ALH 01m to Dq250 DSG Swap Completed!

[GlowBugTDI]

It will work but it depends on the year of the car/ECU DSG didn’t come out till 2003 so anything older than that it will need tuned or a 03 file

This really makes me want to dq250 swap my 01m wagon. I'll need to keep an eye out for a dq250. Sad thing is I knew where one was last summer for 140$.


For curiosity sake. How reliable are these trans? Is it common at all for the mech unit to go out? Seems they are good, but I don't know them all that well.

 

[ninedee_golf_tdi]

Personally, I can't answer your questions based on experience, but I do know they are better than the 01m it's replacing. I found a 100,000 mile 2014 jetta tranny with starter, separator plate, pigtails, + battery cable and the nuts and bolts to reassemble it for $600. I dropped the engine/tranny as a unit since it's due for a bit of maintenance anyway and getting the 01m out and dsg in is probably a pita for achy shoulders.

 

[J_dude]

For curiosity sake. How reliable are these trans? Is it common at all for the mech unit to go out? Seems they are good, but I don't know them all that well.

Bet you @oilhammer could give us an idea.

 

[GlowBugTDI]

Bet you @oilhammer could give us an idea.

True. I know he believes that a manual swap is still the best most reliable thing you can do to an alh. Which I completely agree with as well, but I'm curious about these trans. Because honestly it would look more "from factory" then a manual swap. Plus with the added torque handling ability and ultra fast shifting it would leave a lot of room for upgrades. Not to say the 02j can't handle heavy mods.
Its also nice to have 1 auto around in case of lower extremity accidents where you find using your leg difficult.

 

[Nuje]

Because honestly it would look more "from factory" then a manual swap.

Not sure why you'd think that. After a 5sp swap is done, there's nothing on the interior that'd let you know it didn't roll off the assembly line that way.
And under the hood...a couple of coolant hoses are joined together - which most people wouldn't notice unless they were looking for them.

 

[GlowBugTDI]

Not sure why you'd think that. After a 5sp swap is done, there's nothing on the interior that'd let you know it didn't roll off the assembly line that way.
And under the hood...a couple of coolant hoses are joined together - which most people wouldn't notice unless they were looking for them.

Because of the prnd321 on the dash.

 

[ninedee_golf_tdi]

Questions: Should the ignition switch/park safety cable be disconnected at the ignition switch, or did I miss the part where it is re-integrated in the dsg shifter cable box ? Answer: I'll disconnect the cable at the ignition switch.

The dsg shifter box is a tad bit too large for the tunnel opening to fit front to back, and it won't raise sufficiently to mount against the floor board. Is it "safer" to trim the opening, or file some of the plastic dsg shifter housing ? Answer: I have the wrong shifter, more details below.

Thanks.

 

[ninedee_golf_tdi]

I'm doing this swap with a lot of help from some folks on here. I dropped the engine/01m tranny as a unit, did some engine maintenance, installed the shifter with a lot of help from a die grinder to trim the shifter box opening in the floor board, attached the dsg to the engine and reinstalled it to the point it's hanging from the mounts. It is a tight fit to get the dsg in there. I had to remove the transmission mount and bracket so i could get the tranny over the lca, tilt it a bit to clear the lca and then tilt it the other way to clear the bottom of the brake booster. Then, attach the transmission mount to the frame and then attach the transmission to the mount.

Now I'm starting to reassemble everything when i noticed the dsg shifter cable is maybe 8 inches too long. I compared it to another dsg shifter and its different. The unit with the shorter cable is 5k1713025aa. Sadly the one that has a longer cable has had the label scraped off so the part number is unknown. I'm a bit concerned now how this different shifter will play nice with a tranny different than what it was designed for.

Maybe we could start a part number list of what the correct parts are.

Here's a pic of the two.

 

[Nuje]

Because of the prnd321 on the dash.

Swapping a cluster is a lot easier than swapping in a DSG. (I have at least four "no PRND321" clusters sitting in my garage if you want one.)

Make no mistake, a DSG in a Mk4 TDI is a laudable goal, which I resolutely endorse. If that's what the heart wants, that's what the heart shall seek.

 

[boertje]

Swapping a cluster is a lot easier than swapping in a DSG. (I have at least four sitting in my garage if you want one.)

Make no mistake, a DSG in a Mk4 TDI is a laudable goal, which I resolutely endorse. If that's what the heart wants, that's what the heart shall seek.

Its too bad that oem axle availability is NLA.

 

[csstevej]

Subscribed
Does anyone know what the transmission code would be , other than a DQ250?
I’m having trouble finding this? Or I’m doing something wrong.

