Any benifit to a 5 speed upgrade?

[masterbeavis]

81 Caddy, 1.6 NA diesel, currently with a 4 speed.  Will I get any sort of improvement with upgrading to a 5 speed?  I hear that certain years of the 5 speed are surely the ones to avoid?  How do you tell the model(code) of the transmission?

[cyrus #1]

The code is stamped on a flat spot on the bottom of the transmission.  A 5 speed will generally give you better acceleration through the gears as there is less of a gap between them.

Here are a couple of great resources for anything to do with vw transaxles.

http://scirocco.org/gears/

http://www.brokevw.com/

[Rabbit TD]

There is a difference between night and day between the 4-5 speeds and makes the vehicle feel like it's got a lot more power and when you do have to shift out of high gear with a 5 speed you don't feel like you put the brakes on as compared to the 4 speed.  If you do a whole lot of interstate cruising get one with the .71 high gear if not stick with the .76 one as it pulls a little better and probably would also be better to your truck because they weigh a little more don't they. As far as mileage the .71 high gear 5 speed and the .70 or .71 4peed are equal.  Like they said before, study the codes in those charts and just don't go get one out of a junker because it could have any ratio under the sun from being changed.  My 81 Rabbit diesel had the {.70 I think it is} high gear 4 speed when I got it. I put a .76 5 speed in and it was quick and pulled mountains real good, Then I put in a .71 5 speed and the mileage went up almost 5 mpg.  It still pulls the mountains OK and when you do have to down shift it doesn't drop off 15 plus mph like a 4 speed would.  If I were you I would look for a .76 which are in the older rabbits from early 81 on back. Again study the codes they also show the date of manufacture so you know when it was made to cross reference what dates the different ratios were used.  5 speeds are a lot more fun and makes a sports car out of these little creatues Taller wheel-tire packages screws this all up and then you have to look for the later year and more expensive transmissions :wink:  P.S. try to find one in a junk care that is the right ratio you want and make sure you get every piece of the linkage from the end of the main shift rod forward, it's all different in length and doesn't shift right without the right linkage. The shifter itself and the main rod are the same but what the hell since you're there get them anyway. And most important, make sure in the older 5 speeds that you keep the  oil completely full in them because 5th gear is in an isolated place higher in the transmission and if it gets low they get hot, come apart and all the pieces end up in the ring and pinion, happened to me and happens all the time so put new seals in it before you put it in the truck, theyre almost guaranteed to leak if you don't, especially if you use synthetic.

[burn_your_money]

If you have a 4A tranny leave it. It has a better top gear then most 5 speeds.

[masterbeavis]

So in my garage I have a 7A and a AUG transmission.  The AUG (91 golf 1. has a shorter 5th gear than most of the diesels, but with the taller ring and pinion, I think I will be miles ahead with the irritation ive heard about the 4 speed.  The 7A will sit until I get the money to have it gone through, then it will be built and receive the 100MM flanges the AUG has.  I almost find it embarrassing to have had this thing for so long and never got it running.  Tomorrow that is all going to change....  

Existing 4 speed is a GC, with excessive slop on the passenger side output flange.

[8v-of-fury]

I'd go with the 7A. I have one on one of my 1.6 TD's, its probably one of the best trans. It will also cruise almost 500 rpms less than the AUG.

[theman53]

http://www.scirocco.org/gears/

There are some trans codes. According to Brokevw, the foremost 020 authority, he says that the earlier trans have better rivots than the later ones. Basically, the MK1 trans never or hardly ever have the ring gear rivots shear and destroy the trans. If you have to rebuild one just use the ARP kit and no worries about that.

[bbob203]

o  L K another transmission thread...  

[R.O.R-2.0]

So in my garage I have a 7A and a AUG transmission.  The AUG (91 golf 1. has a shorter 5th gear than most of the diesels, but with the taller ring and pinion, I think I will be miles ahead with the irritation ive heard about the 4 speed.  The 7A will sit until I get the money to have it gone through, then it will be built and receive the 100MM flanges the AUG has.  I almost find it embarrassing to have had this thing for so long and never got it running.  Tomorrow that is all going to change....  

Existing 4 speed is a GC, with excessive slop on the passenger side output flange.

AUG wont be much of an improvement (read, almost not noticable, except you shift more) in terms of speed/RPM...

(trust me, i did this EXACT swap a couple times, wont ever do it again)

the best thing to do, would be to use the AUG trans, but swap in the 7A 5th gear set..

then you will have gears 1-4 nice n close for city driving, then slip into 5th, and just CRUISE..

plus, its easier to change the output flanges on the trans, than it is to find mk1 100mm axles.. the only car they came in was the mk1 16v roccos..

so, in this case, it will be easier to swap some 90mm flanges on your existing trans..

[smutts]

X2 on getting rid of the stupid crownwheel suicide rivets.

[masterbeavis]

o  L K another transmission thread...  

Did you see when I started this thread?  I started it before you registered by about 3 years....  So, just by the date, this is an original in relation to alot of the newer ones.

AUG wont be much of an improvement (read, almost not noticable, except you shift more) in terms of speed/RPM...

(trust me, i did this EXACT swap a couple times, wont ever do it again)

the best thing to do, would be to use the AUG trans, but swap in the 7A 5th gear set..

then you will have gears 1-4 nice n close for city driving, then slip into 5th, and just CRUISE..

plus, its easier to change the output flanges on the trans, than it is to find mk1 100mm axles.. the only car they came in was the mk1 16v roccos..

so, in this case, it will be easier to swap some 90mm flanges on your existing trans..

Already have 100MM axles, 86 and up Cabrios had em stock.


AUG is going in for now, it was free, confirmed working, and my clutch bolted up to it.  I have $80 into it with a seal kit.

The 7A has some heavy dust on it, and the reverse switch was missing, it needs to be taken apart before I consider using it.  I dont know the history on it, nor did the seller aside from the TD was used for another project.

The 4 speed was bad.  It had about a quart of water and a few ounces of oil in it.  Not sure how it managed to fill up with water, but it is what it is.  I did pressure wash it a while back, but if it was water from then, it would have been rusty...