Lookit this!

[lastmanx]

there is nothing wrong. this is what a swing axle looks like.if you add spacers you will misalign nosecone or in essence misalign the shift coupler. drag racers relocate the trans above tunnel which lowers car. indexing spring plates changes spring tension,your axles will never hit frame horn. some off brand bodies don't fit correct with good wheel clearance. a 3 inch body lift will always fix wheel clearance. you can make your own with 2x4 wood if have good fabrication skills or buy steel manufactured one. as to boots the factory seamless and factory seam boots fit the same. they never wear through on frame even if touching. now if you think you need trans syncros because it is hard to shift from 3rd to second and almost impossible to shift from 2nd to first you don't. they are not meant to shift that way. use your brakes and watch speed at 30mph you can shift down into second. first gear should only be used from a stop to accelerate. some early swing axles don't have a syncro for first gear. if this is not your case please disregard, I just thought you should know.keep smiling

[croakintowd]

Hi! I've found another transaxle. It's a '68 long axle. I need to clean it up and replace the boots.

Lastmanx, I drive this buggy the same way I drive my other buggy and I don't experience the grinding, etc. that I do with this Swing axle trans. That's what makes me thing the synchros are bad. Also because of the leak the previous owner drove it with essentially no oil in the transaxle. How far he drove it? I don't know. So, I'm thinking if I left it in there, I'd be driving a ticking time bomb that will probably wait to fail in the middle of Death Valley....LOL. It had a bad outer wheel bearing in the right rear wheel. I'm told that is rare. I think that speaks to the low oil condition...

I did get some boots that resemble the factory German boots for the replacement trans, and they're split style....

I think that if I re-index the plates like Jeff Hibbard recommends and go from there, it'll be as good as it's gonna get...But it should be an improvement over what I started with...

Thanks everyone for the help and suggestions!

[croakintowd]

Hello, I thought I would post a follow up to this post. it turned out the trans was sitting too low in the horns. The problem was in the after market solid mount transmission saddle.
The saddle was "adjustable". I had never seen one like it. the holes for the two 18mm bolts were elongated. once you decided where you wanted the saddle to be, there were large washers you would weld in the position of choice.
The guy that built the buggy chose to select the lowest position. This caused the axle tubes and boots to contact the frame horns, and destroy the boots.
I had to remove the washers, elongate the holes another 1/4", then weld new washers. This raised the trans up and fixed the problem.
The new trans is in, and it's going back together!
Thanks again for all tbe help and suggestions!



Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk 2

[Tom-Kathleen]

Thanks for posting the outcome of your problem. I have never heard of an adjustable height transaxle mount, does it allow you to do the 10 degree angle to raise the engine end for more ground clearance? Tom

[croakintowd]

I don't know why this "adjustable" mount was made, or who made it.... I've never seen one, either. I can't find anyone who has seen one, either... (I only asked about three people...) As it ws I had to elongate the holes downward another 1/2" or so...

I wasn't really looking for more ground clearance, but I guess I ended up raising the trans up about 1/2". Now that doesn't mean it's any higher than stock... Just 1/2" higher than when I started...LOL. I don't know how the guy got it to bolt together.... When I put the trans in, I connected the front trans mount, but didn't completely tighten those bolts. I let the rear of the trans be supported by letting the axle tubes and boots rest on the horns.... When I went to bolt the trans saddle in, there was a gap between the saddle and trans. I would have to have forced it to get it to bolt together, and the boots would still be on the horns, only more so!
As an aside, the threads were messed up in the horns, and both 18mm bolts had boogered threads... I think the previous owner must have bolted the saddle to the trans, then forced it into position and forced the saddle bolts in.... I was able to repair the left horn by re-tapping the threads, but the right one needed a Helicoil. I had to replace both bolts with others I had in the junk pile... (God bless out junk piles...LOL).

So now, there is enough clearance between the boots and horns that I can force a piece of corrugated cardboard in there,... (I don't know that that is the definitive test for clearance, but it's what I had in arms reach...LOL...).

So, after all that, I'm happy to have solved the "mystery", and fixed a few hidden problems....
I guess the lesson learned is "Don't assume any simple repair is gonna be simple". Like someone said "Volkswagens; Making mechanics out of owners, for years".

Once again, thanks to all who took time to offer their help...
Richard