Chad, I had searched for months for a good MKIII transaxle with no luck. I wanted the taller gearing as I spend a lot of time on SoCal freeways. In one instance, I found 20 MKIIIs in a single salvage yard. 3 contained the dreaded automatic, 2 had already been swapped to a MKI/II transaxle (Probably had an automatic at one time) The trans code had been ground off so it was impossible to determine Trans code but looked like an old CAN I once had. The remaining 15 MKIIIs had no transmission at all. Somebody had beaten me to it and had extracted all of them! Unfortunately, that has been my experience looking for MKIII manual transaxles here in California. I even travelled up north to my brother's neighborhood and scoured a handful of salvage yards in Northern California looking for one with no improvement in prospects.
So consider yourself fortunate! Glad your making progress. Its encouraging to read your updates! Have a great Black Friday! -Les On 11/25/11 12:36 PM, "Chad Rebuck" <[email protected]> wrote: >I think I've finally taken car of the oil leaking onto the exhaust >(stinking up the car at every light) between the rebuilt trans and the >sealer I just put on the distributor today. > >Now that I've had a few days to drive with the taller ratio mk3 020 I >do like the taller gearing when cruising, but it just doesn't seem as >fun as winding out the stock 16v gears. Winding 3rd gear out takes me >close to 100 mph now which is a bit fast for any roads near me :) and >just takes more time of course. I keep finding myself going 70 in 5th >on a road I would normally go 55 on the old gearbox. My old 16v box >was really getting worn out, especially the diff bearings, and was >much louder cruising around. I think 4th gear on the mk3 box is >pretty close to where 5th was on the 16v. In 4th now I'm going about >70 at 4000 rpm now. > > >I started this thread on vortex about control arm bushings - > >http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5504556-r32-control-arm-bushing- >for-rear-poly-or-stock-rubber-bushing-for-front&p=74647042#post74647042 > >I am going with r32 rear control arm bushings and either stock or poly >front bushings. On the rear beam I'll go with stock replacements. > >Anyone out there with experience and opinions on bushings? I am >certainly staying clear of poly bushings for the rear control arm >location. How about steering rack and sway bar bushings? Should I >bother with those? > > >On Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 1:35 PM, Matthew Yip <[email protected]> wrote: >> Very interesting to see the work on the trans - VW transaxles have >>always been Black Magic b/c of the effort required to get them apart. >>If you've worked on a Honduh transaxle, you'll understand this all too >>well. >> >> >> It's interesting that the Peloquin can have clearance issues - I wonder >>if Quaife has those issues as well. I've had a few Quaife diffs but >>never heard any whining and cheesing from the builder. >> >> >> Speaking of 020 transaxles, I have a friend with a small collection of >>exploded (rebuildable) 020 transaxles. I think all of them are small >>spline 3.67 FD boxes. Anyone interested in a bulk purchase? He has >>25-30... >> >> >> >> >>>________________________________ >>> From: Les Noriel <[email protected]> >>>To: Volkswagen a2 16v discussion list <[email protected]> >>>Sent: Monday, November 21, 2011 1:18 PM >>>Subject: [a2-16v-list] Transmission rebuild progress >>> >>>As early as 2009, I sought advice from this forum regarding O2O >>>transmission >>>choices for my Golf project . Using criteria given to me by all of you, >>>I >>>set out in search of a good 16V or MKIII transaxle for my Golf GL >>>Project. >>>As luck would have it, I never encountered a decent MKIII O2O. >>>Furthermore-- >>>older 16V transmissions that were offered to me were harshly treated and >>>suspect at best. >>> >>>Fortunately, earlier this year, I encountered a local VW enthusiast in >>>SoCal that had converted his collection of MKIIs to hydraulic clutch >>>O2As >>>and had a nice 16V transmission (code AGB) in his garage. He offered me >>>a >>>good price and I took it home. One of the things I had intended to do >>>was >>>convert the fifth gear to .71 or .79 due to the freeway heavy >>>environment >>>here in Southern California. However, finding someone who would do >>>the >>>required machine work to make the taller gears fit the AGB shaft proved >>>to >>>be more difficult than I had anticipated. So I decided to forego the >>>fifth >>>gear conversion and kept the Close Ratio fifth gear intact. >>> >>>I placed myself on the BrokeVW waiting list and was able to get my >>>transaxle >>>to his shop in late August. FedEx was harsh on the package but the trans >>>arrived with a minimum of damage. Once it arrived in his shop, Brian >>>immediately began disassembly to asses condition of the trans. Brian's >>>detail and thoroughness are quite impressive and I've been virtually >>>spectating as he makes progress and posts images of the work on a >>>webpage >>>dedicated to my transaxle rebuild. >>> >>>Along in the package, I also sent Brian a Peloquin Limited Slip which I >>>purchased back in 2003. Back then Gary Peloquin also supplied the German >>>Bearings and the diff bolt kit‹two items which are no longer included >>>with >>>an LSD purchase. Brian tells me the German Bearings Gary supplied are no >>>longer available. Brian informs me that alternative bearings cost less >>>and >>>are inferior to the original German. So I consider myself fortunate. >>>Having >>>these included also saved me a couple hundred bucks! >>> >>>The LSD was trial fitted this weekend. And there have been some >>>complications, nothing surprising considering the age of the transaxle. >>> >>>If you are at all interested, you can check out the Project page setup >>>for >>>me at BrokeVW >>>http://www.brokevw.com/lesagb.html >>> >>>I'll likely have the transaxle back before the end of the year. Then >>>I'll >>>begin the drivetrain assembly on my Project GL 16V. >>> >>>The depth of knowledge of the people on this A2-16V list has been a >>>wealth >>>of information and assistance to me. >>> >>>-Les >>>http://mkiigolfproject.blogspot.com/ >>> >>> >>>_______________________________________________ >>>a2-16v-list mailing list >>>[email protected] >>>http://mail.a2-16v.com/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v-list >>> >>> >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> a2-16v-list mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://mail.a2-16v.com/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v-list >> >_______________________________________________ >a2-16v-list mailing list >[email protected] >http://mail.a2-16v.com/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v-list _______________________________________________ a2-16v-list mailing list [email protected] http://mail.a2-16v.com/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v-list
