Tranny Swap

[volkswagenbeetle98]

Hello Everyone, I am a newbie to this organization (haha just registered about 5 mins ago) . Anyways I have been searching this form for about 2 days now I can not find exactly what I want. We own a 1998 Volkswagen Beetle that had been in a front end collision and we have dumped a ton of money on this car. At only 178,xxx km (110,000 miles) the tranny is starting to crap out on us. It shifts really high and hard from 2nd to 3rd and we don't want to spend money on a part that is going to just do it again. I am not too sure what the tranny is but I can tell you it is a 4 speed automatic w/OD.

Anyways what I really want to ask is how much would it cost if we got all of the parts from a salvage yard (except clutch) for a manual conversion? We really don't want to spend much on it so if its too much then we will probably just trade the car in on a new one or sell it. Thanks

-Peter

Car Details: 2.0L Gas Engine, 4 Speed Slushbox, Many Problems (Most fixed)

[DZLBUG]

This is a real common swap among TDI owners. I'm doing one myself. Parts (except clutch/flywheel/one-time use bolts) should be between $600 and $1200 depending on where you get your parts. I got mine from a U-Pull yard and only paid $600. Make sure you get one from a 2.0 engined car so that the gear ratios are right.

THIS THREAD (and the links contained in the 1st post) should be very helpful to you. The only diesel-specific parts are the starter and transmission...everything else is interchangeable among all A4 cars...that includes Jetta and Golf models as well.

Personally I would buy a transmission and shifter parts from a 2000+ car as the shifter setup is better. The 98-99 cars had some A3 leftovers which are sloppy and prone to breakage.

The only real difference with the swap (that you are going to run into) is that the ECU cannot be recoded for manual transmission on the 2.0. You'll probably have to swap ECU's with a manual one from a junkyard. The nice thing is that there will be no immobilizer issues on a 98...so it should be an easy change.

Online searchable database of junkyard parts:
Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market

[volkswagenbeetle98]

thanks for your help that was exactly what I was looking for Thanks

[The Cheat]

where are you located?

i'm doing (er, did) a 6spd swap on a car, have the clutch/axles/transmission (it's out of a 1.8t, but it's a good 10% change in revs) and i need to get them outta here.

clutch only has 3500 easy miles on it, g60/vr6 combo.

i would sell the whole shebang for $700. all you would need are the pedals and ecu. being a 98, just go to the junkyard and grab one out of a 98 or 99 and plug it in. no immo ftw.

i'm keeping my custom 5spd box for the jetta sedan.

[savethebluths.org]

Seriously what is up with all these transmission problems! It seems like Fall is replace your beetle transmission season.

[volkswagenbeetle98]

Originally Posted by The Cheat

where are you located?

i'm doing (er, did) a 6spd swap on a car, have the clutch/axles/transmission (it's out of a 1.8t, but it's a good 10% change in revs) and i need to get them outta here.

Well I'm in Canada and I would take the tranny but first of all your pretty far away lol and secondly it really isn't my car its my sisters. I just wanted to get a quote for my dad so we could see if its worth spending the money. The car is honestly in rough shape (Although we never abused it, as I said it was in an accident and we didn't know) and its a shame cause its a great handling car. I think we are just gonna let the car spend its last few years as an automatic Too bad.

Still thanks for all of your help.