Auto rebuild,tis' possible..?

[70autostick]

Hey guys,

I've gotta 99 Nb,auto,109k...Changed my mind about the 5 speed swap,ill shoot for a auto rebuild.Has anyone attempted such a feat..successfully?although a 5speed would be the “cool”thing to do,I'd rather wear it to the nub before swapping it out(less wasteful,greener eh?)

I'm up for a challenge,let's not question skill,stick it to me hard,tell me what's what

Site,links,parts to replace list,any help is great,thanks,happy 2010..!

[DZLBUG]

This is not a DIY process and parts to do the job right are not readily available. The special tools required are at least $1000 alone.

Its either a VW replacement or 5 speed swap.

[Christiane Raymond]

I just had the auto tranny rebuilt on my 98. I had a professional transmission shop do the full rebuild and it was $2900.

[Thebughunter]

What usually goes bad in these trannys? Any one weak spot? Does an oil cooler help? Just got a 99 with 127K and would like it to last as long as possible. I can rebuild an engine easily, and have repaired automatics before, so I'm not afraid of them, but it would be nice to know what to look for to fail, and maybe some repairs are possible, if a full rebuild is not very possible without special tools. Anyone fixed one before and lived to tell the tale?

[DZLBUG]

There already is an oil-to-water cooler on top of the transmission. I don't know that it would be possible to plumb in an auxiliary cooler. There are several weak spots, with not many of them very fixable. The most "repairable" component would be the valve body, but they are expensive to replace.

These transmissions do not take kindly to rebuilds, and parts for them are hard to source and are expensive. The list of special tools is long, and would be an investment of at least $1500 for just the tools.

My advice, change out the fluid/filter every 30-40k miles and hope for the best. If it fails, do your best to source a low mileage used replacement.

Good luck.

[Turbomania]

Reading thru these and other posts as well as talking to my favorite VW/Audi tech. the 1.8 turbo and TDI's seem to blow through trannies more often and sooner than the 2.0 equipped cars. He told me that frequent fluid changes with any other maintenance required ( filter?) is absolutely necessary to keep the early auto's running. A Low or too high a fluid level is another killer for these trannies too. It seems that VW really blew it by using the same trannies even in their higher torque engined models. I thank goodness that I prefer a manual shift in my cars. Maybe it's just that most front drive trannie set-ups are under built from the original design?? JK

[Thebughunter]

Thanks for the info. If it already has a water-to-oil cooler then there's not much to improve on it in that area. I'll do the filter and hope for the best. Still getting acquainted with the car, certainly different working on a german car. The tranny oil level tube is clever, and I would say even nicer things if it had a better way to fill. Thanks again.

[70autostick]

Hmmm,auxiliary cooler,I'm curious if it would be efficient and not a waste of coin...That would be coolio.. Heat kills,not a bad idea,although I'm not sure how to set one up and make it look clean,not all cluttered,hoses everywhere.

Any ideas? I'm going to look into myself.

[DZLBUG]

Originally Posted by 70autostick

Hmmm,auxiliary cooler,I'm curious if it would be efficient and not a waste of coin...That would be coolio.. Heat kills,not a bad idea,although I'm not sure how to set one up and make it look clean,not all cluttered,hoses everywhere.

Any ideas? I'm going to look into myself.

I think the plate type oil-to-water heat exchanger is already sufficient and can't be improved upon, even if it were possible. Of all the 01M's problems, overheating is not one of them.

My 01M is just about shot. The TC no longer locks up, and reverse is almost gone. Once it is up to temp it takes about 2500 rpm to get it to move in reverse, and even then it is hard to move. Its getting so that I don't even dare pull in someplace where the nose is pointed down as I don't think the transmission will push the car back up the grade. I will be very surprised if it makes it until 160k miles.

[70autostick]

Yeah,maybe a few degrees won't hurt...As far as cost and result,too pricey...

Two things Dzl,How long did it take for your auto to get to that god awful point of operation? Was it "all of a sudden",or a slow downward spiral?...

What are your plans for R&R? New\used\refurb auto,or a 5 speed?



-One more thing,tc not locking,that means slipping? Or no?

[DZLBUG]

testing

Hmm...I can type this, but when I try to post my response to your question...I get an error message.

Internal Server Error

The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@newbeetle.org and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
Apache/2.0.63 (Unix) mod_ssl/2.0.63 OpenSSL/0.9.8e-fips-rhel5 mod_auth_passthrough/2.1 mod_bwlimited/1.4 FrontPage/5.0.2.2635 PHP/5.2.9 Server at newbeetle.org Port 80

[DZLBUG]

I have owned the car since July of 2007, and I bought it with 100k miles on it. It has always been "screwy" but I think thats how these trannies always are. It has almost always had TCC surge when cruising where the rpms jump up and down as the torque converter locks and unlocks. Read up here for more info on torque converters and lock up converters: Torque converter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[DZLBUG]

Basically, when the TC "locks" it physically links the pump and the turbine reducing slippage. So when the TC unlocks (like when you apply power slightly while cruising) it is slipping. What happens on these transmissions is that the TCC valve in the valve body becomes worn and can no longer fully control the torque converter. The solution for this problem would be to remove the valve body and have it bored out and a new billet TCC valve installed.

That problem on my car has steadily gotten worse and worse, but it was pretty consistent for at least a year. It is now to the point that it rarely locks up at all...which pretty much happened all of a sudden.

[DZLBUG]

The delayed reverse engagement when warm is a pretty new problem, and it came on all of a sudden. At first it wasn't so bad, but it has made a fast progression over the last few days. From what I have gathered, it is probably a bad seal in one of the clutch packs.

As for my plans...I have a complete set of 5 speed swap parts ready to go in, complete with SBC Stg 3 SMF clutch and Dieselgeek short shifter.

[DZLBUG]

Wow...thats weird. Split it up and I can post it. Try to put it all together and I can't post it here or in any other thread.

Sorry for the multiple posts.

[70autostick]

Alright,well I know what I've got to look forward too,I've got the "not locking" issue,she'll jerk when I give her gas,sometimes she'll slip while cruising 15-30 mph. And reverse has got a delay,but only sometimes.I'm going for a 5 speed exchange as well,but I've gotta wear my 01M to the nubs before I retire it.

Don't worry,your multiple posts are a great deal of help and info,great link too.