transmission swap

[dolphinsfan1966]

I dont know if any of you have thought about this, because i cant find an old forum about this, but I have an 01 beetle with a 2.0 and an auto trans....my delima is, is that my wife and I like the car, drives great rides great....just a couple little things that need to be addressed such as leaking when it rains but that's besides the point
I want a car that gets better gas mileage than an auto 2.0, cant seem to sell the car so I may as well invest in the car since it only has 75000 miles on it
Is it a huge issue to swap auto to a 5 speed manual since the auto is absolutely horrid at interstate speeds with gas mileage, I've changed honda trans before i know about cv joints, clutch master cylinders etc, my main concern is ecu problems
if someone can help that would be great...

or even a jetta 2.0 transmission since they seem to do so much bettter onthe highway with lower rpms

thanks

[NYBugman]

You'll basically need everything from a 5-speed car, including the ECU. I've always heard that it is a big PITA to do, but it has been done.

http://www.techtonicstuning.com/trannyratios.asp so you can compare trans gear ratios.

As far as bad fuel economy goes, have you cleaned/changed the MAF? Changed the fuel filter? Air Filter? Tire pressure?

[dolphinsfan1966]

yeah, done all of the above besides the fuel filter, i think it's the gear ratio killing these automatics, i dont see why they didnt add another gear an overdrive something, if this is the same engine as the jetta why not just use the jetta auto ratios..
but you are saying that the most difficult part is probably finding a wrecked car....

[NBTurboFreak]

If it helps for starters I have an extra clutch pedal, APH ECU, and may also have an extra shifter and cables.

[NYBugman]

Originally Posted by dolphinsfan1966

yeah, done all of the above besides the fuel filter, i think it's the gear ratio killing these automatics, i dont see why they didnt add another gear an overdrive something, if this is the same engine as the jetta why not just use the jetta auto ratios..
but you are saying that the most difficult part is probably finding a wrecked car....

4th gear is the overdrive. 3rd gear is a perfect 1-1 ratio on the 01M.

Question: how does the trans feel/shift? What RPM's dos the car cruise at? Notice any hard downshifts into 1st?

[dolphinsfan1966]

well i get on the interstate and i'm at about 70 and it's cruising at about 4K.....downshifts seem fine it shifts great most of the time, sometimes it will studder shift, i think between 2nd and 3rd, doesnt happen much at all, I seem to have all 4 gears....what is average rpm for you guys at 70....interstate speed?

I may take you up on that, I need to find a used trans locally, you can take them from jettas or golfs also right

[NBTurboFreak]

Originally Posted by dolphinsfan1966

I may take you up on that, I need to find a used trans locally, you can take them from jettas or golfs also right

The trannies from 2.0 and 1.8t and interchangable. It is just the gear ratios that you will have to check based on the tranny code.