Go to our advanced search "Google" here for auto trans and you will find a plethora of info on the downsides and failures of the early autos. Unless you opt for a 5 speed conversion I would put all those ideas of performance mods on hold. Now maybe you can see what a money pit you might have if you continue with your plans. To each his own, I never thought of a VW TDI as a hot rod anyway. Do the basic reliability stuff like timing belt, skid plate etc and motor on. I know nothing of PDA Autowerks so i will not comment on their recommendations. In the end its your money and your driving pleasure sit back and enjoy your new to you car without thinking you have to make all those great improvements that might not be so great after your wallet is empty.
I'm not sure if I'm searching with precise enough query terms. It looks like there was more than one automatic transmission with the mk4 ALHs. Am I correct in assessing that I have the 01M transmission (WVW VIN, 2003 ALH Wagon, not tiptronic)?
I tried to find a comprehensive list of all VAG transmissions, but, as of yet, have had no luck.
I have preferentially driven manuals my entire life, but have knee/hip/back issues and have decided it's time to be a grandma and save my joints. I also push up long 8% grades pretty frequently. In my other car - 1997 rav4.1 5 speed, those hills munch up my 4/5 synchros, shifting back and forth at ~4k rpm over and over. (FWIW I've gotten 290k+ miles out of that engine with zero breakdowns and zero failures to start, if that's any indication of what type of maintenance I intend to give the ALH). Wasn't sure whether the gearing on the VW would require me to do the same or not, and decided to just go with the auto 4spd. Those factors, plus the fact that I drive for a living (~100mi/day in mostly suburban conditions - not quite city but certainly not highway cruising - and it was just time to go with an auto.
I do pay close attention to the dynamics of the shifting in the auto trans, in order to try to ensure that I don't dog it. In the ~1,800 miles I've driven since getting the car, I've noticed a few things.
-It seems like the trans shifts most smoothly when I sustain about 25% throttle to induce shifting between 2200-2400rpm for leisurely driving, and 2600-2800rpm for more zestful acceleration, or highway speeds of greater than 65mph.
-Somewhere between 25-50% throttle off the line, followed by a steady hold around 25% to induce a seamless upshift, seems to give me the best blend of low-end torque AND power off the line and super smooth shifting through all 4. This seems to keep me cruising between 1800-2800 rpm (what seems, so far, to be the optimum usable section of the power/torque band) at all times, while ensuring that I'm shifting seamlessly either between 2200-2400 or 2600-2800. This is my primary throttle dynamic. I've got a bit over 500k miles on my personal rollers, lifetime, and am simply going off of my experience of paying attention to what the engine/transmission are telling me. Any more pertinent experience you have to offer will be welcomed with open ears. Most of my miles are on gassers, but I've got about 7,500 miles behind a Hino box truck.
-If I apply anything harder than 50-60% throttle off the line, high-end shifting (above 3000 rpm) seems to kick in, atleast for 1/2 and 2/3. I stay out of this range. Seems to kill mpg and be a shift dynamic that's designed more for the tailgaters than the conscientious vehicle operator.
-Full throttle off the line is BAD. This causes the trans to shift WAY above 3000 rpm and hang out at those high revs longer than I'd like before shifting. Power band is clearly gone by that point and this seems to lead to an inefficient rpm disparity between shifts. At most, I will drop to 75% throttle when I'm already cruising in 3rd or 4th, if I really need to induce downshifting and increase rpm.
I talked with my mechanic, with whom I am close friends, about this car's automatic transmission before I was willing to go ahead and buy it. He gives me an *extremely* reasonable labor rate and lets me work alongside him so I can learn the inner workings of the components with which I am not already intimately familiar. I am generally very untrusting of automatic transmissions, with hondas and daimlers being the only ones (with which I have personal experience, anyway) I even have a little bit of faith in, in terms of longevity. He told me that the main issue with these transmissions is the valve body. He said he has replaced the valve bodies in a number of them and they keep running strong from then. Am I to understand that the sonnex modified valve body is the replacement item of choice? I have been considering preventively replacing the valve body and performing a transmission fluid change (with spec fluid - but it seems like this is a point of contention among some - care to weigh in on it?) some time soon. Still doing my research on that...
I do at least 1,000 hours of research on any hobby I take on (everything from tarantulas, roadbikes, orchids, coral-reef-aquaria, vaping - you name it) and never consider myself an expert, but rather, at best, more educated than the average hobbyist. My catchphrase is "You can never be sure you know everything you need to know until you've learned everything you didn't need to know." I am very excited that there is so much highly detailed information accessible on these engines/cars. I by no means consider myself well-educated - I have only done ~60hrs of research so far, lol. I would love to pick your brain and learn every little thing there is to know about these beasts. I would love for my transmission to last as long as my engine.
The primary reason I have an interest in the valves/malone is increasing my efficiency, not burning rubber, FWIW.
Sidenote: my SO has an aging POS forester. She will need a new ride at some point. She lives on the Allegheny Plateau, AKA the midatlantic snowbelt, and gets a lot of snow and icy conditions in the winter, with a lot of incline driving. She can't drive a manual. If, after driving an automatic again for a while, my knees/hip/back ease up on me, I'd consider getting another ALH (or maybe even one of the newer PD or CRs) with a manual box and passing this one off to her. Either way, I want to maintain it with the utmost of care. When it comes time to upgrade her, a well-equipped/well-maintained ALH would be a nice option, especially if I already know exactly what the vehicle's dynamics are. If I DO get another TDI I would probably be giving this one to her. At the very least, I would want to make sure that the engine/transmission are well-kept and that the undercarriage (and winter tireset) are well-equipped to handle the conditions up there.
currently in Bromley, Kent at the minute. So if anyone knows any good vw specialists feel free to give me a shout 