Troubleshooting help.

[phxjohn]

Hello everyone,

I found this post: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=425143

I am becoming more convinced that 'slamming' can be destructive.

[sb001]

John my guess is that the "ticking" sound you heard was the flex plate (or at least its welded captive nuts) hitting against the engine case, I'd be willing to bet that the mechanic(s) who reinstalled your flex plates did not have the proper VW tool to hold the flex plate true, so they did what I do- used a makeshift locking tool to keep the flex plate from spinning around when installing it on the crankshaft. I made one out of piece of bent metal with holes in it, bolting one end to the engine case and the other to the flex plate using one of the torque converter bolts:



You can see how using something like this could potentially warp the flex plate, by bending it the direction of the locking tool. That's why I have those washers between the metal piece and the engine case, to use as spacers to keep the flex plate straight and even with the engine case.

[phxjohn]

sb001,

That makes sense. I am learning so much from this website. I am going to keep learning in preparation for my next 73-75 Super Beetle autostick if there are any around by the time that I am prepared to buy. All autosticks seem to be becoming more rare by the day. Very sad. This may be a bit off topic, maybe not: Acura has produced a very smooth shifting sequential automated manual transmission that shifts very smoothly due to the addition of a torque converter. It reminds me of a modern day autostick. 

[sb001]

John-
That is awesome about the Acura tranny! I had no idea- very cool. I'll have to read up a bit more about that.

As for autosticks being fairly rare- I think there are still WAAAY plenty out there, even with all the ones that were trashed in salvage yards or swapped to 4 speeds. I stumbled upon one about a month ago for sale in my area with a seized engine and bought it for $750:

[phxjohn]

Sb001,

Great find ! Keep us posted on its restoration please.