06 Jetta TDI GQQ 5 Speed Transmission Inspection

I've been hearing a rough bearing sound from i believe my transmission. As the car is decelerating, with the clutch peddle pushed in and held in, i shift into 2nd gear and hear a rough bearing sound. if i shift into 1st rough bearing sound gets louder and continues until i come to a complete stop. the sound dimishes as vehicle speed drops. Since the clutch peddle is pushed in, the engine, flywheel & pressure plate is turning at idle speed, the clutch disc would be turning a the same speed as the trans input shaft, again the rough bearing sound gets louder and faster has i shift into 2nd then 1st (again clutch peddle is pushed in the whole time).

I've drained the transmission and replaced fluid (thru the reverse switch hole i added almost 2 qts Redline fluid from IDParts), drove for 3 weeks, sound remains. Now i seem to hear a sound at highway speeds when car is in 5th gear. Drained fluid again, there seems to be a metal looking scheen on the fluid. No large metal particles have been found in the fluid. Running a magnet thru the fluid does not show any metal.

Transmission is now removed, I was thinking of replacing it, but everyone says these gearboxes hold together. 210,000 miles currently on the car, all of which are highway 80mph speeds. i removed the trans cover and inspected the gear faces i could see. all looked good. i removed the shifter and inspected gear faces. one gear tooth had a small chip on the end, but all gear teeth faces look very good. i was thinking of cracking the case to inspect various bearings...

if i crack the case apart do i need to worry about anything falling out of place? Syncronizers, various parts and pieces...

is there any thing special i need to worry about?

do i need any special tools to do so?

is there a GQQ transmisison rebuild manual out there anywhere?

Your transmission code is 0A4. GQQ refers to the gearing. Fact is, the 0A4 is basically same tranny in most every way to a later 02J which is just an evolution of the 02A. Tons of info to be found if you search for 02J DIYs on the web. seems to me the biggest difference between the 02J and the 0A4 is the later lost its speed sensor and our cars now use the ABS system for that input.

They are not too hard to take apart and inspect. IMO the hardest part is getting 5th gear apart before even cracking the case open. Other than that, just find a good write up and follow it. No real "special tools" needed beyond the usual VW tools and a well equipped automotive tool box someone not afraid to rebuild a transaxle would likely have. Only finicky thing I found after getting 5th gear apart was setting the preload on my diff bearings when installing my LSD. Took a dial indicator to measure and special shims from VW to set. However, if your diff is OK and the ring gear rivets are holding tight, no need to worry about resetting preload anyway as nothing effecting it will have changed.

I rebuilt mine at about 195K miles to install the LSD and a taller 5th gear. It looked remarkable inside and I didn't even replace a synchro or anything. Only things that got replaced in the process were the diff bearings and all the seals. I'm now at 270K with the last 75K with a fully built engine to over 200WHP and the tranny is still functioning like new. They are pretty stout IMO.

Good luck!

thanks for the direction.

My transmission makes noise i thought it was the sycnchros and now its doing it pretty much in every gear i have to rev match for it to get into gear correctly, i have 205,000 miles currently.

I can't just press the clutch and shift into second or third now without hearing grinding. Just got it back from my mechanic and he said he adjusted the cable but nothing, wondering if its a master clutch cylinder or something. Or maybe he didn't use the right tool to release slack in the line.

Does this sound familiar to anyone