 

[ninedee_golf_tdi]

Just another little glitch in reassembling this. The CV boot / turbo heat shield aren't playing nice. The shield is rubbing on the dsg transmission's larger flange and there is no way to adjust the shield. Does anyone know of a better mousetrap ?

A solution to the power steering pressure line is the Edelmann part number 92562 for about $100. It isn't 100% correct, but very workable. I had the local hydraulic shop cut the original alh metal tube crimp connection which connects to the pump at the 90' bend at the bottom where it meets the rubber hose. He then crimped a tube compression hose end part number 11143-8-6 onto the Edelmann hose, and I swaged the alh part with the provided compression fitting. Time will tell if it leaks or not.

 

[Suicidee]

hi.. maybe you can tell me how to start dsg on 1.9 vp engine.. I put together the setup, but it gives an error that a weak signal can be connected with the engine computer and abs

 

[turbocharged798]

Alright, I'm stuck. Tried to start my ALH+ DQ250 wagon and got it started but the starter sounds awful. Took it back out and its chewing the ring gear on the DMF. I have a LUK DMF-092 and a Bosch SR0856N. The DMF lists it application as for a 05-06 BEW Beetle and 06 BRM Jetta. The starter is supposed to be compatible with an 06 Jetta TDI. Not sure what gives here. Seems to me like it lack of gear mesh but its almost impossible to check given its a blind assembly.

Trans is from a '14 Golf TDI.

Anyone else run into this?

 

[ninedee_golf_tdi]

I started mine today for the first time, only to see if it would shift forwards and backwards. It's still up on jackstands with no front end, but it started normally, no weird noises. I also used the dmf092, a 2014 Jetta Dsg (MSV I think) and the 2014 starter (sorry, I can't see the part number). I did have 4 weird codes 28775, 18097, 18261, and 18288. Did you install the pilot bushing in the crank ?

 

[turbocharged798]

I started mine today for the first time, only to see if it would shift forwards and backwards. It's still up on jackstands with no front end, but it started normally, no weird noises. I also used the dmf092, a 2014 Jetta Dsg (MSV I think) and the 2014 starter (sorry, I can't see the part number). I did have 4 weird codes 28775, 18097, 18261, and 18288. Did you install the pilot bushing in the crank ?

The first code is for the shifter, something must not be wired right. Its no comm to the shifter module. I would double check your can bus connections and power/grounds. The rest of the codes I have as well. Thinking they may not create any issues other than stored codes.

I did manage to get mine started and confirmed it goes into drive and reverse. Starter still sounds god awful and making a nice pile of metal chips under it. The fact you used DMF092 and a 2014 starter with no issues tells me that something must be up with my starter. Very frustrating. Going to hit up a junkyard to try a different starter.

I did make sure to install the pilot bushing.

And FWIW, I was able to use pin 17 on the DSG connector for a park/neutral safety to prevent starting in gear.

 

[ninedee_golf_tdi]

Five weeks later and tons of questions asked and answered, the 03 alh wagon which had its 01m tranny rebuilt 3 times, made it around the block on its maiden dsg shakedown cruise. It shifted fair enough, a little odd between shifts, but nothing a little tuning won't fix I hope.

 

[turbocharged798]

Starter issue resolved, apparently there are differences in DSG starters. Left is the Bosch SR00856N which I linked to earlier in this thread. Right is a Bosch starter from a 2014 passat. You can see the difference in the nose. Later starter is about 1/4 in bigger in the nose. Both have 11 tooth gears. Seems the difference is in the transmission, NOT the flywheel. So you have to match the starter to the transmission you have. Best bet would be to get the starter with the transmission that came out of the car.

Sounds much better now!

 

[ninedee_golf_tdi]

So you have to match the starter to the transmission you have.

So you put a passat tranny in ? Or did I read that wrong ? I was told the passat has better gearing than the jetta trannys. Any sense of that ?

 

[turbocharged798]

So you put a passat tranny in ? Or did I read that wrong ? I was told the passat has better gearing than the jetta trannys. Any sense of that ?

No, same trans out of a 2014 golf. Just pointing out there appears to be two different DQ250 starters and they are NOT compatible.

 

[ninedee_golf_tdi]

I put another couple of miles on the swap today, seems to be doing ok. I think it is slow to downshift as when I go up a gentle incline at slow speeds. When driving at slow speeds, the shifts are still a bit funky I think, but when driven a bit aggressively, they really shift and engage quickly. Maybe it's just that I've never driven another dsg before, except a NB that is really weird shifting. I have no speedo and I've learned I have to recode the cluster to get the speed from the abs. Is anyone willing to walk me through that procedure ? Thanks.

