476,298 miles

476,298 miles is how long my transmission
ring gear rivits lasted.
first time ever stranded by this automible,
BOOM,
three mile oil trail,
and a 56 mile tow.
$69 for a trans at my local pull a part.
I need a good hailstorm

My first reaction to your post was "Kick azz!"
Probably because you seem to be taking it in stride:
'Yeah, I'll just grab an old gearbox, slap it on and keep going" lol

Inspiring

"Makin' a curve or takin' the strain
On the decline, or out on the wane
Oh everybody breaks down sooner or later..."

Your mileage is amazing. That’s what I am hoping for one day

and in the cars defence, it was a "polite failure"
it still run and drives,

I just knew it wouldent go far with no oil in the trans so I parked it, at the next fuel station.

this car had allways had polite failures,
fans that would squeel at 180 k

starter that would click a couple at 200 k

alternator that would flicker the light and go out for a while at 320k

head gasket denial, 330k

been thru it all,

I still love this car,

a thousand miles a week across the top of the rockies.

best car ever,

til death do us part

Always strange about those ring gear pins. It is rare, but it happens, and mileage seems to have very little to do with it, because I have heard of some going at 100k miles, too.

One of mine is currently well over 500k and still intact.

Another with 200k, and just drug a third home with 340k.

Glad you decided to fix it and keep on motoring!

turbonem said:

and in the cars defence, it was a "polite failure"
it still run and drives,
I just knew it wouldent go far with no oil in the trans so I parked it, at the next fuel station.
this car had allways had polite failures,
fans that would squeel at 180 k
starter that would click a couple at 200 k
alternator that would flicker the light and go out for a while at 320k
head gasket denial, 330k
been thru it all,
I still love this car,
a thousand miles a week across the top of the rockies.
best car ever,
til death do us part

Click to expand...

What were your head gasket symptoms? I may be in denial. I'm at approx 330k.

Threads like this are the reason I've decided to refurbish a tdi I got for hella cheap. Body is in really good shape for Canada rust wise for Canada.. and currently sits at 375000km or 233000miles. Motor starts up with literally zero turns... soon as the starter engages the damn thing is on... with a weak battery too heh.

One thing I will say from messing around with this car for a bit now the weak points on this car I'd say are the bushings. Both the rear axle bushings and rear control arm bushings were shot. Could be because the last guy allowed the suspension to get too bouncy, but that will be addressed.

my denial started as intermittent coolant disappearence,
over a 3 month period,
replacment order:
1.thermostat and housing
2.un-cooling the EGR cooler, my egr has a race pipe.
3.pressure bottle and cap.
3.radaitor fan switch,
4.trying to bypass rad fan switch to high.
my biggest problem was pulling grades.
coolant leaking from over -pressure and pushing past the cap and running out the coolant bottle down the right frame rail on the unibody.
I ended up replacing the head, head gasket, radaitior and fans,
only to bend a rod 10 k miles later.
than I bought a long block from bora parts with a new vnt 17 and a stage 4 tune,
been good for 3 years, 146 k miles,
broke in the new long block on stage 4
never looked back (til my tranny exploded) Lol

and the rod was probally bent when I put the head on,
I dident catch it,

but probally could have by measuring piston protrusion when the head was off.

turbonem said:

my denial started as intermittent coolant disappearence,
over a 3 month period,
replacment order:
1.thermostat and housing
2.un-cooling the EGR cooler, my egr has a race pipe.
3.pressure bottle and cap.
3.radaitor fan switch,
4.trying to bypass rad fan switch to high.
my biggest problem was pulling grades.
coolant leaking from over -pressure and pushing past the cap and running out the coolant bottle down the right frame rail on the unibody.
I ended up replacing the head, head gasket, radaitior and fans,
only to bend a rod 10 k miles later.
than I bought a long block from bora parts with a new vnt 17 and a stage 4 tune,
been good for 3 years, 146 k miles,
broke in the new long block on stage 4
never looked back (til my tranny exploded) Lol

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Ok, maybe I should accept the possibility of a head gasket issue.


Sounds like my issues are similar to yours. Did you have any issues with leaking heater core? Happened twice to me, and if you've ever changed a heatercore on a new beetle, you would not be happy if it happened again. I'd rather hike Mt everest barefoot.

Anyhow, my symptoms:

- losing coolant
- cooling system seeming over-pressure - leaking out coolant bottle/cap
- leaking heater core

I did alot of what you did, changed coolant bottle / cap, thermostat / housing etc.

How did the head / gasket look when you pulled it off? Did you see the obvious area where it was leaking?

turbonem said:

and the rod was probally bent when I put the head on,
I dident catch it,
but probally could have by measuring piston protrusion when the head was off.

