Transmission Swap...

[lipunx]

Yo,
Well once again my transmission went bad. The problem I have is that I got a used unit off ebay and it looks good but seems to be off an older model. I would say it came off a car that was a 94-96 while my car is a 98. The reverse light switch has five pins instead of two and there are a few different bolt holes missing when compared to the transmission that just came out of my car. I have a 2.0 engine which I held the tranny that I wanna put in my car up to, it seemed to fit perfectly. Anyone think I'll have a problem when I try to put it in later ? The car is a 1998 2.0 5 speed.

Thanks

[GoodDayForADrive]

Hmm, I don't know since my car is a 97, maybe diesel would know, I think he has a 94. I'll check the bentley when I get home for you too.

[Mr_Diesel]

Okay, first of all... Why does your tranny keep going bad? What exactly is failing? I'd like to know since, I just hit 200k, just so I can be prepared... Anyway... The bell housing, and casing is all the same... Those reverse light switches can easilly be unbolted and swapped to the new tranny..... The transmission design on the 2.0's is pretty much the exact same design as the transmission VW has been using in all the 8V engine packages since like... 1985.... only difference being, the gear ratios, and the a few misc things like the reverse switch...... I can tell you now this transmission will work... I actually swapped a transmission from a MkIII into a an MkII... And it worked just fine... because they have the standard shift linkage, it's pretty much the same.... You gotta start worrying when you get into the TDI and VR6 trannys with cable shift...

Again, you shouldnt have any problem using this tranmission... Feel free to ask if you have questions... You can also give me a call if you want... just pm for my number.

[lipunx]

Alright this is good news since Im going to be putting this thing in myself tomorrow since my friend kind of took the bad one and and ditched me lol. Heres the history of my car and its transmissions

Trans # 1- The one that I got with the car. When I shifted it made some sort of grinding noise and eventually just started making it all the time. I took it to aamco like an idiot and they "rebuilt it"

It worked fine for 6 months and then started making a high pitched whining noise. I took it back and they suggested that I pay another 1800 dollars for them to "rebuild" it again. At this point I got so pissed off that I told them to shove a transmission that came out of my first jetta that got wrecked.

Trans # 2-Unfortunatly (and I didnt know this until they put it in) that trans was damaged in the accident and had neutral permanatly knocked into the 5th gear area. I didnt expect it to last very long and it just recently started making a horrible knocking noise.

The reverse light switch on the transmission I just bought is in a different location then the one on the rest of the trans ive seen. It's on the side of the shifter and again has 5 pins. This is really weird to me since even in the bentley it shows the 2 pin switch on top of the case. Im thinking I'll test it out with a multi meter and hot wire it or just not have reverse lights. ohh well.

Now Im really hoping that tomorrow when I put this thing in that it works out because Ive delt with enough haha.

Thanks for everything again !

[GoodDayForADrive]

I still have my original transmission at over 120k miles.. but it grinds in 2nd gear. But actually a good way to help that is to put some of that GM Syncromesh transmission fluid in, that's what I did, helped a lot, doesn't grind nearly as often now. But it still grinds... I might hafta do something about that eventually.

[lipunx]

It totally sucks that my car is broken right now because my band and I just took a trip from Long Island to Burlington Vermont. Around every curve i91 and 89 I would bitch about how I wanted to be in my car instead of The Ford Exploder I was driving haha.

[Mr_Diesel]

I still have my original transmission at over 120k miles.. but it grinds in 2nd gear. But actually a good way to help that is to put some of that GM Syncromesh transmission fluid in, that's what I did, helped a lot, doesn't grind nearly as often now. But it still grinds... I might hafta do something about that eventually.

I hit 200k LAST NIGHT! (YEAH!!) on my 94 Jetta.... It still has the original transmission. You know, if you replaced all the bushings and had the shifter aligned properly, then it wouldnt grind.... Mine grinds occasionally when I make a sloppy shift.

[GoodDayForADrive]

I still have my original transmission at over 120k miles.. but it grinds in 2nd gear. But actually a good way to help that is to put some of that GM Syncromesh transmission fluid in, that's what I did, helped a lot, doesn't grind nearly as often now. But it still grinds... I might hafta do something about that eventually.

I hit 200k LAST NIGHT! (YEAH!!) on my 94 Jetta.... It still has the original transmission. You know, if you replaced all the bushings and had the shifter aligned properly, then it wouldnt grind.... Mine grinds occasionally when I make a sloppy shift.

Cause I have time to do that.. :P I can't even find time to isntall these springs, although I might be getting saturday off of work, so if I can install them before my sis's engagement dinner tat night, I'll do it then. Still working on getting a tool for it, friend knows a guy who works on VWs all the time, and may have the part.

[lipunx]

Hey dudes,
We got the trans in today, no dice. All it does is make this whining noise and the clutch doesnt seem to engage. Any ideas because I think its shot.

