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Conference terri::cars_uk

Title:	Cars in the UK
Notice:	Please read new conference charter 1.70
Moderator:	COMICS::SHELLEYELD

Created:	Sun Mar 06 1994
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	2584
Total number of notes:	63384

1645.0. "AUDI 80GL Gearbox/Differential Trouble" by ESSB::NEAVYN (European Software Supply Business, Galway, Ireland) Mon Jan 06 1992 18:25

I'm having a bit of trouble with my 1983 108K miles Audi 80 GL gearbox and hope 
that some other noter may be able to shine some light on the subject.

The symptoms:	A small oil leak (not constant) from where the passenger side 
		drive flange ie. what's left when you drop off the inner C.V. 
		joint. No crunching or whining or backlash through the gears. 
		Also no knocking noises while driving in a figure of 8 pattern.
		Lying under the car you can grab the inner drive flange and 
		move it in and out as well as up and down. Play seems to be 
		excessive. Also while shaking the passenger side the driver's 
		side shaft moves as well. This shaking also aids the oil leak 
		process.

Offered Solutions	The differential is completely knackered and a 
So far:			replacement gearbox is required. Please note that there 
			is no other fault with the gearbox. (Seems a bit 
			excessive to me)

			Strip down and repair differential at least then I'll 
			know what's wrong. Not possible as special tools are 
			required to enable shims to be fitted. Haynes doesn't 
			even mention how to change the only 2 roller bearings 
			on the diff as the special equipment won't be available. 
			Sure enough it is'nt as my local AUDI garage in Galway 
			claims that they never repaired one and recommend (yes 
			you've guessed) a full replacement gearbox.

			Replace the drive flange oil seals to try and take up 
			some of the play. As this is the cheapest option to 
			date I think I'll try this first.

Any help, suggestions or similar experience would be appreciated as I don't see 
why I should replace an almost totally good gearbox just for the sake of 2 
roller bearings. It's a bit hard to describe how the diff sits in the final 
drive casing without pictures.

Cheers,

	Denis...

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
1645.1	check prices	OASS::BURDEN_D	He's no fun, he fell right over	`Mon Jan 06 1992 20:47`	9
	If you compare prices to a JY gearbox (with some minimum warranty that it does actually work) to stripping down and rebuilding your gearbox, I will bet you'll find the used 'box much cheaper. Then, after you've swapped gearboxes, go ahead and take the bad one apart and see how many ways you can rearrange the gears and shafts and still put the cases back together! :-) Dave
1645.2	Special Tools - Hammer,Screwdriver,Lump of metal..	NEWOA::CROME_A		`Tue Jan 07 1992 12:58`	20
	I'd be cautious about just changing the oil seals, if the bearings have gone the replacement seals wont last very long at all, infact removing the drive shafts could cause you alot of problems. If the bearings are really worn out - which it sounds like they could be - they might desintergrate and then you will be left with no car and very little choice on how to get it back on the road. However, with a suitable working enviroment (not under the car!), I dont see why you shouldn,t be able to "have a go". Lets face it if it is stuffed you've got nothing to loose, and the special tools that the Haynes Manual talk about - do they specifically say these are for replacing differential/driveshaft bearings ? On a different tack, I would definately check out the local scrapyards, you may or maynot be pleasantly surprised........ Keep us posted... Andy
1645.3	Don't bother!	IRNBRU::WILSON		`Tue Jan 07 1992 16:01`	10
	Having owned Audi's for a number of years I can confirm that the 80 and Coupe's suffer from gearbox problems on high mileage models. the last Coupe I owned gave 'box' problems at 60k miles. I'd be inclined to fit a re-com or try and get a replacement 'box' from a low mileage 80.
1645.4	All fixed at last...	ESSB::NEAVYN	European Software Supply Business, Galway, Ireland	`Tue Jan 21 1992 00:20`	40
	OK. Well the car is fixed and as good as new. For Noters in Ireland here's the bulk of what I learnt. o Main dealer garages hate gearboxes and appear not to have the experience and the specialised tools. My local VW/Audi place were very helpful but explained that all they would do is remove the box and send it away. They did however give me the name of the place they use: Naas Gearbox Center (045) 79850 Prop. Cecil Harmon o The following are examples of prices in PUNTS not including VAT @12.5% Audi 80 4sp 180 Audi 80 5spE 380 Audi 80 5spL 420 Audi 80 5spE Differential Rebuild 150 All the above carry a 12 month unlimited mileage guarentee. After checking some other gearbox places from the Golden Pages finding prices ranging from 150 to 300 punts for the same job I chose Naas. A mechanic friend of mine removed the box and I had it couriered to Naas and back for 29 punts. He also told me that there was alot of backlash in the gears when the diff was gone. Now I know what backlash feels like. Anyway the job started last Sat week and was finished the following Fri morning just in time to go to Dublin to watch Ireland vs. Wales (I wondered during and after the game why I bothered). Total cost including VAT 200 punts plus a bigh favour to return to the mechanic. Anyway all's well that ends well. Now what's next ?? Thanks for all the useful replies, Denis...(:-))