Found a replacement in decent shape, for a decent price. Aside from the obvious (not dropping the engine and trans on my foot) replacing the manifold gaskets, VC gasket, water pump, timing belt and clutch while the engine is out... What do I need to watch out for. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
150K miles, engine runs great. Decent body and a good watertight top.If you haven't taken everything out and you want to save yourself some time, try this: 5th gear is probably stripped. The mainshaft (or is it pinion, can't remember) is probably fine. Take out the starter, remove the rear tranny mount and drop the tranny. Remove the 5th gear cap and replace 5th.
But it sounds like you want to have some more fun. Whatever you do, make sure you machine the flywheel if you replace the clutch!
Darryl.
Fun? Not exactly what I would call fun, but not torture either. Yes it is a stripped 5th gear (either a good guess or the voice of experience). I've pulled an engine/transmission combo from an 86 Jetta before, not too awful difficult. Never pulled just the gearbox alone. Is it much easier? (I know the answer already... no fuel/electrical/vacuum to deal with, BUT...) When I said good price on a trans, I mean a real good price, and it's not the 9A box (close ratio) I'd be putting in. Give me a little lower RPM at highway speed. Thanks for the advice. I will just drop the gearbox and replace. Anything else I want to do (seals, timing belt etc) I'll work out with the engine still in.
Thanks for the help. Jim
Depends on the time of year and your supply of beer.
140km/h in 5th gear...I can't put into letters the sound it made :)Just remember one thing--when everything is unbolted and ready to come out, rotate the tranny about 45-90 so that the differential approaches the head; it won't come straight out.
Keep the 9A and swap for the taller 5th. You have to burn in 4th to reach fifth but you get the best of both worlds!
Other things to consider replacing: clutch pushrod seal; driveaxle seals (cork, if you have 100mm axles, none if 90mm) and driveaxle flange oil seals (small circular ones)
No problem, Darryl.
I had to mix and match my tranny parts after my 5th went south. Got 2 trannys for $100 and managed to bolt together a pretty good fix that lasted at least 150k. I also changed out the ratios, had to get a new speedo gear is all, but I liked it better because I did a lot of highway driving. My dad also had a 5th gear go bad, but I think that was an oil issue (not enuf!). I never mastered the art of removing that tranny. You have to tilt the engine, rotate the tranny, do some voodoo magic and eventually I managed to get it on. (It usually came off a lot easier). I think removing it took 30 or 40 minutes, but getting it all back took me a lot longer.
That 5th gear end cap seems like a creation on top of the 4 speed. It has a couple holes leading to it so its critical the oil level is properly maintained or 5th gear suffers severly (compared to the rest of the tranny).
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