Update:
So, like the Greeks, I have burned my boats - no turning back.
In other words, I yanked the auto last night and promptly sold it moments after it hit the floor. It was a challenging decision to make given that my auto was working fine before removal.
But then again, I can never leave well enough alone when it comes to the pursuit of 6-speed Passats...
Anyhoo, as expected my rear main is leaking, and there is a decent trail of oil coming down from the tandem pump, so I'll likely replace that at the same time, along with the coolant housing at the back of the head.
Once the transmission was out, I took some time to take measurements.
The depth of this chamfer in the crank snout - 4mm
The distance from the face of the crank snout to the block/pan mating surface - 23mm
Depth of the input shaft from the transmission bellhousing (note, this is the distance to the end of the chamfer on the nose of the input shaft which is about 1mm past the nose of the shaft) - 10mm:
Width of the spacer needed for the stock clutch - 5.5mm
Total depth to the input shaft seen here - 15.5mm:
By my calculations, if you install the stock pilot bearing to the depth of the chamfer, you will get 3.5mm of support on the surface of the input shaft (23mm -4mm -10mm - 5.5mm = 3.5mm)
So, what to do? I did some searching, and the stock input shaft bearing is 15mm wide x 15mm id x 21mm od. After looking around, I found a company in the UK called simplybearings, and they make a 15x21x20mm bushing that fits in the crank nicely and sticks out 1mm from the face of the crank snout rather than being 4mm recessed to the depth of the chamfer:
Which will give 8.5 mm of support on the input shaft instead of 3.5mm. I'm comfy with the bronze oillite bushing instead of the bearing - many a vehicle I have changed clutches on came with a bushing instead of a bearing from the factory.
****Note - see post 209 - after 20k km, the bronze bushing gave out and I installed the factory pilot/needle bearing with less depth support. I do not recommend getting this bushing if you are going with a 6speed and the spacer.***
So, now all i'm waiting for are the starter, longer bolts, rear main seal, tandem pump and coolant seals, and a tune. Malone has been busy lately - hard to get ahold of him
No worries, it'll be warmer before I get into the job to any depth again...
But I am getting the itch...