New To Me Diesel Rabbit Won't Start. Ran Fine on Test Drive.

[Fatmobile]

The seals are the main thing to swap while the bell housing is opened up.
I have found a problem with reusing pressure plates. A few times now the bolts have stripped.

From my experience the push rod seal going out and soaking the clutch is the main reason for having to operate.
Hard to tell everything you will need before opening it up.

I remove the green cap on the end of the trany to drive the bushing/seal out. It commonly needs replaced after I get done with it.
I think I use a 5/16" rod for driving the old bushing and seal out.
Keep in mind the new seal needs to be countersunk about 2mm.

Side note: Great picture of that drip .

[air-cooled or diesel]

hopefully its an over-fill, as the flush may have washed out all that gunk sealing the seals,etc. if you get the drip solved i have 1 question does it shift any better? if so you may be in luck, if not these tranys arent too bad, ive never had 1 that grinded, but other wise they have good longevity.

[jasons]

Still shifts awful.
Shifting 1st to 2nd is always fine. 2nd to 3rd grinds more than any other. 3rd to 4th is good and so it 4th to 5th.
Downshifting 5th to 4th is pretty bad unless I rev match, 4th to 3rd is impossible without massive grinding no matter what. I usually slow down enough so I can downshift into 2nd as that's not a problem.
My biggest issue up upshifting and downshifting to 3rd. I'm shifting each gear slowly. If I shift fast the Rabbit is not happy.

I am enjoying the Rabbit and I do like working on it. It's coming along...

I can wiggle the axles a bit in the transmission...are those axle seals that will tighten that up??

I plan on pulling the transmission and replacing the pushrod seal and bushing, complete clutch kit (what's this I see about the different size clutches?? What do I need?)maybe new axle seals if that's why my axles are sloppy, maybe rear main seal on the motor and front seal of the transmission, shifter bushings, all new motor and transmission mounts and new front shocks.

[Fatmobile]

I think the loose axle flanges are caused by worn bearings. The trany needs taken apart to replace those.
Your clutch should be a 200mm one,.. if it's a 1.6D,.. can't remember if that's what we are working on.

[jasons]

Yes, 1982 Rabbit 1.6L 5-Speed.
Thanks.

[air-cooled or diesel]

sachs clutch package, rear seal kit, make sure cl pkg has new bolts, trans seal kit, if you keep this trans, axles shouldnt wobble by hand very easily, with all this you may consider another trans? otherwise it sounds best to get it semi-rebuilt, is it worth it for this trans? unfortunately your trans is suffering from neglect.

[jasons]

I've been leaning towards finding another transmission. The axles don't move much, but there is some play.

The grinding is what really bothers me. Seems like maybe the syncros are gone.

Thank you for the good information.

-Jason

[air-cooled or diesel]

do you have any idea how many miles on current trans?

[air-cooled or diesel]

DO NOT use Hans/diesel, or prothe, he has several business aliases, sells chinese parts.

[jasons]

No idea of the miles whatsoever. Odometer quit working at 51k or 1,000,051k miles!!

[Fatmobile]

I don't see your location in your profile.
Tranys are hard to find so a local source works better.

[jasons]

Found a guy who has 5 of them for $250ea. I just hate not knowing what I'm picking up.

-Jason

[air-cooled or diesel]

5-speeds right? you need the speedo cable still working @full length. you can think of finding a different geared 5-speed, i think it may be to 20-a or something, someone else can give you that info. the stock 5speeds for my mk2's are 55mph trans'. so while you have the chance to look into different options,

[jasons]

I like the ratios in my current transmission. Yes it's a 5-speed.
What are you saying about the speedometer?
-Jason

[air-cooled or diesel]

speedo cable on a used trans can be cut, make sure you get one thats good