DAF 33 1972

[peewee]

Hi Daffers,
Im posting a plea for help for my 1972 Daf 33. I have been busying myself over the last couple of weeks with time off work,to get cracking with some restoration progress . Today i got the rear of the car up on ramps,mainly to inspect the condition of the Variomatic transmission and the wear on the belts.
Imagine my utter excitement,when i was greeted ( after removing the plastic belt guards underneath the car ),by a brand new replacement genuine Volvo/Daf transmission,wishbones drive unit etc...there was still Volvo Daf paper stickers all over the parts,and still in gleaming satin black factory paint !!
I think that just prior to the elderly lady laying the car up in 1990,she had some kind of transmission fault? So took it to Central Garage in Newport I-O-W,to which the service guys replaced the entire rear end !! I cant confirm this,as i dont have any firm evidence with paperwork,but the garage owner i bought the car from said she kept the car in tip top conditiion in her ownership,regardless of maintenance costs at Central Garage.
Although this transmission appears virtually new,i have noticed that both the White plastic "fans" on the fixed  pulley drums from the drive unit have become brittle,and are breaking away from the rivets ... one of them has totally broke away ,and heaven knows where the broken bits are now ??
Consequently,i have now removed the drive unit off the car,awaiting hopefully for some good used replacements??
Which now begs the plea lol..... would anybody have 2 good used white plastic fan wheels ??Or is it uncritical to have these? i would imagine Daf fitted these for an aid in cooling the drum due to friction from the rubber belts varying up and down the pulleys? Could someone technical confirm yay or nay that these need to be reinstated please ?
 Many thanks in advance.
Philip Bowler IOW

[joe]

Have you got a picture of them at all? I'm trying to think what they are. Are they these inside the pulleys?

[andrejuan]

Jul 28, 2016 9:09:09 GMT joe said:

Have you got a picture of them at all? I'm trying to think what they are. Are they these inside the pulleys?

Joe, I think they are the plastic inserts placed on primary pulleys (the outside of the innermost halfs) ie. facing each other
in the centre of the unit.
)(.here.)(

[peewee]

Hi guys,
I must apologise in advance here,as i find it awkward to upload photo,s on here.... im a real technophobe lol !!
Apologies too,as i probably havent explained the offending items correctly,The white plastic fan wheels are riveted to the FIXED DRIVING PULLEY DISC,as described in Kenneth Ball,s Autobook Manual ( sorry i dont have an official Daf 33 parts book ).
Incidentally,referring to Peter Russek,s glovebox manual for the Daf 55, this part is described as an IMPELLER RING,if this of any help?
While on the subject of the Vario transmission system,whilst reading up on the dismantling/servicing of the power divider drive unit,i observe that many specialist tools are required for the overhaul of the vacuum units,inc a vacuum pump for reassembly.Are these fairly straightforward to repair at home without too much difficulty? I understand the cautions noted that on dismantling,some form of paint marking or masking tape identification is referred for correct reassembly.
Im more than competant to play with these units,just the manuals make it seem a tad tricky, if anything,although im happy that all is virtually new inside,maybe the ATF fluid may need topping up inside the drums ??
Sorry for all these techy questions,im totally new to the Daf vario transmission lol
Thanks guys,
Regards,
Philip IOW

[andrejuan]

Hi Philip
Is there a problem with the unit? If it works ok I would be tempted to leave it. Obviously check the belts for age related decay.
Special tools make life easier, but I have done the belts (easier on the 33 than the later "b" body variants) and diaphragms without them. The rest of the unit shouldn't need disturbing unless there is a problem.

[Richard DAF Webmeister]

Jul 29, 2016 8:41:21 GMT andrejuan said:

Hi Philip
Is there a problem with the unit? If it works ok I would be tempted to leave it. Obviously check the belts for age related decay.
Special tools make life easier, but I have done the belts (easier on the 33 than the later "b" body variants) and diaphragms without them. The rest of the unit shouldn't need disturbing unless there is a problem.

I agree with this. Best to leave well alone unless there is a problem.

Fingers crossed/touch wood etc, 33 transmissions rarely need disturbing.

(I realise that I have probably now tempted enormous bad fate on my 33 of a similar age)

[peewee]

Hi Guys,
Having pondered on this,i agree totally with you both... As my old dad used to say "you look for trouble boy,you will find it"..Unfortunately i am unable to confirm the unit is in perfect working order,due to not yethaven driven the car . So yeah i think other than a clean down with the paraffin spray gun and lightly derust the pulley inners,i will leave be.I do need though,to turn up on the lathe 2 nylon tophat bushes that the drive unit frame suspends on the 2 pegs at the front on bodyfloor pan. I still need to address the situation with the plastic IMPELLER RINGS,but if im able to locate 2 good used ones,i think an option would be to deliberately cut them into 2 halves either side of rivet holes,so these could be fitted without total dismantling of the drive unit pulleys,merely winkling them into place and re-rivetting ?
Can anybody help with these impeller rings.... Begging on knees hands clasped,sorrowful eyes lol !!
Regards,
philip IOW

[andrejuan]

I don't know how important the impeller rings are to (what I assume is) ventilation. Steve is your man if no one answers it on here.
On "B" body cars the chassis rails are also air ducts to cool the unit, is this the same on "A" body cars?
Either way, the variomatic unit is very finely balanced, so it is vital that whatever you do the balance is maintained.

[peewee]

Hi,
To be totally honest,i had no idea that cooling for the Vario was aided by the chassis rails? But this is what i like about the forum..We learn all the time with snippets of techy info on these wonderful cars ! And again,the manuals stress very strongly that the vario transmission is balanced,another reason that i should leave well alone until the car is running under its own steam,then it will determine if all is fine.

[starider]

Hi, I've been away from these pages for a while and only recently begun to look through this years posts. Have you sorted the Primary Unit cooling fan problem? I cann't help with replacements, but I would have agreed with everyone else to leave well alone. Believe me as one who used to work on DAF's for years, any job that required stripping down transmissions was tackled with a certain amount of trepidation.
We had all the necessary specialist tools, but it still needed a high level of skill and cleanliness as the slightest vacuum leak when repaired, necessitated another strip down. A vacuum pump is an absolute necessity to check for leaks and to suck in the end cover[with the two pipes] so that the huge circlip can be fitted. I hope you removed the broken cooling fan bits.
All models had cooling to the transmission along the chassis rails........starider