I just bought my first vanagon, but from my experience with other
cars, a bump like you describe sounds like it could be a u-joint - but
you probably got that suggestion.

Dan
Los Angeles, CA
'85 Westy Weekender

On Apr 29, 2011, at 4:17 PM, Rocket J Squirrel wrote:

> So a while back, I posted about a mysterious "thump" sound that can be
> heard, and felt, when the drive train gets unloaded in 2nd gear in my
> auto transmission '84, Mellow Yellow. This thump is best heard when
> on a
> quiet, smooth street, when the transmission is in 2nd gear, the
> accelerator pushed down enough to cause the van to get moving at a
> fair
> clip, then the foot taken off the gas pedal. Thump.
>
> In some cases, when cruising along a moderate speed in 2nd, with just
> enough pressure on the pedal to keep the van drifting along, sometimes
> coasting, sometimes being pushed a bit by the engine -- thump, thump,
> thumpty, thump.
>
> Two mechanics have looked everything over and I posted about it here.
> Several folk responded with further suggestions of things to look at,
> and they either have been, or will be when the tranny is dropped a bit
> to put on the GoWesty ATF external cooler kit.
>
> So I have backburnered more inspection until then.
>
> Well, Mrs Squirrel and I just got back from a week in Hawaii. We
> rented
> a Westy from HappyCampersHawaii.com. These folks have a fleet of
> Westies, mainly 2.1L, but a couple aircooled, and some very fancy
> buses
> and bay windows. Bud likes working on them.
>
> We rented an '87 with an AT (238,000 miles, second engine, very clean,
> very tidy but we did miss the amenities that we've gotten used to in
> Mellow Yellow).
>
> Several days into the trip we both noticed that it also thumped under
> the same conditions, though not as dramatically as Mellow Yellow.
>
> Except for one night at the Hilton in Hilo, we camped on the beaches.
> When we brought the van back, I asked Bud -- co-owner with his wife --
> if he had noticed the sound. He had not.
>
> --
> Rocky J Squirrel
> '84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
> '74 Westrailia: (Ladybug Trailer company, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
> Bend, OR
> KG6RCR