I found out my transaxle was not a 73 like I thought. I had the clutch set up for the older style. It broke at the most inopportune time. I had driven it down the road about five miles to a riding area. When it broke we had to walk back to get my truck. On top of that i had to do some hill climbing in the truck to get it. I hauled it home and pulled the engine. The cross shaft had broken. So I went to the store and got a new one.

    This is what i saw when i pulled the engine. As you can see the right side has been pushed to the right.

    I removed the old cross shaft. I had a hard time getting out the old bushing until I found the set screw that held it in place.

    This is with the new cross shaft installed. You can see the new poly bushing. So far I haven't had any clutch problems with it since then.

    I did however have some transaxle problems. I blew the spider gears to pieces. I guess I shouldn't have done so many burnout's on the road. Rather than fix it we went to JIM'S CUSTOM V.W. annual swap meet and show. There we picked up two transaxles for $25 apiece. I threw one in the buggy and it hasn't broken yet.

    The most recent problem was my dad decided to take a friend for a ride. The only problem was he blew a oil line and never looked at the pressure gauge. The engine locked up. When we tore down the engine the center main bearing was partially melted. the crank was shot and the rods were to. The bearing got hot enough to burn the lettering into the saddle. It also made a nice ridge so the case was align bored. My dad bought a few new tools to assemble the engine correctly. first was a oil pump puller which bent instead of pulling. next was a dial indicator to check end play, and a micrometer to check shim thickness. A socket for the 1 7/8" chromemolly gland nut. and finally a torque wrench that went to 250ft lbs. The engine was then assembled the same as before.