd gear this time,,, ordering another 3rd gear from Albins on Monday

the tow truck charge back from Byron wasn`t easy to swallow either :-(

slowly getting sick of removing & replacing kombi gearboxes,,, But the flip side is that i`m pretty sure there wouldn`t be many people who can change one quicker
:-),,, well,,, in this kombi anyways :-) I`ve got it down to about 2hrs 45mins :-)

I`m now seriously thinking about mortaging the house to buy one of those $28K full Albins 6speed trannys, just have to persuade/convince the minister of war & finances that it`s a "Necessity" & more important thn building a rear deck on the house :-) I`m not sure that i`m going to win that argument tho, what do you guys reckon???

Anyone interested in buying a gearbox smashing V8 duel cab Kombi ute???

Give up now mate, the minister for sad times will win everytime.

for $28k you could buy a new comodore .
so you should be able to buy a used Commodore 5.7 chev engine, 6 speed trans and IRS diff for a lot less and mount the motor in the middle

you should look into a hewland for that sort of cash. be cheaper I reckon.

http://www.hewland.com 

either that or put a porsche auto in it and drive it with some mechanical sympathy.

wow what box number is that ?

Ian . Mezz & Pete Wood,,, you should both wash your mouthes out with soap,,, Crickey!!!! Sacralidge!!!!!

Brad,,, i`ve lost count

Commodore?????,,, i wouldn`t even entertain the thought,,, discussting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

& an Auto,,,?????????? crickey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what is this?

& "Mechanical Sympathy?????? what`s that????????

If i wanted to drive like a pussy i would have bought a Hyundai getz or Mazda 121 Bubble... (or similar)

WOW!!!!!!!!!! & here i thought you guys were here for encouragment & support???????????

Brad,,, Ban all those against powerfull volkswagens &/or all those who even think about being lame please????????????????

LOL....keep breaking those 2L boxes....puts the value of my stash up even more...

That is a bummer Matt.
Hewland in British pounds? Buy Australian!

Perhaps the clutch is a bit too savage?
They need to just slip...then recover, as you go into 4th gear,
that is a good indication of "just enough" clutch.

I am not sure what Leon has put in there,
but I know Albins/Weddle do a third gear with a smaller bore(special bearing too),
and chunkier teeth.
Also a steel caged bearing with long rollers(to replace the stock plastic cage)
and minimum spec(.oo6") end float on that gear should keep it intact.

Thanks Dave, i must admit i did stick a 2600lb BMW pressure plate in there on one of the last few gearbox changes, but mainly for confidence sake when i hit Moreton Island & for autocrosses & the like... & i do uderstand the clutch bang thing so i`ve been easy on it (not so many wheelstands :-) ) But 3rd just went bang just driving along,,, no gunning it or slamming gears or anything,,, just bang without warning,,, & it was all going along soooo nice for a couple of months,,,

hee hee my new record now is 2 months :-)

I`m talking with Leon already & he`s chasing up Albins to see what we can do... will keep you informed as usual :-)

Rumour has it that a certain 2litre airkewled motor would suit that gearbox perfectly and won't go breaking it

Quote:

Originally posted by jedidan Rumour has it that a certain 2litre airkewled motor would suit that gearbox perfectly and won't go breaking it

Pm sent

there's "driving it like a pussy", "driving it quick", and "driving it stupid". If you know through experience that a gearbox is going to break as a consequence, and you are 2 hours away from home, and you still drive it like that.... which category do you think it fits in?

keep a spare trannie in the back to change over if you break it again....

