transmission parts problems...2000 Jetta tdi

Hi All,

5th gear fork gave going 90mph on highways..wont engage 5gear.. also 2nd gear synchro seems as if its soon on its way out..

I need some recommendations or suggestions on wat to do.

Cant afford new transmission at the moment.

1. Buy 2nd Hand Transmission?
2. Replace Transmission parts?

I would prefer to replace parts myself but i dont know where to get the parts i need..
Can som1 point me in the direction where i can buy/get/find 5gear fork and 2nd gear synchronizer set?

thanks for ur time and replies..

someone please???...any kind of help wud be appreciated. Thanks

Model and year is helpful. What is your experience with manual trans repair?

2000 Jetta TDI 5spd manual... i hav no experiance in transmission but my cuzin is 15 yrs experienced diesel mechanic and he will be the one working on it if i get the parts i need.

200 jetta tdi manual 5spd... i have no experience in transmission repair but my cousin is a 15 yr experienced diesel mechanic and has worked on a few vw..

First try adjusting the cables. The procedure is in the book. If you need to go inside it isn't a particularly hard unit if you know transmission repair.

http://www.brokevw.com/020info.html

Maybe he'll sell you parts?

Check this:

http://www.zelek.com/vw02M_hard_parts1.htm

skurbina said:

Hi All,

5th gear fork gave going 90mph on highways..wont engage 5gear.. also 2nd gear synchro seems as if its soon on its way out..

I need some recommendations or suggestions on wat to do.

Cant afford new transmission at the moment.

1. Buy 2nd Hand Transmission?
2. Replace Transmission parts?

I would prefer to replace parts myself but i dont know where to get the parts i need..
Can som1 point me in the direction where i can buy/get/find 5gear fork and 2nd gear synchronizer set?

thanks for ur time and replies..

Click to expand...

__. As Hevster says, the external transmission adjustment on these cars is pretty important. So that's your first place to start and it's simple and easy to do.

__. However, let's assume that it's not adjustment. The 5th gear of these transmissions is basically an "add-on" -- the transmission was first designed as a 4-speed and the 5th gear parts were added on the outside of the main transmission. Because of this, those parts (basically the gears, shifter and synchro cluster, and the extended ends of the two shafts) are sitting in a "blister" cover on the end of the transmission. So, it's easy to pull that cover off (it's right behind the left front wheel, just behind the plastic splash-shield after you take the wheel off) and get to the 5th gear parts.

__. Those parts are expensive (DAMHIK), but they can be replaced and then the external shifter adjustment done. However, it's possible that other damage has been done -- in my case, it was that the rear shaft was so badly damaged that a new gear wouldn't fit onto it. At that point, you're looking at much more than a repair in that "outside" 5th gear housing. The transmission halves have to be split apart; once you do this, you will need a basic "rebuild kit" (gaskets, bearings, "normal wear" items) and those are expensive. Also, the transmission requires special tools to split the cases and accurately realign them and put them back together, so that and the labor involved is expensive. Then, you've got the cost of replacing the broken parts (in addition to the cost of the basic rebuild parts and the labor of rebuilding it). All this adds up to the fact that these transmissions are expensive to rebuild (or at least that was what I found when I researched it recently).

__. If you can repair your transmission by only replacing parts in that 5th gear area, it's practical. There are two gears; the front gear sits as a part of the shifter and synchro cluster on the front shaft and the rear gear sits on the rear shaft. The shifter and synchro cluster (which act as a hub for the front gear) are held in place by three pivoting tabs and a large circlip which is about the diameter of a soft drink can. On my car, the circlip had either come loose or fractured (it was impossible to tell if it broke then came loose or came loose and then broke) and this allowed the front gear to "wallow" around out of it's usual location. Once it did that, the gear teeth were out of proper engagement and the teeth began to mis-match and break on both gears. It also hammered the rear gear as it sits on the rear shaft and the splines on the rear shaft were so damaged that a new gear could not be fitted to the rear shaft; there was so much play because of the damaged splines that the new gear was free to move around too much. Also, on my transmission, the broken gear teeth and other broken bits of metal were all through the transmission in the transmission oil and a bit piece of broken tooth had gotten jammed between the shifter cluster and the end cover and fractured the cover.

