destroyed my transmission :( have some questions

[shakinon]

First of all i am new to the forums but i have been lurking and reading stuff on here for a while. thank you guys for all the info in here! it's priceless! i wish you guys lots and lots of free internets!
i bought an 89 jetta with the ecodiesel engine,pump and turbo a while ago, drove it for a few weeks (LOVED THE INCREDIBLE GAS/DIESEL MILEAGE)but then decided to change all the gaskets and seals to stop all oil leaks,paint it and get rid of all the dents and stuff and change the interior and other things.. basically i want this thing to look and feel like new.
now the reason for this thread or post is because i blew the transmission or? (right after i picked the car up from the shop i shifted into reverse while rolling or moving forward at about 5~10mph) my shifter got weird and or hard to shift after the drivers side axle popped off on the freeway and bent the transmission shifter thing. happened a week after i got the car,the guy who swapped the engine or did work on it didn't tighten the axle properly and bam! i got stuck with that issue. not a huge deal but now am kind of screwed because i slammed it into reverse rolling forward. immediately after that the car would shift into reverse while driving forward on 1st gear and makes some weird noises but the noise gets VERY loud on 3rd. also if i park it uphill and let it roll back when it's shifted into 3rd it would keep the car from rolling back even with the clutch engaged.
sorry this turning into a long post but i was saving money to buy the 6th speed gear or whatever and have it installed on the diesel transmission but now i guess i have to do something different and remove this and get something temporary while the other one gets rebuilt and 6th gear added. so my question is:
can i use a gas transmission with my engine for now? out of a 91 1.8 golf?  or the gear ratios are way different? i gonna be doing mostly highway driving. i've read some info on brokenvw.com and it says that pretty much only the 5th gear is different on the gas from diesel? i was not expecting this after picking the car up from paint 

[burn_your_money]

Go to scirocco.org/gears and look up your current tranny code and the tranny code of the gasser. That will tell you the difference. It will probably work out in your favour to do the tranny swap.

[ORCoaster]

Welcome all ye lurkers.  shakinon, the way I read this problem is that your shifter mechanism might be out of adjustment after loosing the axle.  I had a lot of trouble with 5 spd not wanting to find 1st and would rather go to Reverse instead.  Very exciting to watch eyes in the rearview mirror when I came to a light and would go for first and have the reverse lights come on instead. 

You may also have broken or twisted some of the joints on the rods that go to the transmission.  Before you hunt down another transmission look into the adjustment of the shifter mechanism.  It is pretty easy to do and might save you some coin.  Do you have a Bentley Manual.  If not many libraries do.  If you truly intend to fix and keep the Jetta then invest in one.  I see them on Craigslist or Ebay for 20-40 bucks.  Even buying new so it isn't oil soaked already is money saved. 

The gear ratio of your transmission is on the site BYM pointed you to.  There is a code under the transmission on the bell housing.  Clean and look it up. 

Sounds like you have a 4 spd and are looking to add the higher fifth to it.  Is that true.  I wasn't following the 6 speed gear thing. 

[shakinon]

thanks for the reply guys. found a 1.8 8v gasser transmission and will be installing it tomorrow. and no luck adjusting the shifter or linkage. transmission is done for, i drained the oil and pieces of gears came out :/

[ORCoaster]

i drained the oil and pieces of gears came out :/

Well I would say that is a pretty good indication that all is not well.  Good that you found another replacement.  So much for the easy button.   

[fatmobile]

What's the code on your new 1.8 gasser trany?
I hope it's an ACN.