gearbox removal and refitting

[Karr-Man 0]

ok guys, i need my diff replaced and in order to save myself a few hundred quid im planning on removal and refitting of the gearbox myself.

i have a haynes manual which doesnt cover the vr6 engine but coivers the 02A gearbox on other applications so should prove helpful.

although i have other mechanical experience ive never done a gearbox b4 so if anyones got any tips or things i should watch out for id appreciate any advice

thanx

[Karr-Man 0]

ok this is how far ive got today, as of tomorrow i am entering uncharted territory

any and all advice welcome

thanx

[img width=640]http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk53/Karr-Man/vr/P9150024.jpg

[TheMainManRob 0]

Kudos to you, i'd be too scared to try this myself. Is there enough room to get it out or does the engine need to be raised?

[Lizard Racing 0]

Shafts off, front engine mount off, starter off and undo the box mate, job done.

When you come to put the box back in get the driveshafts as close as you can to the cups, otherwise you will loads more work for yourself!

Have you got a diff? I have a couple spare if you need!

[Karr-Man 0]

Kudos to you' date=' i'd be too scared to try this myself. Is there enough room to get it out or does the engine need to be raised?

[/quote']

im hoping there will just about be enuff room for it to drop straight out the bottom, the only thing which ive seen which concrens me is the power steering pipe which runs across the front of the car to the pump, but i think theres eunff space for it to drop down behind that...

of course ill only find out when i try to get it out... fingers crossed:)

[Karr-Man 0]

Shafts off' date=' front engine mount off, starter off and undo the box mate, job done.

When you come to put the box back in get the driveshafts as close as you can to the cups, otherwise you will loads more work for yourself!

Have you got a diff? I have a couple spare if you need!

[/quote']

u make it sound just as simple as i hoped it would be;)

i havent got the diff i wasnt planning on rebuilding the box myself, that seems like a step to far with my skillz tbh:/

theres an engineering firm close to me who said that if i take the box out myself and take it down to them they could sort it for £200

EIDT: any chance u could clarify what u were saying about the drive shaft positioning??? i was assuming that i disconnect them from the box and then tie them out of the way with cables???

[Lizard Racing 0]

Kudos to you' date=' i'd be too scared to try this myself. Is there enough room to get it out or does the engine need to be raised?

[/quote']

im hoping there will just about be enuff room for it to drop straight out the bottom, the only thing which ive seen which concrens me is the power steering pipe which runs across the front of the car to the pump, but i think theres eunff space for it to drop down behind that...

of course ill only find out when i try to get it out... fingers crossed:)

If you are going out the bottom you will need to get the rear gearbox mount off which is a real pain sometimes.

It is fairly straight forward mate, just go for it. Forgot to mention that you need to remove the two bolts holding the clutch cylinder on to the box and the 13mm bolt holding one of the gearlinkages on.

If you dont have the shafts right on reassembly, ie too low then you csnt lift them up past the sump and subframes etc.

Alex

[Phat VR6 3]

It is quite easy as alex has said, Id get it as high as you can on axel stands, And don't rush, Check theres nothing attached around it, Few more things is the gear select cables and the electric plugs,

You want to support the engine on a trolly jack and lower it down so the gearbox can pass under the chassie leg,

Your lucky mate VWs are nice to work on

Alex do you change diffs yourself?

[Lizard Racing 0]

Alex do you change diffs yourself?

Yes mate, and the 02a is easy, but you do need the right tools. Drilling and drifting those big **** off rivets out of the crown wheel is the hardest bit, but its not rocket sience.

[Karr-Man 0]

progress today included:

disconnecting clutch hydrolics (i assume i can leave the slave cylinder attached to the gearbox???)

draining transmission fluid (taht stuff f*king stinks)

disconnecting driveshafts and tying them out of the way

and prolly some other stuff which ive forgotten

borrowed an engine hoist and fitted it up ready to go so hopefully the interesting stuff can happen tomorrow:)

[Karr-Man 0]

latest pic

[img width=640]http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk53/Karr-Man/vr/P9160026.jpg

does anyone know how i remove the plastic shield ringed in red (very weedily i know but the only paint app i have atm is ms-paint which is gash tbh) i can see from underneath that it appears to be bolted in from the top but i cant for the life of me see where the bolts are from the top:/

[img width=640]http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk53/Karr-Man/vr/P9160033_b.jpg

[Karr-Man 0]

oops

[Phat VR6 3]

lol dude you just wasted some time but not to worry, If you remove the 2 bolts on the clutch slave cylinder then theres no need to undo the pipe/ loose the fuild and have to re bleed the sytem, Just undo the 2 bolts pull the slave cylinder out and cable tie it up out the way all conected like.