Amazzeer,,, my girlfriend was with me, she is a witness,,, we had been driving all around hundreds of miles & quite sensibly & comfortably for a few days before it went bang,,, that is "NO" driving hard at all,,, NONE

Even the Autocross & motorkhana were all completed in 1st & 2nd gears with absolutely no load on 3rd gear what-so-ever... so the whole last 2 weeks i have been driving with absolutely no "driving it stupid" (as you put it)

Fatigue is Fatigue & obviously that particular 3rd gear wasn`t up to the task... The 2 months that i`ve had this box fitted i have driven it hard early on.. yes,,, but not the last 2 weeks & certainly not at Byron last week,,, it truely just went bang just driving along on light throttle

Maybe you`re not quite understanding me-- you`re entitled to your own opinion tho, & i`m not telling you what you should or shouldn`t do, nor am i telling you what you should or shouldn`t say,,, my point here is that I need to test the strength of my car & it needs to be done around here close to home,,, (As opposed to half way round Australia) & i`m doing exactly that,,,Testing... i was prepared to have it towed back from Willowbank autocross meeting if it went bang there but it survived & gave me confidence with 1st & 2nd gears, so all was nice & i was just starting to feel at ease with the thoughts of planning a trip to Moreton Island & other places like that.

some other people may think i should just drive "Like a pussy" to save smashing gearboxes,,, But Like i`ve said before,,, if i wanted to drive an automatic 3cyl car i would have bought one

MY mum`s last words to me before she died were--> "Matt go & have fun, don`t live your life like i did & work your arse off only to die before you can have some fun, get out there & do it now before it`s too late"

I miss my old V8 splitty ute,,, i missed racing down hill mountain bikes,,, i missed surfing every weekend,,, so since mum died i`ve been doing all these things & im having fun... When the gearbox can handle the power i have right now, then i`m going to add 2 "little" turbos to the package & then chase what breaks after that

Are you next going to suggest that maybe Aaron with the black turbo 20B rotary kombi should stop drag racing too yeah???

I really do wish i could spend the $28K on the Albins box instead of a rear deck on the house , if i did then i would fit it & add 2 "Big" turbos :-)

Amazeer,,, i race cars,,, that`s what i do for fun,,, i`ve been doing it for 38 years now (since i was 7years old) ,,, i like doing it,,, i enjoy teaching performance/precision driving too, i`ve been doing that for well over 15 years,,, I`m happy doing this stuff,,, It`s fun.... sometimes i have to pay a bit more money on tow trucks & gearboxes,,, so what? that`s the price i pay for my fun... I`m pretty sure my turbo charged V8 powered mini will spit gearboxes too,,, so what? That`s the price i pay for my fun... i drive hard on the race track, i cruise on the road,,, i like going off road to wild & remote places,,, i need to test my car now to make sure it will handle those trips fully loaded with gear & a race mini on a trailer hitched to the back of it... There`s more to this than just gently driving around town in a kombi.

To those of you with poor opinions of me & my kombi &/or my driving, please understand that i need the power, i need the strength, i need to test things now to make sure the car will be reliable for long trips & lots of abuse with many other different people driving it at Down hill Mountain bike race meetings & it also needs to handle being the service car at race meetings like Targa Tasmania & Classic Adelaide,,, they`re big trips,,, not to mention bush bashing around Moreton Island & frazer & maybe a trip around Australia at some stage lateron in my life... If i wanted a Landcruiser for this job i would have bought one,,, i don`t tho... I wan`t my kombi

Hope you can all understand,,, if you can`t or don`t understand then i`m very sorry for you.

koolkarmakombi,,, i have a spare box & was thinking exactly that :-)

i`ll sort it out tho,,, i have faith that i can get this box to handle the grunt, there are plenty more powerful Veedubs out there than this one, & contrary to what others may think, i believe it`s just fatigue from the previous owner... all the new gears i`ve fitted have & are holding up well, just 3rd & then maybe the crown wheel & pinion is next :-)

I`d like to swap the Lockrite diff for a quaife one tho, anyone keen for a swap????? :-)

& please stop with the driving style thing,??? crickey i`m not going to drive light throttle everywhere,,, It`s obvious that this 3rd gear was going to break doing exactly that anyway

& l;ike i`ve allready said---> if i wanted a burnt valved 1200cc kombi engine with worn out automatic trans i would have bought one

I`m racing it... get it??? RACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fast,,, speed... on RACE tracks & off road & it needs to tow big heavy loads to far away places too

Driving style,,, PFhhh ,,,,, i have a std little 998cc mini to putter around town in

:-)

i just wonder whether you can have your cake and eat it if you are little lighter on the equipment. it is possible to drive the wheels off a car without killing it.

