Former VWDieselParts.com Forum

I have had 16 diesel vw's and i recently found a rabbit that has an automatic. What can anyone tell me about these trannies? Do they hold up well and what danger signs should I look for? Thanx

Hey i really like your testmony on your post and i also am saved by grace.Back to your question i don't have the auto with diesel but have heard of no reliablity probs but have heard some say they are terribly anemica<> on power thats definately needed with 52 ponies under the hood.As a side note you can afford to lose SOME power but not much as i drive my jetta with A.C. on in summeer and i figure that would maybe make mine about equal to the one your interested in.

Not diesel but it is a good tranny. Only drawback was that it was a power eater as mentioned previously. I drove the daylights out of it and eventually paired it with a high horse power engine and it still drove with no complaints. It is very heavy though so when lowering it to do anything be wary and well prepared. It was nice to be able to zip through traffic while holding a cup of coffee.

One thing that I've heard is the that the starter can suffer from heat. It's on the opposite side of the engine close to the exhaust. I might be a part you would want to keep an eye out for to have a spare. I think the starter is different from the standard transmission starter. A while back a friend blow this starter in an automatic and the three different types of starters I had wouldn't fit.

Ive got the automatic in an 86 Jetta. I dont know what kind of mileage I get but I drive to and from school, across the city, at least 6 times a week. I spend $15 - $25 on fuel each week (I was going two weeks on $30 worth in the summer). My speedo and odometer are quite a bit off otherwise I would try to find a MPG. I do have available to me a very direct route with few traffic lights and a speed limit of 50.

I would not want to take this car on the highway every day. It revs very high at highway speeds (it is a three speed). Once concern this would raise for me (especially with an A1 model) is the noise you would be exposed to. The shifter has the positions P R N E D 2 1 where E is a setting in which the transmission shifts into neutral upon the complete release of the accelerator pedal. You can disable it quite easily by raising the idle the slightest bit (it would probably be nice in a hilly area but where I live it is extremely flat). The starter is right under the exhaust. Looks like an absolute pain to get to without the head off.

Jason, one of the other visitors to this site, converted his VW from auto trans to manual. He said the starter is on the back side, spins opposite direction from the manual trans starters, and the steering rack was different as well. Just in case someone was thinking on doing a conversion.

surfcam wrote:One thing that I've heard is the that the starter can suffer from heat.

Yup. The heat tends to short the solenoid out, so getting a LLT starter from autozone or someplace similar and putting some sort of insulation around it may be good ideas. Don't abuse them too much and change the oil on 'em religiously... From what I've heard they're fairly reliable as 80s automatic transmissions go. Parts are getting harder to come by, especially since they weren't that common in the first place.

82vdub wrote:Jason, one of the other visitors to this site, converted his VW from auto trans to manual. He said the starter is on the back side, spins opposite direction from the manual trans starters, and the steering rack was different as well. Just in case someone was thinking on doing a conversion.

The auto also makes driving it on the highway very loud, so much so that I wore earplugs on long trips. The exhaust is good but it can't stop all of the sound when the engine is turning so fast. It never seemed to deal well with the mountainous terrain when I lived in the southwest, but that also might have to do with the fact that it doesn't have a turbo and I was driving 7000 feet up.

There is a reason they produced more of these cars with a manual transmission instead of an automatic.

Jason

iv'e been hoping to find a diesel auto trans? i'm getting lazy in my old age and want to build my last caddy with one!
Duane

In reading this thread and other similar ones I get the impression the VW automatic trans set-up is not so good. Applies to diesel and gas engine cars. My main concern is that it creates a condition where the engine turns very high RPMs at highway speeds as having only 3 speeds. I'm going to buy a 88 Jetta w/ a gas engine and auto trans. Body and interior are great! The plan is to convert it to a diesel including a manual 5 speed. I'd like to stay with the automatic so my wife can drive it. (she refuses to learn) Has anyone heard of a way to change the gearing in the automatic that would bring down the RPMs? Or is there a completely different VW or Audi automatic trans that will bolt up to the engine? Thanks.

I converted my 89 GLI to an automatic for my wife a while back. I used the transmission from an 85 Jetta. It seemed tough enough and I did quite a bit of towing with it but I'll never own another one. The starter is in a terrible spot to get at and are known to have problems. I only put around 12,000 kms on it before the seals between the transmission and differential failed and after the battle I had getting it out I decided it was NOT going back in. I switched it back over to a 5 speed (and got the wife a Ford) and my mileage went from the low 20's to over 30 mpg. I know of several automatic VWs that the seals have failed in. Apparently the seals are cheap and easy to replace once the tranny is out but I didn't bother and gave all the automatic stuff away so I wouldn't be tempted to try it again.
However, that's just my opinion. Other's might have had better luck.

There must a better option than this transmission when it comes to an automatic. I think the Suzuki sidekick conversions allow you to keep the slushbox in those vehicles. Are sidekicks 4 wheel or rear wheel drive? Any other conversion kits out there that you could use in reverse?

mattbondy wrote: Are sidekicks 4 wheel or rear wheel drive?

4WD for sure, and I believe 2WD (rear wheel) as well.

I know of one thing to check before buying? the seal between the tranny and diff goes causing oil to be pumped into the diff?? exspensiver fix if your not a DIYer?

Cheers

I bought an '82 Jetta diesel with auto when it had 52k miles on it. At 435K miles, the engine would no longer start (worn rings, etc.). So, I guess you could say I lived with this engine/trans combo for awhile.

They are louder. The starters do fail due to heat. They are slow. The throttle cable setup requires you to push the pedal much harder than a standard VW diesel (it gets tiring going across Wyoming). In real hot weather (100 degree days and higher) the pressure vent will stick open and bathe the engine in Dexron.

Oh yea, the starters are different than standard trans. The starters are just slightly smaller than the head of the engine. They are also very rare to find esp. when you need one badly. One year I bought one through VOA and it was the only one their computers said existed in North America. THAT pretty much emptied the checkbook.

Mine lasted so long, in part, because I pulled the pan every 5,000 miles and changed the ATF and cleaned the screen. Occasionally, I would also change the gear lube in the diff.

When the engine died, the trans was just beginning to get slightly weaker in rev.....but, it still shifted as well as ever and really was not a problem.

AND, Duane gets it just as soon as I can get around to sending it to him!!!!! I promised it to him months ago....got it penciled in for 2014 .