A2 Diesel Transmission for '91 A2 Gas Golf?

My transmission in my 91 Golf suddenly developed a sloppy clutch and I
can't shift into any gear once the engine is started. I have to shift
into 2nd, depress clutch, start engine and go. But I have to remain in
2nd since I can't shift into another gear. I guess I need another
trannie and have decided to try and get one with higher top gearing. I
hear some of the diesel models have highr top gear. Can someone tell
me which 5-speed trannies with higher top gearing will fit my '91 A2
Golf directly without any adapters, etc. ?

Carl

"Carl Rossman" <Carl.Rossman (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

My transmission in my 91 Golf suddenly developed a sloppy clutch and I
can't shift into any gear once the engine is started. I have to shift
into 2nd, depress clutch, start engine and go. But I have to remain in
2nd since I can't shift into another gear. I guess I need another
trannie and have decided to try and get one with higher top gearing. I
hear some of the diesel models have highr top gear. Can someone tell
me which 5-speed trannies with higher top gearing will fit my '91 A2
Golf directly without any adapters, etc. ?

I'd look into linkage problems and/or shifter adjustment first before doing
a transmission swap. Lots of difficult shifting can be solved that way
first. There are also quite a few vendors that sell linkage rebuild kits
for the Mk2 as well (all the bushings, etc.). My money says this is your
problem and not a full-transmission issue.

If you really do need a transmission (but I doubt it), a diesel trans should
work but the gearing would all be diesel-oriented. You can swap just the
5th gear in your own transmission though for lower cruising revs. It looks
a little intimidating from what I've seen (a good 3-hour process and lots of
parts to take apart but can be done w/the trans in the car) but if you're
handy enough you can probably do it. Someone listed a how-to in the
Golf/Jetta II forum at http://forums.vwvortex.com at some point...do a
search on the forum archives there to find it.

Well I would look at..........
clutch cable (metal strands breaking and pedal feels loose)
clutch release bearing arm inside of trans (not hard to change even with
trans in car)
release bearing and/or its pushrod
clutch release plate

Something is causing the clutch not to fully release.
It should not be a "linkage problem"nor a trans problem but you could those
problems too! ;-)
--
later,
dave
(One out of many daves)


"Matt B." <noway (AT) hellno (DOT) com> wrote

"Carl Rossman" <Carl.Rossman (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:1173651306.251092.34050 (AT) 8g2000cwh (DOT) googlegroups.com...
My transmission in my 91 Golf suddenly developed a sloppy clutch and I
can't shift into any gear once the engine is started. I have to shift
into 2nd, depress clutch, start engine and go. But I have to remain in
2nd since I can't shift into another gear. I guess I need another
trannie and have decided to try and get one with higher top gearing. I
hear some of the diesel models have highr top gear. Can someone tell
me which 5-speed trannies with higher top gearing will fit my '91 A2
Golf directly without any adapters, etc. ?

I'd look into linkage problems and/or shifter adjustment first before
doing a transmission swap. Lots of difficult shifting can be solved that
way first. There are also quite a few vendors that sell linkage rebuild
kits for the Mk2 as well (all the bushings, etc.). My money says this is
your problem and not a full-transmission issue.

If you really do need a transmission (but I doubt it), a diesel trans
should work but the gearing would all be diesel-oriented. You can swap
just the 5th gear in your own transmission though for lower cruising revs.
It looks a little intimidating from what I've seen (a good 3-hour process
and lots of parts to take apart but can be done w/the trans in the car)
but if you're handy enough you can probably do it. Someone listed a
how-to in the Golf/Jetta II forum at http://forums.vwvortex.com at some
point...do a search on the forum archives there to find it.

On 11 Mar 2007 15:15:06 -0700, "Carl Rossman" <Carl.Rossman (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

My transmission in my 91 Golf suddenly developed a sloppy clutch and I
can't shift into any gear once the engine is started. I have to shift
into 2nd, depress clutch, start engine and go. But I have to remain in
2nd since I can't shift into another gear. I guess I need another
trannie and have decided to try and get one with higher top gearing. I
hear some of the diesel models have highr top gear. Can someone tell
me which 5-speed trannies with higher top gearing will fit my '91 A2
Golf directly without any adapters, etc. ?

Carl
What do you mean by sloppy clutch? Do first , third, forth, fifth , reverse

seem to work if you stop the engine and put it into those gears too.
Like you are doing with second. Sounds more like a clutch linkage
problem than a transmission failure. Let us know.

clutch cable (metal strands breaking and pedal feels loose)

Self-adjusting MkII clutch cables are famous for sucking. So... why
not replace the clutch cable first, and failing that, replace the
shifter linkages, and failing that, then worry about replacing the
transmission and/or clutch?

<samstone (AT) aol (DOT) com> wrote

On 11 Mar 2007 15:15:06 -0700, "Carl Rossman" <Carl.Rossman (AT) gmail (DOT) com
wrote:

My transmission in my 91 Golf suddenly developed a sloppy clutch and I
can't shift into any gear once the engine is started. I have to shift
into 2nd, depress clutch, start engine and go. But I have to remain in
2nd since I can't shift into another gear. I guess I need another
trannie and have decided to try and get one with higher top gearing. I
hear some of the diesel models have highr top gear. Can someone tell
me which 5-speed trannies with higher top gearing will fit my '91 A2
Golf directly without any adapters, etc. ?

Carl
What do you mean by sloppy clutch? Do first , third, forth, fifth ,
reverse
seem to work if you stop the engine and put it into those gears too.
Like you are doing with second. Sounds more like a clutch linkage
problem than a transmission failure. Let us know.

I think the clutch cables jammed , It changes in about 30-60 minutes.
Should be able to get one $20-30 . Very common to rot in the housing at the
front of the trans where water sprays on them.