Auto Dead ...Time for a upgrade?

[01tdiJEtt]

So I brought my car in for a fluid change as it hasnt been done in 3 years and i get told that the tranny is on its last legs... Which i was suspecting since i put in PP502;s and got a Alligator tune. Occasionally revs would nearly redline and then suddenly drop. So i knew it would happen one day.. the price you pay for modding a automatic i guess.

Well now i'm stuck though, and this is where i need some input. A auto transmission rebuild is roughly $4200, and the shop i asked said its not worth doing a manual swap. Should I risk putting in another auto or find out the cost of doing a swap. Is there any other options then that?

Opinions welcome!

 

[TDIFred]

sorry to hear all that.
why no to the manual swap? they did not want to do it or what?

 

[OmegaRenegade]

auto - manual swap is your best bang for buck. especially since the rest of the car is in good shape. Its by no means an easy option, it requires the most work and probably means more downtime. Tossing a used or rebuilt tranny into your car is a band-aid solution to the problem. Maybe you could even look into what it would take to put a DSG transmission into ure car if at all possible. I havnt heard the same horror stories about the tranny failing after 200 000kms.

i took my 2001 auto to Brampton Transmission for a rebuild. it cost about 3900 dollars, drove well for the first 45 000km after rebuild and then began to slip again. Its now done about 60 000km's since its been rebuilt and i am just counting down the days till it fails. Its not being pushed hard at all anymore even tho it has technine and injectors on it. on the plus side economy couldnt be better with it in this state.

 

[Johhny04]

Do the swap. Definately find a good shop to complete the project. Cost wise, sorry can't help you there.

 

[ymz]

If you have to pay a shop to do the manual swap, it's probably not going to be worth doing... If you have the ability and the space (and time) to do it yourself - with some help from the folks on this website - then it'll be a very worthwhile project.

Good luck,

Yuri.

PS: according to Oilhammer (who's one of the most respected members here), the only rebuild worth considering is an official VW-rebuilt (remanufactured??) transmission... not cheap...

 

[Link977]

If you have to pay a shop to do the manual swap, it's probably not going to be worth doing... If you have the ability and the space (and time) to do it yourself - with some help from the folks on this website - then it'll be a very worthwhile project.

+1
Stay at what it is.
If you'd like a manual, buy a manual car.

 

[Tsagoth]

If you're going to keep the car, buck up and stick a new auto-trans into it. The VW tranny is $4800, so if your rebuild quote was $4200, I'd say spend the extra $600 instead of hoping the rebuilder knows what he's doing. I've been dithering about it myself, but I think I'm going to force it that a VW tranny goes in, because if I paid $4K for a rebuild and it failed in less than 160K, I'd have to burn the place down, and I'm not ready to go to jail yet, lol.

While it hurts, $5K for the replacement beats $25K-30K for a new car.

I'm in the same boat as you, my 01M is getting worse now. I expect it's lifetime is measured in days now, not weeks.

 

[OmegaRenegade]

another thing you could try if you wanted to prolong things is the Kerma Line Pressure Mod. increasing the line pressure my help with the slippage and give u more time to scrounge up the cash to get things sorted out.

 

[Bush Hopper]

edit:

Not worth doing the swap.

 

[odinsjetta]

I definitely recommend doing the swap if you can do it yourself or with some help. My father and I will be doing the swap on his car in the next month or so. We got all the parts for $1000 and he bought a new clutch and flywheel (g60/vr6) from TDI Parts. I hate auto trannys, they are garbage. The TDI motor will probably outlast 2 autos before its done.

Jeff

 

[ymz]

The TDI motor will probably outlast 2 autos before its done.

Only if you don't take care of it... If you do, it'll outlast at least 4 automatic trannies...

Yuri.

 

[odinsjetta]

Good call Yuri.

 

[GECKO 5]

I am amazed at how many people are in the same boat as I. Does anyone have handy a link or specific details on what is needed to do a swap? While i am not a mechanic, i do consider myself mechanically inclined and more than up for the challenge. I had mine rebuilt at app. 160000KM to the tune of around $4200 and now at 244000KM, it is really starting to act up again. It is now just a matter of time. It's really too bad you know... The rest of the car has been rock-stable.. But this tranny situation truly tainted my plans on looking at another VW..

 

[odinsjetta]

Give this a try. It's quite long, but a good bunch of info.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=151516&highlight=manual+swap

 

[ymz]

this tranny situation truly tainted my plans on looking at another VW..

Well, it's really simple... just get a manual transmission model... then the car should last as long as you want it to last...

Then again, VW's aren't for everyone... (I gave up on getting a TDI for my mother-in-law because she would have needed an automatic...)

All the best,

Yuri.

 

[01tdiJEtt]

Well the shop I asked just said it wasnt worth it but right now i feel it is(the swap) I wan this car to last a few more years and i drive alot i need it to be reliable again.. and theres more plans i have for it...

I have sourced out the manual tranny parts at roughly 1000$ then i could go for the work myself but i just dont think i am that mechanically inclined and dont feel like having that much downtime.

 

[danielhf]

I am in the same boat as you. I have the manual trans + parts being delivered on Thursday. But look at the positives; now your car can withstand a VNT20 w/R520 nozzles... I mean I am doing this out of necessity .

 

[ymz]

I have sourced out the manual tranny parts at roughly 1000$

If you can help it, don't get the OEM Sachs Dual-Mass Flywheel... get either a Luk (1999.5->early-2000 models) or a VR6/G-60 Single Mass Flywheel setup.

Good luck... (I resisted the obvioius pun...)

Yuri