It is probably the torque converter seal. Before you remove the
transmission check the differential fluid. If it is a normal brownish color
it is probably old and you should change it. If it is over full and the
fluid has a red tint to it the seals between the automatic portion and the
differential portions of the transmission are leaking and when the trans is
out you should replace those as well. I did remove the automatic portion of
a Vanagon trans without removing the differential. This was done by
professionals, do not try this at home. :) Replacing the torque converter
seal is a rather simple job. If the trans shifts good when it is full of
fluid it's probably OK. You may want to drop the trans pan and look for
chunks. HTH
>At 06:48 PM 2/1/97 -0600, Thoreau wrote:
>well, i took the plunge and bought a 1980 vanagon, it has a little bit of
>a problem however...
>
>the auto tranny leaks fluid out just about as soon as you put it in.
>
>at first i thought it was just the belly pan seal, but upon further
>inspection that does not seem too likely.
>
>it appears to me, before a thorough inspection, that the torque converter
>seal or the o ring between the tranny box and the final drive is bad, do
>either of these seem likely to you guys. any other obvious culprits that
>you can think of?
>
>also, the car has been moved around in the parking lot a couple of times
>with the fluid replenished but leaking out rapidly. if, before i got it,
>it was run dry for any length of time how bad could the damage be?  with
>fluid it seems to run okay and drive/engage without too much trouble, is
>it likely that it would fail soon even with the seal replaced? (i dont
>want to drop the thing twice if you know what i mean...)
>
>i am pretty much an auto tranny idiot, all my cars have been manuals
>before this.  If the tranny turns out to be unsalvageable, how hard would
>it be to swap it for a manual?  i am pretty sure that once i determine
>which seal is the culprit many miles can be left in the tranny, but i
>await everyones advice eagerly...
>
>thanks a lot,
>
>stephen white

 Greetings from Michigan's Upper Peninsula
 Jeff & Jean-Marie Diebolt
 mailto:jdiebolt@up.net