[notfarnow]

Hey folks,

I hate to post a non-Porsche tech question here, but I know there are quite a few VW folks in the crowd. I also know there are some pretty brave DIY'ers out there as well.

I have a 1996 VW jetta with a 1.9 turbo diesel engine. It has a later "020" transmission (code ATH) that is based on the same fwd transmissions used in vw's since about '78.

When I bought the car last year, it "clicked" when backing up. I was told the reverse idler was chipped (apparently common on these), and if I nursed it I should be able to get a couple years out of it. Part of my "nursing" routine was recently towing a trailer with 3/4 ton of gravel, and backing up my driveway, but I digress.

Today, I lost reverse completely. To be more specific, my fiancee lost reverse. She was driving, so technically it's ALL HER FAULT.

Now, I've known this was on the way, so I kept an old transmission handy and tore it apart today for its reverse idler and its nice tall 5th gear. I've had the "end cones" off these transmissions before( while they were in the car) to do 5th gear swaps and throw-out bearings, but I had never taken the whole housing off. So now I have so pretty serious surgery ahead of me, and am looking for expert advice.

My plan is to disassemble the'96 transmission and swap in the good idler.
Questions:
a)What do you think the chances are that ONLY the idler is damaged? From what I've read, this is quite common... but I've been driving it like this for a year, and who knows how long the PO did.
b)I need to know the RIGHT way to remove the housing. When I took apart the old spare tranny today, I just removed the shift rod and let the forks fall where they may. What is the proper way to do this, so that I can slide the housing up with all the forks in place? Do I put it in a certain gear, or do I need to remove the selector mechanism from the housing?

I'd really prefer to repair this transmission than purchase a new/used one... if i can fix this one myself it'll save me from having to take about $1000 from my Porsche Savings fund.

Thanks for any help,
Jake