__. (Assuming that just an adjustment won't fix it -- and if it went bang driving down the highway, my guess is that it's more than that) I'm hoping that you can fix your transmission just in that 5th gear area. But just the parts are expensive -- I think that the gears were aboust $300 US and the cluster/shifter was about $400. Add to that gaskets etc. and you're looking at a minimum of about $800 in parts alone. If your 2nd gear is indeed damaged, or either of the shafts are damaged, you're talking about a lot more money than just a 5th gear repair -- that's a "split the cases" rebuild. In my situation, it was about the same cost to buy a new transmission (factory new) as to buy a rebuilt transmission/exchange for my broken one or rebuilding my broken transmission. Sorry, that is just the way it is.

__. Good luck.

First off. Drain the oil that's in the trans. If nothing comes out, you're looking at a decent parts list or a full replacement.

5th is the first to die when the trans is starved of oil. Most common cause is the differential coming apart (either rivet failure or other). This will pop the oil seal in a second and you won't notice that all your oil just dissapeared in the last 30km.

Soft parts I'd check the vendors (worldimpex I know stocks synchros, and bearings), for the hard parts I'd try to source used either here or at the vwvortex classifieds as they are very expensive new.

A rebuild isn't all that complicated, just takes time, patience, money, and some special(ish) tools. Just be sure to replace EVERY bearing if she is toast (you'll see a burned gear with no teeth and metal shards everywhere).

Good luck.

I just rebuilt my 5th gear assembly in the 2001 Jetta:

Syncro_hub assembly- $212.00 (new - 1stVWParts)
Brass syncro ring - $58.00 (dittio)

set of .681 gears (Bora parts) - $311.00

2 liters of Lubromoly - $35.00

New cover gasket (mine ripped) - $20

My labor - free

aja8888 said:

I just rebuilt my 5th gear assembly in the 2001 Jetta:

Syncro_hub assembly- $212.00 (new - 1stVWParts)
Brass syncro ring - $58.00 (dittio)

set of .681 gears (Bora parts) - $311.00

2 liters of Lubromoly - $35.00

New cover gasket (mine ripped) - $20

My labor - free

Click to expand...

__. Did you enjoy doing it, AJ? I hope so if you didn't put new bushings, triple tangs, and circlips in it -- you'll soon be doing it again!

mrGutWrench said:

__. Did you enjoy doing it, AJ? I hope so if you didn't put new bushings, triple tangs, and circlips in it -- you'll soon be doing it again!

Click to expand...

EVERYTHING was replaced except for the thrust washers behind the gears and the end bolts and concave washers. The $212 syncro hub came with all new locks, spring clips and sliding gear.

Did I enjoy the job? Let's just say it is done and I have 5th gear.............

I have found out that I am getting too old and tired to live in a fender well all weekend on a garage floor. Plus, having to make a custom gear puller....

Now to find the clunk in the front end somewhere..

aja8888 said:

EVERYTHING was replaced except for the thrust washers behind the gears and the end bolts and concave washers. The $212 syncro hub came with all new locks, spring clips and sliding gear.

Did I enjoy the job? Let's just say it is done and I have 5th gear.............

I have found out that I am getting too old and tired to live in a fender well all weekend on a garage floor. Plus, having to make a custom gear puller....

Now to find the clunk in the front end somewhere..

Click to expand...

__. Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about on the "age" thing. It sounds like you did the job like Oliver at "TDIRacing" did mine -- but all my pieces were so busted up that they had to be replaced, no option. I'm pretty sure that I paid a good bit more than $212 for the synchro set but it's been almost a year and I don't remember exactly what the parts were in that set. (You may remember that I posted the the plastic cage for the roller bearing inside the synchro set had been MINION'ed ... ummm, I mean melted by a previous installer allowing the needles to cram over into the unloaded side. That meant that the entire cluster and large gear could move out of alignment with the fixed gear on the rear shaft -- when that happened, it hammered the splines on the rear shaft as well as chewing up teeth on both gears.)

__. We put mine back together best we could but the noise quickly got so bad that we had to go back in. More damage, so the only option was complete rebuild or new transmission. When I priced the rebuild labor, plus the 'rebuild kit', plus the new parts to replace the damaged ones, plus transportation there and back, plus tax, etc. it was cheaper to just go with a new transmission. So, I paid to have a stock transmission modified, then I paid to have a stock transmission repaired, then I paid to get a new transmission. Wish I'd just left well enough alone.