 

[bigsexyTDI]

Odd question and not really the right place for it, but goes along with it... Can a DSG with a bad Mechatronic unit be reprogrammed to simply be shifted manually all the time? My problem with the DSG all along is that I don't like how it shifts, so I always do it manually anyway, but could it be a way to salvage some of these with bad units since Oilhammer says we will inevitably run out of the NB ones at some point?

 

[ninedee_golf_tdi]

The original cluster (01m) now shows p r n d but not the gear the transmission is operating in. Has anyone figured out a work around to that, either magic within the cluster/dsg combo, or maybe a stand-a-lone display ? VCDS doesn't show that info either, and it'd be nice to know.

 

[tdicaddy01]

The original cluster (01m) now shows p r n d but not the gear the transmission is operating in. Has anyone figured out a work around to that, either magic within the cluster/dsg combo, or maybe a stand-a-lone display ? VCDS doesn't show that info either, and it'd be nice to know.

Haven’t been on this thread in awhile, lots easier to just get a cheap half or full fis cluster from uk and swap it in. I did that on my latest swapped car (which is for sale btw). They can be sourced for less than 100$ shipped.

 

[tdicaddy01]

Odd question and not really the right place for it, but goes along with it... Can a DSG with a bad Mechatronic unit be reprogrammed to simply be shifted manually all the time? My problem with the DSG all along is that I don't like how it shifts, so I always do it manually anyway, but could it be a way to salvage some of these with bad units since Oilhammer says we will inevitably run out of the NB ones at some point?

Have you driven one that was tuned? Night and day difference on a tuned dsg vs not.

 

[turbocharged798]

I put another couple of miles on the swap today, seems to be doing ok. I think it is slow to downshift as when I go up a gentle incline at slow speeds. When driving at slow speeds, the shifts are still a bit funky I think, but when driven a bit aggressively, they really shift and engage quickly. Maybe it's just that I've never driven another dsg before, except a NB that is really weird shifting. I have no speedo and I've learned I have to recode the cluster to get the speed from the abs. Is anyone willing to walk me through that procedure ? Thanks.

Mine's a bit funky too. Not bad, and completely drive able but certain situations it can act a little weird. I think the more I drive it the better its getting due to some learning and adaption going on in the TCU.

As far as re-coding the cluster, I use an old knock off vag-tacho on windows XP. Pull the dump from the cluster, open in hex editor like HxD, modify the byte, and write it back. Took me total of 5 minutes and worked great.

The original cluster (01m) now shows p r n d but not the gear the transmission is operating in. Has anyone figured out a work around to that, either magic within the cluster/dsg combo, or maybe a stand-a-lone display ? VCDS doesn't show that info either, and it'd be nice to know.

Mine shows PRND and switches to 12345 when in TIP mode. However, 6th gear does not show and the whole display blanks out when you manually put it in 6th. I can live with that. Mines a later MK4 cluster with the chrome/sliver faces.

 

[ninedee_golf_tdi]

I found this https://tinyurl.com/Ecumaster and it seems to solve the problem of no speedo without recoding the cluster. I'll watch it another 15 times to try to figure out exactly what he is saying.

Here is another yt from the same guy (Red Baron Garage in Sweden) explaining details on his 1.8t dsg swap. It's about the same as a tdi dsg swap. https://tinyurl.com/DSG-Swap-1-8t

 

[ninedee_golf_tdi]

For parts, I used:
DSG Tranny/starter/separator plate/pigtails/shifter (make sure you get the smaller style) from a 2014 Jetta DSG Code MSV $650
Rock Auto Edelmann edl92562 power steering hose $154 shipped
MYVWPART.Com Transmission mount 3 hole 1j0199555br 127.17 shipped
DSG Paddles LEDSSW Led lit shifter top thingy $95, Black Friday $54
Rock Auto LUK 092 shipped $385... Future swaps will be with a LUK 126, which is almost the same but is for a higher horsepower for $326.
Power Steering Hose Mod Connector 11143-8-6 $52

 

[ninedee_golf_tdi]

I think I was naive in not replacing the clutch pack while the tranny was out. I reseached the price of a new replacement and figured I'd gamble and not replace it. To be honest, I didn't know they could be rebuilt or I would have bought a friction kit. This transmission seems to be working fine, but for the next swap I'm going to get a rebuilt clutch shipped for around $400 and not worry about the next 100,000 miles. I'm curious what others have done. Thanks.

 

[turbocharged798]

From what I have read, the clutch packs really don't wear out often. I thought about it and decided to just go with it and see what happens.