Click to expand...

Any idea how you ended up with a bent rod?

as far as the bent rod,
it was number 3 and I assumed it got a slug of oil from the intercooler.
compression was :
1: 455
2: 465
3: 225
4: 460
and im at 10 k feet,
thats why they were also low across the board.

as far as the head gasket,
couldent see much, no signs of leakage,

but it seemed to only be a problem
past 10 pounds of boost.

and its the original heater core.

Ok, so I'm no longer in denial! Head gasket definitely bad. While driving last evening, cooling system over-pressurized and blew the cap off the coolant bottle and it was LOUD I mean really loud, like a hand grenade and it shot out most of the coolant. Guess I'm lucky I didn't blow a hose first. Happened on a busy highway, couldn't find a safe place to pull over and it overheated by the time I pulled over. Not sure how bad, I re-filled the cooling system once it cooled down and drove it home without a cap on the coolant bottle. Started up and ran fine.

So it's time to pull the head. Considering getting the head re-worked. I don't have $900 for a new head right now.

Curious, since you got a new head, how did you know what head gasket thickness to get? Did you measure piston protrusion? If I get my head re-worked, I'll just do the math and and add how ever much was shaved off the head. Head bolts are one time disposable stretch, correct? Thanks!

my original head gasket was a two hole,
I used a two hole again.

you can see it installed on the engine,
the holes are on the gasket tword the front of the car,
about behind the dipstick.

and if anyone has a good O2J trans there sitting on and not using,
Im in the market for one,
as my local pick a parts have
no diesel 02j trans at this time.
have cash or lots of tdi and non tdi
stuff to trade.
or a suitable replacement from a different year.
im not sure what would work,
but im open to suggestions

I just need to get her back on the road before she grows roots

For what it is worth, a gasser tranny, although geared lower both in 5th gear and the Ring and Pinion, will work. It'll jack up your RPMs across the board. I ran a gasser 5th gear for about 6 months until I found a replacement gear. I know it would be a lot of work but if you have no other option at the moment, it may be worth considering, especially if you use it mostly for city commuting .......... the reduced gearing is perfect for such circumstances.

Keep in mind, the gearing in my Vanagon is roughly equivalent to the first 4 gears of an O2J (no 5th in the Van).

for me the gas tranny is out due to
1000 mi/week, all highway.
iv been wondering about getting
a gas trans O2J and using the case.
but at this point thats disassembling
two trannys,
and buying a good working one
seems like the fastest route.
I also emailed Frans at DAP.
so those are my options at this point.

im still checking the junk yards every couple of days too.

Do any of the j-yards in your area have locater options?

Have you tried car-part.com?

Have you looked for part outs? https://denver.craigslist.org/pts/d/parting-out-2003-jetta-tdi-5/6628671401.html
https://denver.craigslist.org/pts/d/parting-out-2001-jetta-tdi/6628665543.html
https://denver.craigslist.org/pts/d/parting-out-2005-volkswagen/6632221563.html
https://denver.craigslist.org/pts/d/parting-out-2001-jetta-tdi/6642642150.html
The above guy is hoarding all the TDI parts on you CO guys.
https://cosprings.craigslist.org/pts/d/urs4-27t-performance-mk4-tdi/6634510604.html


2000-2005 mkiv style cars will fit, jetta, golf, beetle.

a 99.5 may fit but is a different shifter tower, you'd have to change it (Not 100% sure about 99 beetle) https://cosprings.craigslist.org/pts/d/1999-vw-bug-beetle-tdi-partout/6625397846.html

thank you to everyone for the links.
Iv found a trans on craigs list,
the guy is asking $185,
history on the trans is it was replaced
due to a bent clutch fork.
he said it shifts good.
im going to look at it at 5.
Frans at DAP came back with a quote
of $435 shipped,
thats my second choice.
my third choice is a beetle at my local pull a part.
it has little body damage and an intact timing belt
so that one worries me.
plus pulling it and a $25 core,
its worth it for $185 on the first one,
because the history is known.
the rest of the craigslist canadates
were all history unknown.
so im going at 5 to verify the one for $185 is an EGR Code.

well,
I bought it.
Im taking bets on if the clutch is oil soaked.
I just put in a new clutch less than 10 K miles ago
so it has to be oil soaked.
but it would be a bonus if my clutch was ok.
if its got any oil on it out it goes......

Im streching it as it is stage 4 on a luk 17-050,

I wouldent get away with it if it wasent for the altitude.

so I pulled the timing plug on
my bellhousing,
and its all oil soaked.
so new clutch time, again.

so Iv got a good used trans ,
new clutch,
stretch bolts,
axel gaskets,
and gear oil.
anything else I forgot...lol
gonna try n get it done this weekend.