__. Glad your transmission is right. And I hope that neither of us has to open the d@mned things again!

__. For the OP or others reading this thread, here is a drawing of the 5th gear parts:


__. The shifter and synchro cluster that we've been talking about is item 20 on the drawing. The shift fork engages with the grooved collar and moves the parts that lock the large gear onto the shaft -- when this is done, 5th is engaged (of course, when you've selected another gear or are in neutral, 5th must be disengaged). The synchro is the usual synchronizer, it gently "brakes" the gear so that it engages without grinding and hammering.

__. HTH, MrG

MrG: Mine was popping out of 5th. The previous owner of the Jetta must have just worn the sliding ring and associated keeper parts out by TOWING a small trailer with a '57 VW Beetle on it to shows. The trans fluid was probably a bit low (1/2") by feel in the side plug hole. Believe me, it probably does not take much abuse (or low gear oil) to wear out the sliding engagement parts in this transmission.

I opted to buy all new parts (including new .681 gears) as I had the case open and had purchased the car for a real good price, knowing that 5th was not working. So I have roughly $650 in the repair. And the first 400+ mile run on the freeway gave me ~56 MPG!!

In retrospect, I was better off making the repair, cost wise. A used transmission is roughly $650 and to R&R it is $425 (actual quotes). A *new* (refurbished) is about $1400 + core + R&R.

Bottom line: two days out of my life spent on the acquisition of parts, tools, knowledge, etc. Plus a sore back and shoulders....

Tony

aja8888 said:

MrG: Mine was popping out of 5th. The previous owner of the Jetta must have just worn the sliding ring and associated keeper parts out by TOWING a small trailer with a '57 VW Beetle on it to shows. The trans fluid was probably a bit low (1/2") by feel in the side plug hole. Believe me, it probably does not take much abuse (or low gear oil) to wear out the sliding engagement parts in this transmission.

I opted to buy all new parts (including new .681 gears) as I had the case open and had purchased the car for a real good price, knowing that 5th was not working. So I have roughly $650 in the repair. And the first 400+ mile run on the freeway gave me ~56 MPG!!

In retrospect, I was better off making the repair, cost wise. A used transmission is roughly $650 and to R&R it is $425 (actual quotes). A *new* (refurbished) is about $1400 + core + R&R.

Bottom line: two days out of my life spent on the acquisition of parts, tools, knowledge, etc. Plus a sore back and shoulders....

Tony

Click to expand...

__. Yeah, your best "compromise" was definitely the repair that you made. Since the repair to mine would have been split the cases, pay for the "rebuild kit" (bearings, gaskets, wear parts, bushes), buy the replacement rear shaft at least (plus there were signs that maybe some of the broken teeth from the 5th had gotten into the interior and had damaged some of the 1-4 components), buy the 5th gear set and the shifter cluster and other odd parts, and pay labor -- all of that added up meant that the price for either buying a rebuilt transmission and returning mine as a core or having mine rebuilt was about the same as "new". The new transmission that I got was one that was originally allocated as a VW float; sold off as a lot, somebody had them available. So it really was a completely new, unused factory transmission for a low price but my guess is that they're gone now. But the repair that you needed (and what you did) is still a good bit less than the price for one of them.

__. And I hear you about the fragility of these transmissions if they're not taken care of. I certainly wish that it was easier and quicker to check the fluid level -- the "outrigger" 5th is the first part to run low on oil and it doesn't take much of a drop in the oil level for 5th to be critically low.

MrG; As these cars age (the 5 speed ALH's), the transmissions have more and more miles on them so we can expect more failure issues, especially with the outboard 5th gear setup. More folks need to be aware of this, although the repair (at least 5th gear) is well identified and somewhat documented here.

The problem with just dropping in a used transmission is that you typically do not know its condition ahead of the big job of R&R. And as those junk yard transmissions age, more problems can be expected. 1stVWParts got me the critical engagement parts at a real good cost, maybe 15% better than I was quoted elsewhere.

I still have my OE 5th gear set, and it looks good (no physical damage). I may try to sell it to the gasser guys on Vortex!