My bus came with the 6 rib fitted. Deffo has more motorway guts than other similar spec ones I've been in though....... its on a t1 1676 (I think) with twin 40idf's.
All the VW gearbox ratios are on Ratwell.com, here: http://ratwell.com/mirror/sandlizrd.baja.com/gears.htm
This is probably a real novice question but what do you mean by the term'rib' what's be difference between the 3/5/6 ribs??? Cheers
So what do the different ribs on the outside of the gearbox refer to. Or are they just different gearboxes used over the years. So different boxes used in different years of on different engines but can be interchanged with each other???
More ribs means more strength in the gearbox casing. This usually corresponds with the gearbox being stronger and having longer ratios.
Ok think I get it. As someone has said I too much of a novice to be taking the gearbox apart but it does help to understand a bit more so at least if I speak to someone about it I not completely in the dark with what they are talking about. So are the 6 rib gearboxes the best ones to have, ie greater gear ratio so can travel at a faster speed without straining the engine, right??
Only if you have a 2 litre or similar bhp/torque engine otherwise you'll never get in to high gear or maintain it ...
Sounds good in theory but not really. 6 rib gearboxes were meant for 2 litre type 4 engines, as they have more power and you don't want it revving its nuts off at motorway speeds when it has the power to be able to propel your bus along with lower revs. However: your engine is cooled by air, and the faster the fan spins, the more cooling there is. So with an aircooled engine it has to be a trade off between fan speed and not over-revving. If you fit a 6 rib to a 1600 engine, you'll forever be switching between 3rd and 4th because it just won't have the power to keep the speed up. It'll also overheat because it'll be working really hard with the higher ratio gearbox and not getting enough cooling air for all the effort its making.
This thread has me worried but my 5 rib box (from original 1800) seems ok with the 2000c I now have in my bus as it will sit at 70mph easily and does about 60 in third..
I do have a 2lt engine. Not sure about the gearbox thou as this is the first time I found out about the ribs so will check it out when I have it jacked up next. Was there a standard gearbox put on the 2lt???
yes you should have! Assuming any of the PO's didn't swap out the 'boxes. Have a peep anyway n see, just to be sure!
Will do. I'm guess it's as simple as counting the number of 'ribs' / ridges there are to the box there's no sort of strange 'false' ribs or something stupid.