Also there was no need to drain the gear oil as its a sealed unit, Another perk that VWs have

You will have no problems getting it out as you just gotta guide it out with the aid of gravity... Putting it back in again is where it gets a pain in the arse

if the gearbox doesn't just slide off then you still got a bolt left in somewhere... there not meant to be a tight fit coming off

[Phat VR6 3]

as far as the black plastic cover goes there them internal star washers about the side of a 2p. If you just pull on it and get in there with a big screw driver and ease it down it will come off

[Karr-Man 0]

lol dude you just wasted some time but not to worry' date=' If you remove the 2 bolts on the clutch slave cylinder then theres no need to undo the pipe/ loose the fuild and have to re bleed the sytem, Just undo the 2 bolts pull the slave cylinder out and cable tie it up out the way all conected like.

Also there was no need to drain the gear oil as its a sealed unit, Another perk that VWs have

You will have no problems getting it out as you just gotta guide it out with the aid of gravity... Putting it back in again is where it gets a pain in the arse

if the gearbox doesn't just slide off then you still got a bolt left in somewhere... there not meant to be a tight fit coming off

[/quote']

i figured that draining the tranny oil would make the box lighter and a bit easier to deal with, either way it would need to be drained at some stage of the rebuild process so im not too gutted about that...

the clutch slave cylinder bit is a touch annoying, lesson learned for if there is a next time:)

[Karr-Man 0]

as far as the black plastic cover goes there them internal star washers about the side of a 2p. If you just pull on it and get in there with a big screw driver and ease it down it will come off

cool, will i need new star washers to refit?

[Lizard Racing 0]

cool' date=' will i need new star washers to refit?

[/quote']

No they are captive on the shit gaurd.

[Phat VR6 3]

cool' date=' will i need new star washers to refit?

[/quote']

No they are captive on the shit gaurd.

lol my bad, Prity sure one of the shit guards on my current 8v (O/S) is different, What tools do you need over the standard tools ive probably got in my tool box to change a diff?

[Lizard Racing 0]

lol my bad' date=' Prity sure one of the shit guards on my current 8v (O/S) is different, What tools do you need over the standard tools ive probably got in my tool box to change a diff?

[/quote']

You will need a proper blow torch, a 0-60 in-lb torque wrench, a drift the size of the diff bearing seat (67mm ish but cant remember exactly), a modified small bearing puller to pull 5th gear off, bearing splitter to remove bearing race from diff. You will need to get the correct shim from VW to get the preload spot on.

[Karr-Man 0]

cool' date=' will i need new star washers to refit?

[/quote']

No they are captive on the shit gaurd.

so is it still a case of just pulling it off or do i need access to the bolts from the top???

[Lizard Racing 0]

Just move it from side to side and then pull it down.

[Karr-Man 0]

ok i have a small problem:(

front engine mount is off no problems but the rear one is causing hassle, i finally managed to loosen off the bolts attaching the mounting bracket to the gearbox (pig of a job in the space available:/ ) but theres not enough space to witdraw the bolts past the seating for the engine mount....

HELP PLSE!!!!

[Phat VR6 3]

Lift the hole lot up some more and there should be enuff room. Im guessing the hole lots drops some after removing the front mount. You can go up quite alot just watch the exhaust for catching on the bottem of the car

Failing that try taking the mount out first and the bolts for the bracket out after. tbf i can't remember having trouble getting them bolts out as i remove that bracket to make it easyer to get the mount out.

Get some pics if you still can't do it

Good luck

[Karr-Man 0]

thanx m8 ill check it out tomorrow

[Karr-Man 0]

ok mount disconnected and loqwered the engine about as far as it will go but i havent got enuff space to get the box off:(

will get some pics

seems like moving the engine forward would help but the exhaust is still connected as the joint at the bottom of the downpipe has bolts that appear to have been welded in:(