It didn't take me long on here to come up with a problem...

My transaxle has two filling holes right next door to each other but the rear most one is slightly higher than the one in front.  My thoughts are that the forward one = gearbox and rear one = diff. There are two drain holes so this would seem to back my theory up.  Therefore, questions are as follows;
-do I drain then fill each one till oil starts to come from the drain hole?
-what oil should I use and is it the same for both gearbox and diff?
-what age/type is this box?

On a related topic, does anyone else got a cross brace welded across the chassis legs?  It's 2-2 1/2" wide and is attached on the outside of one leg, welded to the bottom of the leg, then crosses to the other leg where it repeats the welding.  It seems very well done but is obviously an addition.  Is this a common mod?

I think we need a pic of gearbox............
Never seen one like that........assuming its a vw one?

2 filler box thats a new one on me, cannot remember what the 1700 bay transmission had so as GBH says pictures

Bracing the horns is common to stop the twisting and bending and also acts as protection for the box it may have had a skid plate on,  a Kaffer type brace will do a better job on the flex but offers no protection underneath.

Undo the filler plug first ( if you can't undo it you can't fill it up. if you have already emptied the box your in trouble  ) 
Then you undo BOTH drain plugs.... It smells bad don't it 
Clean up the mess and refit the drain plugs.
You can then fill the gearbox with SAE 90 Hoypoid  gear oil until it flows out the hole you fill up from.
Clean up the mess and refit the filler plug.

Yes, if you can, do put some photos up, I haven't ever seen a gearbox with two filler
and two drain plugs.

It will be interesting to see 

I'll take a picture tomorrow.

Oh, I have found a further filling hole on the right hand side too!

Some further research has uncovered the existence of split transaxles which were apparently early items and not too strong. they were replaced with the the one piece version.

It sort of fits with king and link pin beam-age wise- but the chassis and original engine are defo '72.  Who knows, it may be that my car is based on components from different donors,  fancy that..

Its making sense now, looking forward to seeing
a photo 

an early split case explains the 2 fillers not looked at one of those since the mid 70's.
I assume you have a pan off a 50's beetle that was registered as a buggy in 1972 like the old snoopy 3 a 1950 pan re reg in 69 when built as a buggy.

life gets confusing on dating buggy bits without seeing them even then it can be awkward.

Here you go............and there the two fillers...........
A lot weaker than later boxes, and only partial syncromesh.........

That's the one.

What's the deal with the multitude of fill and drain holes though?  Might it be that you use the easiest access according to the application?  I'm lucky in that I can loosen all of the plugs and can get fluid into all of them BUT what where?

I've got the fluid, I've got the tools and I've got the time- jeez that sounds wrong- so let me know if there is any thing i need to watch for.

I'm tired now so I'm going to bed.

QuoteThat's the one.

x2

if the plugs are level just remove them both and fill the box until it is level with the bottom of both bungs.  fitting a later box would be a good idea but I think the front mtg needs changing on the chassis then you can fit later/larger engines more easily aswell as having 4 synchro gears instead of 1 or 4 crash ones depending on the year of your box.

The pictures say it all; 2 plugs on the left, 2 underneath and one on the left.
I'll undo the left ones and stick my finger in to see if they're joined,I'll then drain and refill as suggested.




Regarding age, etc, as it's an swb the chassis no is "missing".  The v5 chassis No is for a 1972 car but it does not describe the car as it is now and the engine has been changed.  This doesn't fit Snoppy's re-registering theory-which would have been nice- but is there another way to gauge the age of the chassis?

I'm glad all this has come up now as (depending on how much I was able to spend) I was going to change the box and / or fit a 1600 engine.  Either way i'd now be asking a) why my gearbox has blown up or b) why my new gearbox won't fit my chassis!

Your beam is it a ball joint or k&l pin ? That will also help show it's age. If your logbook shows '72 then it must be a '72 ;-)

a split gear box case indicates a pre 1960 pan with k &L front end and single circuit brakes although over the last 50 years anything may have happened to it more so as a buggy.