Rear Axle interchange?

[dluney]

I have a 2006 convertible. The online sites indicate the rear axle assemblies are interchangable 98+. My parts guy says I need one from a converible. Any experience? I have the factory part number as 1J0 500 051 L.

[dluney]

Update, i replaced the axle assembly with one from a sedan with no issues other than having to disassemble the parking brake to attach it to the new caliper.

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Many things are different on the Verts. Many things are heavier duty on the Verts to account for the additional weight and lack of body re-inforcement otherwise provided by the missing steel roof. I would suspect a Vert axle might be heavier duty by design than that of one from a Hatchback.

Without doing any research on the part numbers, typically if a part has a different number for the same year, there IS something different about it. Interchange MIGHT simply involve making a modification to alter the part to bring it in line with what the difference is between the one you have and the proper one from the factory. But, there may be other differences that are not visually noticeable and cannot be altered to allow for. The part MIGHT fit up to the vehicle, but ultimately have other issues.

Other times part numbers change as a model evolves and improvements are made to specific parts. Typically when this is done, only the last digit(s) of the part number change. A newer part MAY work fine on an older vehicle.

Dismantlers (junk yards) have very specific information for what will and will not interchange properly from year to year, without modification(s). New parts Resellers and Dealers do not typically have this information, and you will not find it available on the web. The software program is very expensive and done by subscription, to the best of my knowledge. I have never seen the information published on the web.

Glad, however, that you were able to go against the information and advice provided by a professional and make it work.

MORAV