Yeah, i know what you`re saying Pete & i really do respect what everyone else is saying too,,, i really do,,, but it`s not just the driving style that`s killing them, all the guys that come mountain bike riding with me will attest to me just driving along & then Bang goes 2nd gear,,, no harshness, no smashing gear changes,,, just as it`s happened again at Byron with my girlfriend in the car with me in 3rd gear,,, obviously the volksy gears are just too hard & brittle,,, the Albins stuff is made bigger & better design & out of far better quality material but are also made slightly softer at the same time,,, this will eventually cause the gear to "Wear out" rather than just break with no warning like the volksy gear are

Obviously there are times where i have planted the right foot & that`s exactly what i have the car for,,, going fast & carrying/towing lots of weight... it`s not just to putter around town with,,, i have the mini for that,,, so it can be simply fatigue from the abuse that i`m giving it &/or the abuse it has recieved before i bought it, so i`m not denying that i`ve treated it harshly,,, i have & i have on purpose,,, to make sure it will handle the abuse without breaking,,, some people call it "Research & Development" ,,, others obviously call it "Driving Stupid",,, you`re all entilted to your own opinion & i respect that,,, Aaron isn`t going to drive his kombi with less throttle just because he`s smashing his porsche gearbox,,, no,,, he`s beefing it up to handle the abuse so he can eventually run it down the drag strip fast "Without" it breaking

& i really don`t want a noisy straight cut race set either,,, i`m aiming for the happy compromise of strength & civilised quiet & smooth... It`s just been a matter of me being to stingey & tight when i rebuilt the boxes previously, i should have just bitten the bullet & replaced "ALL" the gears with Albins from the start, but my past experiences with the old splitty V8 kombi gearboxes lasting at least 2 years before they went bang have swayed my judgment ,,, maybe they just don`t make volksy gears like they used too hey? ;-) & maybe added to the fact that i have plenty more weight & heaps more grip than i used too... it`s all a package

If all you guys suggesting i should adjust my driving style had seen or experienced what i was doing with my old splitty ute back in those days , then you wouldn`t be suggesting that it`s my driving style causing these problems now & i almost gaurantee you all would also have a far better appreciation & respect for the strength & quality of the older Volksy boxes i`m sure.

Like i keep saying,,, please understand that this car needs to be able to take a big chunk of abuse & not just by me either,,, there are plenty of other people who drive this thing every weekend & nearly all the time fully loaded with lots & lots of gear,,, I firmly believe we will get this box to handle the grunt & the weight... i have no doubts... it`s just more money on the right items.

& i must say that Leon is doing a marvelous job no only re-building them for me all the time but alos for putting up with me,,, & he`s not making a fortune doing it either so i have to say a big thank you for his help.

& im not forgetting Andrew , Eilene & Peter from Custom Vee Dubs,,, they`ve helped me heaps too & i appreciate it emensly guys, thank you.

Matty B & Dave Dangerous, you guys are old mates, you know what i`m on about,,, not many understand me , i know that,,, but that`s ok,,, There are very few people in the world with V8 kombi utes ""&"" a Turbo charged alloy V8 powered mini,,,





I`m not backing off the go pedal,,, sorry if you think i`m stupid,,, If you don`t like racing hard then don`t race,,, but please don`t knock the people that do. (& i know you`re not knocking me Pete) & i understand that most of you are trying to help,,, i understand that too,,, i`m not dirty on any of you,,, i`m just wondering if any of you actually understand that i`m not going to go soft on the right peddle... that`s not what this car is for... if i wanted a car that can`t carry a sh!t load of stuff while towing a race mini on a trailer behind then i`d buy a 1200cc splitty with a burnt valve (or 2) & just park it at VW shows & then putter back home & leave it there till the next show.... No offence to anyone who actually owns such a beast,,, it`s just not what i want/need.

fair enough, when will the turbo V8 mini be finished?

After this one is finished-->



which is after this one is finished-->



which is after the Kombi gearbox is fixed (again) ;-)