[Mr_Diesel]

Hey dudes,
We got the trans in today, no dice. All it does is make this whining noise and the clutch doesnt seem to engage. Any ideas because I think its shot.

**** dude.... Is it a constant grinding noise? Does the grinding get higher pitched or louder when you rev the engine? Does the grinding change when you put it in gear and try to engage the clutch? Does the car move (easilly, hard, or not at all) when the car is in gear and engine not running?

[lipunx]

It is least heard when I first start it and when I try to put it into gear it gets much louder. 5th is the loudest. The only time we saw the rotors move is when I stepped ON the clutch. The whole thing makes no sense. The grinding gets higher and louder when I rev as well. It is constant. It sucked so much because it was an accomplish ment installing my first transmission and I really thought it was going to work good because I put so much effort into it haha. No such luck.

[Mr_Diesel]

Are you sure this is an ABA transmission? The input shaft might be a different size... This is what happened to me on my 16V coupe... I had no idea the input shafts were slightly smaller/larger, and I got the whole shebang put together, and it wouldnt move, and it made a grinding similar to what you speak of.

Take the tranny off, and look at the clutch disk where the main input shaft goes into the clutch... I'll bet you see where it has been grinding down... The input shaft is probably different than the clutch disk you are trying to use.

[lipunx]

Ahh I was afraid of that. I dont have anything to do today so I'm gonna take it off because it's gonna have to come off anyways. I'll let you know what I find.

[lipunx]

Ok I got it out and you were right. The input shaft was smaller and it wore down the clutch disc groves a bit. Im going to kill the guy on ebay that sold me it and said it was for a 94-98 2.0 . Still it was my falt for not checking the shafts. DAMN I need to find a good trans somewhere.

[Mr_Diesel]

Ok I got it out and you were right. The input shaft was smaller and it wore down the clutch disc groves a bit. Im going to kill the guy on ebay that sold me it and said it was for a 94-98 2.0 . Still it was my falt for not checking the shafts. DAMN I need to find a good trans somewhere.

If I were you, I would go to teh junkyard and see if I could find a clutch disk that would fit... that would be the cheaper solution... I just went the junkyard today and got a tranny out of a Scirocco 16V to put in my coupe... LOL, we are both going through the same thing, so I feel your pain... I'm getting ready to go install the new tranny.

I feel partly at fault for not warning you about this.... I should have told you to check this before you install an unknown transmission. It's all good... it will all work out, atleast you know the tranny fits and everything.

Let me know what you find out and if there is anything I can do to help.

Edit: He might have sold you a 94-96 tranny, but the 96-99 trannys might have a larger input shaft... This will be insteresting to know... I guess a bently would explain all this, but we'll have to look and see what the real differences are... Mabey the newer 2.0L trannys are built to 16V tranny specs?

[lipunx]

Edit: He might have sold you a 94-96 tranny, but the 96-99 trannys might have a larger input shaft... This will be insteresting to know... I guess a bently would explain all this, but we'll have to look and see what the real differences are... Mabey the newer 2.0L trannys are built to 16V tranny specs?

Ah that would make perfect sense if thats the case. I dont know how I feel about using this tranny because who knows what shape its in and I really dont wanna keep doing this haha.

[Mr_Diesel]

Edit: He might have sold you a 94-96 tranny, but the 96-99 trannys might have a larger input shaft... This will be insteresting to know... I guess a bently would explain all this, but we'll have to look and see what the real differences are... Mabey the newer 2.0L trannys are built to 16V tranny specs?

Ah that would make perfect sense if thats the case. I dont know how I feel about using this tranny because who knows what shape its in and I really dont wanna keep doing this haha.

True... but who really knows what any used tranny has been through? I can tell you I have this tranny in my car, and it has survived over 200,000 miles of pure havoc and torture... They are good transmissions... Everything they put into the OBD I MkIII was stronger, mabey this included the tranny too?

[lipunx]

Hey,
I was looking at that tranny today again. It's covered with some sort of black gunk. What are the chances that it came off a tdi ?

[Mr_Diesel]

Hey,
I was looking at that tranny today again. It's covered with some sort of black gunk. What are the chances that it came off a tdi ?

Black gunk? Almost all the Mk2 trannys I have had or seen have been covered with grease.... It's just your average build up. If it was from a TDI it would have been cable shift, and the shifting mechanism is very different from the regular linkage shift mechanism.

[lipunx]

Well that ends that haha. I set a personal deadline to get my car on the road by next Sunday. I'll let you know what happens with the whole thing.

[Mr_Diesel]

Well that ends that haha. I set a personal deadline to get my car on the road by next Sunday. I'll let you know what happens with the whole thing.

Just remember to stick the clutch disk on the main input shaft before you install the transmission.... Just to make sure it works okay... Then after that you really shouldnt have any problems. but yeah, yet me know how that works out for you.