Longterm advice for 01m with 18K mi?

dugawug

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2006
Location
Berkeley, CA
TDI
2002 Golf GLS
I just bought an '02 Golf GLS and was a little disappointed to hear about the tranny. I saw my sticker and it said FDB, so I understand that's an 01m which has a fairly high failure rate around the 100k+ mark.

So while the car just now has only 18K on it, what should I do to best prevent any problems with the 01m down the road?

I did some reading here, and am already doing little things like putting on the parking brake before putting it in park, taking it easy while it warms up, not switching gears until the car has totally stopped, etc.

But what else? What about changing the oil/filter? How often should I do that or should I just leave it alone altogether?

(On my old Benz 240D, I was told the best thing to do for it's transmission was to leave it alone...something about breaking the seals once would mean inevitable leaks and potential problems from then on)
 

ToolNut

Veteran Member
Joined
May 2, 2004
Location
Boylston, MA, USA
TDI
'02 Jetta GLS, '11 SportWagen
I remember reading something about replacing parts in the valve body, so maybe a search will turn something up. Since all our TDIs are 5-speeds, I just did a quick read...

Paul
 

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
You can do an IPT valve body swap if the internals are in good shape, which yours *should* be. Call Harv at Wild Rose. One of the guys is doing them there (goes by Biochoppers). Do a search and find some threads.

But as long as you take good care of the trans, it should go for a long time (no abuse). Change the filter/fluid now and then every 20K.

Tony
 

jaberoo

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
Location
Alford, MA
TDI
2015 Passat SEL silver
My 02 Jetta wagon will turn 180K this week. Had the 01M serviced at 80K mi and again at 130K. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be taking it into Chris Hill for another transmission service (plus the second TB/WP). So far, no problems. VW states that the unit doesn't need service (until you need a $4.5K rebuilt) although they'll do it for $250-300. Longevity must also depend on how it's been driven.
 

Drivbiwire

Zehntes Jahr der Veteran
Joined
Oct 13, 1998
Location
Boise, Idaho
TDI
2013 Passat TDI, Newmar Ventana 8.3L ISC 3945, 2016 E250 BT, 2000 Jetta TDI
Change the fluid now (sample the fluid at the time of the change). Then expect to replace the fluid every 30,000 miles along with the filter.

That is based on fluid samples I have seen on family member cars.

DB
 

dugawug

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2006
Location
Berkeley, CA
TDI
2002 Golf GLS
Thanks guys. I'll change the oil/filter on it soon and then probably keep doing it at 2 year (or 20K mi) intervals. I don't drive much, so I usually do my maintenance by time instead of mileage.

Other than that, I'm going to treat her easy and hope for the best!
 

TornadoRed

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
dugawug said:
Thanks guys. I'll change the oil/filter on it soon and then probably keep doing it at 2 year (or 20K mi) intervals. I don't drive much, so I usually do my maintenance by time instead of mileage.

Other than that, I'm going to treat her easy and hope for the best!
That is probably the most cost-effective way to address this problem, as it may remain only a potential problem for a long, long time.

You might want to talk with or exchange PMs with Scott aka Biochoppers, as he is the resident expert on the IPT valve body upgrade. It's not cheap, but it seems to be the only way to make the O1M tranny last indefinitely. The thing is, if you wait until the tranny starts to exhibit problems, then it's too late.

IPT also sells its own rebuilt 01M transmissions, that are superior to the ones VW sells and probably most other rebuilders'.
 

Drivbiwire

Zehntes Jahr der Veteran
Joined
Oct 13, 1998
Location
Boise, Idaho
TDI
2013 Passat TDI, Newmar Ventana 8.3L ISC 3945, 2016 E250 BT, 2000 Jetta TDI
Don't guess when it comes to the transmission fluid by just replacing it every 2 years. Emotion does not play well with a modern engine...

Like I said you NEED to take a sample of the fluid and send it in for analysis. If you want PM me the results and I will take a look at it for you.

THEN when you get to around 30,000 miles take another sample and change the fluid and filter. This will bracket your wear metals and allow you to nail down an optimum change interval.

Transmission fluid DOES NOT BENEFIT from changes done by time since no hydrocarbons are being burned in the unit. The Transmission is heated by engine coolant so water and moisture are always cooked off and the fluid is regulated to 90C (give or take). The point is that it is never run cold (for long) or is it ever allowed to exceed the synthetic fluids temperature limits (more than likely in excess of 400F).

You may also find that with your style of driving that when you get to 30K that intervals of 40-50K are reasonable. The point is don't throw money and parts at a problem that you don't know to exist.

Caution is warranted with the transmission BUT monitoring the fluid condition will in my opinion prevent you from having any future issues with the unit.

It all comes down to sampling and making an EDUCATED decision as to how often your transmission needs to be serviced.

DB
 

TornadoRed

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
One other point -- and I am not an AT expert by any means, but I do read...

Quite a few members reported that the fluid levels in their 01M trannys were low. Changing the fluid requires use of VAG-COM, to monitor the fluid temperature, but apparently it is still possible to underfill. Adding a little more ATF seemed to improve the performance... but I don't know how much more.
 

dugawug

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2006
Location
Berkeley, CA
TDI
2002 Golf GLS
well, next week i'm having the tranny serviced by AVS (very reputable) here in Berkeley and will continue to have it done at regular intervals. so i'll make a great test case...see if my 01M has any big problems down the road after regular maintenace...of course, by the time i hit 100K miles, we may all be driving anti-gravity hovercrafts anyway.
 

scooperhsd

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Location
Kansas City KS
TDI
NB, 2000, RED(5 Speed conversion) 2015 Golf SE
Keep up with the maintenance suggested above (hint - VW dealers will say it doesn't need any - ignore them) and don't abuse it.

Scott (196,500 miles on his O1M original )
 
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