99 2.0 5speed replacement options

[ncandrei]

Hi im new so please be nice. Here is my problem
have a 99 gls 2.0 5 speed, and I HATE this transmission!!!!

my gear ratios are so badly matched. I can do 30 mph in 4th gear
in 5th at 80 mph my rpm is 4000 out my engine screams for a non existent 6th gear. the engine mounts are to weak stock for any situation. i shift and rev at about 70-80% of the cars power to be passed by a mom in a 4cyl camry on a cellphone.
My question:
Is there a easy way to raise my final drive?

do golfs drive this bad too? if not can i swap my transmission with:
A golf
B passat
C newer beetle will the 2.5 fit?
Can I swap to automatic of any kind for cheap ?
I basically have less then a grand for this.

PS my car has 130k saggy headliner and the clear coat is starting to go so I cant just sell it and buy the same thing again in Auto even tho thats what I want to do

theres a good chance this is not the transmission form this car since i know the other owner had som work done to it. Is this normal are the gears that short ? Its got low power yeah but these ratios are for tractors
PLEASE PLEASE TELL ME SOME INFO if i can tune or fix this cheap I am hateing manuals and may only buy autos from now on.

[Smileybug]

An auto will be worse...they fail. A lot. And they are much more expensive. If you want an auto, don't buy a VW.

That said, what you are experiencing is entirely normal. 4k at 80 is normal and the car handles it just fine. I have a '99 2.0 5-speed myself. But I have no problems keeping up with traffic and I'm usually the one passing, no problem. Its not winning any races, but I can hold my own. No issues with motor mounts either...what are you having issues with there?

About the only thing I can suggest is swap in a TDI 5th gear. I plan on doing that eventually, but when I'm still getting 30mpg+ on the highway doing 75, I'm not going to complain about high rpms too much.

[BlueLghtning]

This is a new one.

Most people hate the auto's and swap in the manuals. As Smiley said, the auto's (especially the 01M's) fail often and hard and I've read you'll have even higher RPM's. You really don't want to go that way.

I haven't driven the 5spd in the 2.0L gas, but I love the 5spd in our TDI's. IMOP, its a very nice transmission. I have heard that the 5th gear from the TDI's does help calm the revs down on the gassers, but probably will hurt your accelerating power while being in 5th gear, but of course you could always drop to 4th if you really need to speed up.

I'd really like to swap the higher 5th gears into our TDI's and we could sell our 5th gears to the gassers, but its just not in the plate right now.

[BlueLghtning]

Also, is there by chance problems with your engine and you are just thinking transmission? What kind of fuel mileage are you getting?

Maybe your transmission has been replaced, but at 130k, that seems unlikely unless it had a really hard life.

How long have you owned the car? Did you just get it?
Where are you located? Maybe you can meet up with another 2.0L 5spd gasser and have them drive your car or vice versa and compare? See if its just the car or your expectations of how it should drive are off?

[ncandrei]

I know i sound crazy but I really feel the ratios are not good.
I have had the car for a year
I drove lots of stick shift cars before so I'm not crazy
mainly hondas and toyotas yes but i owned an audi a4 5 speed and drove all types of stick shift cars... I am a car guy ....
I didn't think about driving other beetles however
Its sad the autos are basically all bad. I live in NC Durahm/chapel Hill and theres a lot of Beetles for sale around here... I will find some and pretend i want to buy them and see how different they they drive from mine.
Btw where i live there are small hills but mainly flat... I know most cars are geared somewhat to make it up hill without falling on their face but mine is an extreme almoust

PS are Auto in Audi a4's problematic as well 96-01? tiptronic ones?
Should I buy a 3 series instead or will that just be giving in?

If I get a BMW or Benz and flash my lights at you will u care? or just turn up the radio and flip the rearview mirror to night mode?

[Smileybug]

Ah, another NC'er. There are a few NB owners here in the Raleigh area. Pretending you want to buy a car though just to see what the trans feels like doesn't seem like a best idea to me. Like I said, you can swap in a 5th gear from a TDI to help you out. I know I've seen one go up on Craigslist around here a few times. You can always check VwVortex for it.

Not sure about the Audi transmissions. I know the ones in the VWs are pretty junk though, especially the O1M, which is the 4-speed auto. DSG is better I think, but they come with their own issues. The 5-speed really is the most dependable and cheapest to own trans you'll find in a VW right now. I have 99k on mine...just swapped the gear oil last weekend. The 2.0 plus 5-speed is a pretty darn sturdy and cheap combo too. I think some of it is the 2.0L just isn't a powerhouse. Its a 115hp motor. But again, I have no issues keeping up with other cars. I shift between 3k and 4k, but usually closer to 3k. But I honestly don't care about being the fastest car out there either.

