Car Repair Decision

[1990C4S]

My worthless daily diesel beater car is near death. 300,000 miles, it's getting worn out.

On the other hand, it is dirt cheap to drive, super-reliable, and I do enjoy it. If I bought another commuter it would be a high mileage diesel like mine, so better the devil I know. I would like to get two more years out of it, so another 40,000 miles or so. Seems doable.

Last week the original clutch went, so I pulled the transmission and I'm ready to reassemble it all. Here is my issue; Third gear synchro was going, and it will only get worse. I have a spare tranny with a hole in it, I think I can patch it (previous owners mechanic left the CV bolts loose). I could put an aluminum patch, drill tap/JB weld.




So options are:

1. Reinstall the known iffy trans and live with a balky third gear.
2. Patch the known good trans with the hole and hope it holds.
3. Pull the case from the iffy trans and put it on the good trans (does not look easy, and I've done several 915's and G50's)
4. Pay someone to do 3.
5. Buy a used trans and hope it's good

Option 2. appeals to my inner tightwad...if the fluid leaks out and the tranny dies, I can get another one...

[Gogar]

6. Replace bad synchro on orig tranny?

[BReif61]

I say slap some speed tape on the broken one and fill'er up with gear oil.

Might it be worthwhile to at least get a quote for Option 4 before dismissing it? That seems to be the best path forward for a long term solution. But if you're only looking for ~2 years and it hasn't truly failed, Option 1 is viable. Plus you can always just skip third.

[porsche tech]

What Gogar said...or pay a machine shop to weld up the hole.--Dave

[pete3799]

Any history on the tranny with the hole in it (mileage, etc.)?
What's the case made out of?
Think i'd try to get it welded as apposed to the JB treatment.

[1990C4S]

The tranny with the hole has about 150,000 miles. It was perfect when the incident occurred.

I think it is cast aluminum, I might be able to get it tig welded.

I have had good luck with JB weld on a clean oil pan (crack) and on 911 cases.

I do not want to to do the synchro on my current trans. There is very little info available on the tear-down procedure, and it appears you need a lot of special tools.

[aschen]

The original tranny is only iffy because of the going 3rd gear syncro? If so just slap that SOB back in with a new clutch. You can drive another 300k miles with a 2 to 4 shift if needed in the worst case.

[JackDidley]

Can you put a rubber expansion plug in the hole ?

[legion]

Learn to double clutch. Keep truckin'.

[sammyg2]

LOL, that is a decision I will never contemplate.
I simply cannot relate to having a vehicle that old, or wanted to keep it.
I say scrap it and buy a brand new one but I get the feeling you and I see things different.

I am the ultimate tightwad, but I never drive a vehicle that I don't totally trust to get me to where I am going and back.
The oldest vehicle I've ever had showed about 140k on it.
If the water pump or alternator goes out, it gets traded in.
That is the only extravagance allowed, but I really like having a low-mileage vehicle to drive.

For zample, my F-150 is 7 years old and has 87,000 miles on it.
last week I noticed the driver's seat has a tiny tear in the upholstery on the edge and I immediately thought, time for a new one.

Now I probably won't buy a new truck this week or this month, but having a tear on the fabric definitely means that truck is on it's way out and it's just a matter of time until a good deal on a new truck catches my eye.

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by aschen

The original tranny is only iffy because of the going 3rd gear syncro? If so just slap that SOB back in with a new clutch. You can drive another 300k miles with a 2 to 4 shift if needed in the worst case.

It is a diesel, that won't work. With a gas engine I would do that.

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

LOL, that is a decision I will never contemplate.
I simply cannot relate to having a vehicle that old, or wanted to keep it.
I say scrap it and buy a brand new one but I get the feeling you and I see things different.

I must enjoy the challenge. I have a perfectly good 911 I don't drive.

[fastfredracing]

Is that an 020 style trans? Trying to weld , or patch that hole up is pissing in the wind in my opinion .
I would just suck it up , and replace the damaged case half . I don't think it is really all that hard, and you get to learn something new. I bet there is a youtube video out there that would be helpful .

[cstreit]

WHY is there a hole in it? ...and where are the pieces?

[javadog]

I would go with option 4, after cleaning both trannys first.

JR

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

NO matter what you do unless you put in a better unit you are probably going to do it again.
If you like that idea roll the dice.
Like Fastfred says "welding it is full of caveats ."
I could list a few, but the results will be the same .

ME- The hole is above oil level to your favor.
Make a cover (thin steel) use a quality sealer.Yamma bond etc.
Drill holes, thread holes, install your new inspection cover.

This, or use JB Weld instead of sealer.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

My worthless daily diesel beater car is near death. 300,000 miles, it's getting worn out.

Now where is that Got my money's worth thread when you need it LOL

But seriously, if the body is good and the engine is OK, it may be worth trying to get good parts from a wrecker.

[Evans, Marv]

I'd go with what Afterburn & Daniel said, especially of it's above fluid level. If it leaks enough later on to be a problem, the weld would be the next option I'd try.

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by cstreit

WHY is there a hole in it? ...and where are the pieces?

The previous owner left the CV bolts loose, when the CV came off it hit the case. The pieces might be inside, I would need to check.

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

Is that an 020 style trans? Trying to weld , or patch that hole up is pissing in the wind in my opinion .
I would just suck it up , and replace the damaged case half . I don't think it is really all that hard, and you get to learn something new. I bet there is a youtube video out there that would be helpful .

It's a Mk4 Jetta.

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I am going to investigate the case swap.

After a lot of searching I think I found a video (use 'gearbox' not 'transmission' in your search).