At 09:42 AM 1/22/98 -0500, you wrote:
>Does anyone know why exactly these transmissions fail so early?  It sounds
>like they all break teeth in the differential and then blow a hole in the
>casing.   My VW dealer told me the differential in wheelspin caused it, but
>that were the case why would all those "one-wheel wonders" from the 60's,
>70's eat differentials.
>
>Jeff
>
Jeff, I am a Master VW/Audi technician working in a VW/Audi/Porsche
dealership. Last year I did 12 overhauls on 020 VW transmissions. All were
done under warranty and in all except 1 it was due to drive abuse. On the
lone non drive abused transmission the failure was caused by the retainer
clip for 5th gear breaaking.  

Let me para phase about "Driver abused"   In just about any VW transmission
the reverse idler gear will chip if the car is not at a complete stop
before shifting into reverse. The lowest milege I have seen a chipped
reverse and damaged ring gear is 150 miles. The car was a 1983 Rabbit that
was delivered on a friday and returned to the dealership with a noise on
monday. Of course warranty paid the bill. 

The only change VW has made has been a chip shield that is installed under
the reverse gear. This new part came out last year and has been installed
in transmission built since October 1997. I will try to find the TSB that
outlines the change.

Under warranty a complete transmission rebuild including ring and pinion
replacement is 6.5 hours. Just once I would like the customer to drill out
the rivets that hold the ring gear instead of me. 

Don