[ncandrei]

Smiley will you drive my car? to judge it against yours i guess ?

Free test drive for Smileybug, u know u want to

Im not asking to drive your, I want you to drive mine and tell me what you think

Also how hard or how much would it cost me to pop in that 5th gear into the trany if i get it?

[h_2_o]

you could also look into a 5'th gear swap from a tdi. I believe the stock tdi 5'th gear is a good replacement for the gas 5'th gear. if you like the car except for the rpm's at higher speed this might be the thing to do. the gas mileage doesn't go up much if any but you do get lower rpm's in 5'th gear.

[DZLBUG]

5th gear swap is pretty easy, there is a good how-to on TDIclub. Your other option would be a ring and pinion swap to change the final drive ratio. I'm not very informed on what else is out there for ratios but you might be able to get it closer to where you are happy.


Sent from my DROID2

[Smileybug]

Luckily for you, we have 2 really good shops in the RDU area that are really good on prices. Absolute Automotive is in Durham...they do a lot of tuning (Evan, the owner, even does custom tunes) but also regular maintenance stuff. I take my car to Apex Tuning in Raleigh. Great guys. Just helped us out with our Mk1 transmission the last few weeks. If you have questions for labor, either shop would be a good place to ask, if you don't do it yourself.

As for driving the car, maybe. We have a weekly meetup in Raleigh with a bunch of VW owners. Could be a good place to meet, and you could also get some other thoughts from other owners...one of the guys who works at Apex Tuning also comes out often so you could ask him about it too. There is a Durham meet as well, but I don't know how many people go to that. Evan from Absolute does go to that one on occasion. NCDubs.org is the place to go to get more info on those meets. Lots of other VW owners...and I'm sure some other 2.0 5-speed owners. Not sure how much the transmissions differ from NB to Golf to Jetta but I imagine they are pretty similar in ratios. Might find someone in Durham or Chapel Hill that can help you out.

The 5th gear swap on Craigslist I saw was $175. I don't think you have to drop the trans to do it, but I could be wrong.

[ncandrei]

Hey do you mind emailing me at ncandrei@gmail.com I have some questions for you.
Please

Andrei

[Smileybug]

You can just PM me on here. Much easier

[butlersdog]

Originally Posted by ncandrei

Hey do you mind emailing me at ncandrei@gmail.com I have some questions for you.
Please

Andrei

That or PM here would be the solution on that problem. I just hoped that by now, things would have been good or better.

[billymade]

When I got my 2000 New Beetle GLX with 1.8T; I have to admit, much of your concerns and "sense" of the rpms being high..... were also things I noticed as well. You are not crazy; what you are experiencing is DIFFERENT but in the VW world... most likely nothing is WRONG with your car; more of the "nature of the beast".... how VW designed the car... or euphemistically put a "feature" that comes with the car! I will say however; having been a long time VW owner (air cooled, then water cooled); VWs rev higher and their gearing tends to be different then Asian cars.... others can chime in here but this has been my sense over the the years. VWs historically; required a somewhat different way of driving... revving them out was typical, "lugging" was not recommended (possibly more so on the air cooled era cars) and not "normal" compared to other types of vehicles. This I think is related to how VW has designed the relationship to the gearing and engine rpms on their cars. I subsequently got a 2002 turbo s; with a six speed 02M transmission, the 6th gear has made all the difference, as are the gearing in general.... idk, if there were major gear changes (would have to look it up) but the rpms seem lower.... I just feel more comfortable, less engine "screaming" at highway (70-90) speeds then I did in my 5 speed. The six speed does seem to have less "pickup" compared to the 5 speed which would make sense with taller gears... no engineer here but just my personal experience and "feeling" having driven and owned both beetles/transmission types. The six speed is great; on the other hand it just failed on me @ 70k, 1st/2nd let go with a fork failure... so, every "solution", also comes with its "problems", LOL! Oui, gotta love the Beetle! The search for a "freeway flyer" tall 5th gear or 4th gear in the older cars; is not unique and has been a desired swap on VWs for as long as I can remember... going back to the air cooled VWs. One website from a VW transmission rebuilder; has allot of good info and they also offer different transmission ratios, "tall diesel gearing" and rebuilding as well... you might check them out... ask them some questions and see if they have a solution that might fit your needs... Rebuilt VW 5 Speed Transmissions
This page; directly addresses your concerns and others about the 5th gear high rpm issue: http://www.vwtransaxles.com/tform.html