A couple of basic questions?

[Seafarer12]

Hello Guys,
I have been researching VW diesels here lately and just had a couple of questions. I am new to VW diesels but not new to diesels.

What are the years ranges for the MK1, MK2, etc.?
I hear you guys talk about them but have no clue except MK1's are probably the oldest and MK4's are probably the newest.

What was the first year of the TDI?

What would the best tranny be to run behind a TDI-M for mileage (tall o/d)

I would probably look for a Jetta diesel to do my build on. I know on some other swaps I have run into problems with electric speedos and cable trannys or the other way around.

When did VW switch to electric speedos or can you just switch the stuff out in the tranny easily for your needs?

Thanks for the help guys.
Joseph

[burn_your_money]

What are the years ranges for the MK1, MK2, etc.?
mk1 1974/5? to 1984,
mk2 1985 - 1992
mk3 1993-1999.5
mk4 1999.5-200x?
mk5 ? -?

What was the first year of the TDI?

In North America in a VW I think it was 97

[DieselSteed]

For trannys, the 4A 4 speed has the tallest gear, and can be made taller with parts from a 4 spd dodge omni the next two would be the FF and the FN trannys if my memory serves me correctly, but as I have recently learned (thanks Vwmike!) you will be limited to the MK1 chassis because of the bosses/tranny mount, unless you find a MK2 or MK3 tranny case you might be able to swap the gears.

[dieselsnowmobile]

Based only on the knowledge of watching VW diesels on eBay, I would say the first year of the TDI was 1997.  This is the earliest year TDI Jetta I have seen on eBay.

[burn_your_money]

For trannys, the 4A 4 speed has the tallest gear, and can be made taller with parts from a 4 spd dodge omni

- Could you elaborate please?

the next two would be the FF and the FN trannys if my memory serves me correctly,

- There are 2 versions of the FF IIRC, one is close ratio, one is tall. I think that it changed to the tall ratio in 1981

 but as I have recently learned (thanks Vwmike!) you will be limited to the MK1 chassis because of the bosses/tranny mount, unless you find a MK2 or MK3 tranny case you might be able to swap the gears

- To clarify, mk1 trannys can only be used in mk1s, but mk2 and mk3 will fit into a mk1. mk2 and mk3 are interchangeable

[dieselsnowmobile]

Correction, I found a website with rebuilt TDI engines for 96 through 99.5, so 96 is the first year of the TDI.

[DieselSteed]

Volkswagen supplied the power train for the earlier Omni's. Using the final drive from the dodge omni four speed (3 .58) and the fourth gear in the 4A tranny (0.70) the overall ratio would be 2.506

[Seafarer12]

Thanks for the info guys. I guess I shoud narrow it down. What would be the best 5 speed tranny from a mk2 or mk3. I basicly want to build an 85 up to say an early 90's jetta. I have been told the first gen tdi's are the best ones to mess with as far as converting to mechanical injection in an older model vw.

[dieselsnowmobile]

For Mk2 tranny, I have an AOP, and it is a good tranny with nice gearing.  My brother has an AGS in one and AWY in the other.  AGS is similar to AOP only the 3rd and 4th gears are slightly different, still a pretty good gearing tranny.  But what ever you do, stay clear of the AWY tranny, unless you want 4000 RPM at 75 mph.  It will make your engine scream at higway speeds and lower mpg.  Do not quote me, but I have read that Mk2 and Mk3 trannies are interchangable, so if you put a first gen TDI in your 85 (Jetta?), you would be able to put any Mk2 or Mk3 tranny in.  Also, I have read that you can put a mechanical pump on a TDI.  I do not remember which pump though.  Sorry this might be vague with details, I mainly stick to Mk1 and Mk2.

[Seafarer12]

For Mk2 tranny, I have an AOP, and it is a good tranny with nice gearing.  My brother has an AGS in one and AWY in the other.  AGS is similar to AOP only the 3rd and 4th gears are slightly different, still a pretty good gearing tranny.  But what ever you do, stay clear of the AWY tranny, unless you want 4000 RPM at 75 mph.  It will make your engine scream at higway speeds and lower mpg.  Do not quote me, but I have read that Mk2 and Mk3 trannies are interchangable, so if you put a first gen TDI in your 85 (Jetta?), you would be able to put any Mk2 or Mk3 tranny in.  Also, I have read that you can put a mechanical pump on a TDI.  I do not remember which pump though.  Sorry this might be vague with details, I mainly stick to Mk1 and Mk2.

What do all the codes mean?
I am planning on running a TDI-M. There are all kinds of pumps you can use I am probably going to run a VW pump because of ease and I am not planning on stoking it up anyway. Thanks for the info.

[dieselsnowmobile]

The three codes I mentioned AGS, AOP, and AWY are all tranny codes.  If you look at the bottom of your tranny, you should see a flat spot around the clutch housing and if you scratch the dirt off, you will most likely see three letters followed by numbers.  Here is a fuzy picture on my tranny code.  Click on it to enlarge it.



To see a list of tranny codes, click Tranny Codes.
Since I am talking about codes, I found a site with the list of engine codes too.  Just click Engine Codes.

[jtanguay]

if you have MS Excel this spreadsheet is kick a$$!!!!!!!!

http://vwdiesel.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=6015&highlight=excel

you can calculate speed @ a given RPM and adjust for tire size, upgraded tranny ratio's etc.  quite the useful tranny ratio tool

[TomB]

I don't know if you got them in the USA or not, but the 4T transmission used on the Mk2 GTD in Europe is a good Mk2 transmission.  Very comforatable at 80-90mph and you can barely hear it at 70!
They were fitted to 1.6l Petrol Jettas & Golfs as well, so they may well be over with you just hidden!
Cheers,
Tom

[burn_your_money]

Unfortunately I don't think we got the 4Ts