Wingnut
Top Post Dawg
I threw in my VR6 axles today, so I thought i would snap some pics for those of you who are interested. First things first....The disclaimer:
This thread is for informational purposes only. I do not recommend that anyone do this mod. If you do, you do so at your own risk.
Ok, now the details.
First thing you need to do is get the parts. I bought a pair of VR6 axles from a local wrecking yard for $75 each. In order to bolt them to the gearbox, you need bigger flanges. The ones that come with the TDI are 100mm and the VR6 ones are 108mm. Its hard to find used flanges at the wreckers because they won't take them off any transmissions to sell seperately, unless you can find a broken transmision somewhere. I got mine on The Vortex in the transmission classifieds for $70 shipped (Thanks Adam). Apparently, if someone with a MKIII car wants to put an 02J transmission in their car from a MKIV car, they buy an 02J VR6 tranny & take off the 108mm flanges and put on 100mm flanges so that they can use their original 100mm axles. Thats how I got mine. You also need a few items from the dealer to finish the job, like new bolts (unless you can get those with the flanges), new seals (might as well replace them while you have the flanges off), and new axle lock nuts (not pictured) Here are the parts:
The part numbers you will require for these parts are as follows:
2 x 084 409 189 B - Flange seal (~$20 each)
2 x 02A 409 355 G - 108mm Flange (~ $200 each), but you can get them from the vortex for around $75
2 x N 905 876 02 - Axle lock nut (not pictured) ~$5 each))
12 x N 105 316 01 - Axle to flange bolts - M10x23mm (~$2 each)
As for the axle part numbers, you can see them in the pic, but I couldn't find these numbers in ETKA, so there could be many variations of these axles that will work???
Now, the first thing you need to do is jack up the car, secure it on Jack stands for safety & remove the wheels. I'm sure you don't need pics for that part. Then, drain the fluid out of the transmission. It is not absolutely necessary to do this, but it will save a big mess as there will be spillage when you remove the flanges. And you might as well do a fluid change while you are doing this as you will have to top up the tranny anyway.
Here is the drain plug (that rusty thing in the middle next to the dogbone mount):
Once the gear oil is drained, you can start pulling things apart. start by removing the axle lock nuts. For this, you need a 30mm 12 point socket. If you have an impact gun, great. It will be easy to remove them. If not, get someone to step on the brakes while you loosen them with a breaker bar (sorry, no pic for this part)
Then, using an 8mm 12 point bit, remove the 6 bolts that hold the axle to the flange:
In order to hold the axle from spinning while you loosen these bolts, you can get someone to step on the brakes for you again. Or, if you have drilled rotors, stick a screwdriver in one of the holes to hold it
:
Once all 6 bolts have been removed, you can wiggle the axle out. Its tricky, but can be done. On the drivers side, Just move the transmission side of the axle up into the engine bay area as you slide the splined part of the outer axle out of the hub. Then manouver it out from the bottom. If you have trouble, then you could remove the 3 lower ball joint bolts to allow the spindle to swing away from the car, leaving lots of room to get the axle out. But if you do this, you will have to mark the 3 bolts with some visible spray paint so you can put them back in the same spot. Otherwise, you will need an alignment afterwards.
On the passenger side, turn the wheel all the way to one side so that the axle is as far out as possible. You can then wiggle the axle away from the flange. Once it is separated, you need to jack up the lower control arm to get enough clearance to remove the axle:
As I said, its tricky, but can be done without undoing the lower ball joints.
Now, once you have the axles out, there will be a nice greasy mess in the flange:
Clean out the grease with old rags and you will see the bolt that holds the flange in place. It is held in with a 6mm allen head:
It shouldn't take too much force to remove this bolt. It is only tightened to 18 ft/lbs. Put the trans in gear to hold it from spinning. Once the bolt is out, the flange should just slide out nice & smooth.
This thread is for informational purposes only. I do not recommend that anyone do this mod. If you do, you do so at your own risk.
Ok, now the details.
First thing you need to do is get the parts. I bought a pair of VR6 axles from a local wrecking yard for $75 each. In order to bolt them to the gearbox, you need bigger flanges. The ones that come with the TDI are 100mm and the VR6 ones are 108mm. Its hard to find used flanges at the wreckers because they won't take them off any transmissions to sell seperately, unless you can find a broken transmision somewhere. I got mine on The Vortex in the transmission classifieds for $70 shipped (Thanks Adam). Apparently, if someone with a MKIII car wants to put an 02J transmission in their car from a MKIV car, they buy an 02J VR6 tranny & take off the 108mm flanges and put on 100mm flanges so that they can use their original 100mm axles. Thats how I got mine. You also need a few items from the dealer to finish the job, like new bolts (unless you can get those with the flanges), new seals (might as well replace them while you have the flanges off), and new axle lock nuts (not pictured) Here are the parts:
The part numbers you will require for these parts are as follows:
2 x 084 409 189 B - Flange seal (~$20 each)
2 x 02A 409 355 G - 108mm Flange (~ $200 each), but you can get them from the vortex for around $75
2 x N 905 876 02 - Axle lock nut (not pictured) ~$5 each))
12 x N 105 316 01 - Axle to flange bolts - M10x23mm (~$2 each)
As for the axle part numbers, you can see them in the pic, but I couldn't find these numbers in ETKA, so there could be many variations of these axles that will work???
Now, the first thing you need to do is jack up the car, secure it on Jack stands for safety & remove the wheels. I'm sure you don't need pics for that part. Then, drain the fluid out of the transmission. It is not absolutely necessary to do this, but it will save a big mess as there will be spillage when you remove the flanges. And you might as well do a fluid change while you are doing this as you will have to top up the tranny anyway.
Here is the drain plug (that rusty thing in the middle next to the dogbone mount):
Once the gear oil is drained, you can start pulling things apart. start by removing the axle lock nuts. For this, you need a 30mm 12 point socket. If you have an impact gun, great. It will be easy to remove them. If not, get someone to step on the brakes while you loosen them with a breaker bar (sorry, no pic for this part)
Then, using an 8mm 12 point bit, remove the 6 bolts that hold the axle to the flange:
In order to hold the axle from spinning while you loosen these bolts, you can get someone to step on the brakes for you again. Or, if you have drilled rotors, stick a screwdriver in one of the holes to hold it
:
Once all 6 bolts have been removed, you can wiggle the axle out. Its tricky, but can be done. On the drivers side, Just move the transmission side of the axle up into the engine bay area as you slide the splined part of the outer axle out of the hub. Then manouver it out from the bottom. If you have trouble, then you could remove the 3 lower ball joint bolts to allow the spindle to swing away from the car, leaving lots of room to get the axle out. But if you do this, you will have to mark the 3 bolts with some visible spray paint so you can put them back in the same spot. Otherwise, you will need an alignment afterwards.
On the passenger side, turn the wheel all the way to one side so that the axle is as far out as possible. You can then wiggle the axle away from the flange. Once it is separated, you need to jack up the lower control arm to get enough clearance to remove the axle:
As I said, its tricky, but can be done without undoing the lower ball joints.
Now, once you have the axles out, there will be a nice greasy mess in the flange:
Clean out the grease with old rags and you will see the bolt that holds the flange in place. It is held in with a 6mm allen head:
It shouldn't take too much force to remove this bolt. It is only tightened to 18 ft/lbs. Put the trans in gear to hold it from spinning. Once the bolt is out, the flange should just slide out nice & smooth.
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