DIY 01e 1/2 shift collar fix? and centering fix?

[pkw]

anyone BTDT?
how hard is it?
tools needed?

[speeding-g60]

its a full rebuild unfortunately.

only "special" tool you need is the one you make to pull the rear housing off, the rest is basic stuff plus shop press, etc. i use an induction bearing heater for the press fit parts instead of boiling in oil or what have you.

few hours after you do it a few times.

[pkw]

POOP

Any way to tell if an 01e has 1/2 collar issues just buy feeling it while it is out of the car?

[Noisy Cricket]

Any trans I've had collar issues with COULD NOT be shifted in that gate. Can't shift back into the damaged side because the teeth were folded over and it wouldn't spline, can't shift into the other gear on that collar because the teeth were folded over and it wouldn't move over the hub.

NB: Never experience with an 01E, but I have made more 3-speed RX-7 transmissions than i could count, and replaced a few 02Js for this problem and even a Volvo S60 trans.

Oddly enough it was ALWAYS due to insufficient clutch disengagement! Meaning if you can't get the clutch fully disengaged you are going to break things if you just ram it home without mercy.

[speeding-g60]

yeah, it wont shift.

i have done this on 3-4 and 1-2 on 4 or 5 trans's now.....

sometimes they even get locked INTO a gear and wont come out.

[pkw]

Mine is in the car now and it shifts into 1/2 but it is a bugger. It helps to blip the throttle to send some vibration through the drive line, feel the gate the best you can, and try to be as gentle as possible while still using a lot of force....Think this would have shown up, outside the car, while playing with it on the bench?

I do not want this to happen again, and again. I want to just install a used trans and enjoy.

[speeding-g60]

yes it should have. are you saying it wont go into the 1/2 GATE? or that it goes to the left just fine and you have trouble going N-1 or 1-2.

the JHM kit has the slider with different angle to the face where the syncros line up, and better syncro surface material.

[pkw]

goes to the left just fine in N but moving shifter forward for 1rst or pulling back for 2nd is rough and requires a lot of force. Hank's 01e that was in his UR when it was a 2.2 with gt35 felt pretty close to the same IIRC. What do you figure the issue is with mine?
and for moving forward, I am just wondering if there is a way to check out a transmission that is already removed so that I do not install another one with issues (this issue or any others).

thanks
pete

[Mcstiff]

Scott's comments:

Hairball II wrote:
So what is the best tranny solution for high hp audis like Hanks? What part of the tranny seems to fail the most.

It depends on what your using the car for. The tdi transmission with the flexible main shafts save the first gear but have been known to shear off with very high horsepower and hard racing conditions. The regular main shafts have been known to gall first gear with similar abuse.

The 1-2 collars are problematic, mostly due to the shifter design of the C5 and B5 cars, as 1-2 collar problems are almost non existent in C4 cars. There are updated pieces which fix this issue, but you won't find a factory transmission with those pieces installed.

The later tdi transmissions (2003 and up) had a pump, standard capacity sump but the first and second gears are even shorter than the standard 01E (3.75/2.14).

Since the terms better and best are entirely subjective here are three scenarios taking into account engine and car use.

The "Best" transmission utilizing factory parts would look like this for a low displacement street car would be:

Allroad TDI high capacity sump with pump
4.11 final drive
3.50/1.89 first/second
1.32/.93 3rd/4th -- There is also a 1.43/1.07 but 4-5th spacing would be pretty wide.
.73 5th
.60 6th
Updated 1-2 shift collar parts

The "Best" transmission utilizing factory parts would look like this for a large displacment engine

Allroad TDI high capacity sump with pump
3.89 final drive
3.50/1.89 first/second
1.23/.87 3rd/4th
.68 5th
.56 6th
Updated 1-2 shift collar parts

The "Best" transmission utilizing factory parts would look like this for a track only car

Allroad TDI high capacity sump with pump
4.35 final drive
3.50/1.89 first/second
1.43/1.07 3rd/4th
.86 5th
.76 6th
Updated 1-2 shift collar parts

However there are power limitations to the stock internals, at about 600 wheel hp in a racing environment I've seen, 3rd gears shear and first gear loose teeth with drag racing.

There's always this method if it really gets bad:

Sam, I have always been able to get them unstuck from locked second scenarios. They are never the same, but they are driveable. My current five speed has a very stiff 1-2 but I have driven it for a thousand miles that way. The technique is as followed:

The trick is getting third back first. When it happens don't stop the car for any reason until first is back. In order to get it , you have to get third first. Rev matching at lower rpms with the clutch disengaged is the best. You have to put you shoulder into it and really force it, but even the worstbones will finally conk in. Once that painfully 2-3 is done once, it will get easier as you basically rebroach the sliding mechanism. Once you have done 50-75 reps of 2-3-2 you are ready to do the same to 2-1-2. This is even harder to force than the 2-3. Once you get it once, it gets slightly easier.

Now this is the part that some simply can't do. Once in first, tap the shifted down so it just barely falls out of gear. Then try and force it into first while going 20 mph without the clutch. This grinder and makes awful noises, but it gets the burr knockd off. Then the trans is back to 80% and sucks at 1-2. All of is hard on the 1-2 slider and hub but those are the parts that are goobered anyway.

Ed can attest to this technique used in practice.

[pkw]

Ed, thanks for posting that.

[Mcstiff]

Ed, thanks for posting that.

I drove it right after the "process" and it was not too bad. Of course, on public roads in traffic I was not pushing it much.

[audifreakjim]

I'd rebuild any 6 speed with the updated parts before putting it in the car. Both of my used boxes locked up on me. Rebuilt one of them and it's been solid ever since. One of these days I'll combine my allread box with my other B5 S4 trans for the best of both worlds.

[pkw]

I have replayed that advice so many times now. I was tempted and would maybe go for a rebuild/upgrade next time, but dog gone, I have two C5 2.7t A6s that each have 300k ish miles on them and the worse trans shifts well and the better trans shifts crazy well for an 01E. I am gentle on them though and I bet if I drove them hard they would go down the pooper.

...I have two 01Es laying in the garage and I have no experience with driving them. Installing as is would be such a crap shoot, that is why I asked if the crappy shifting can be somehow diagnosed just by grabbing the shift shaft and working it through the gears.

[ringbearer]

I put the c4 shift arm on mine on the floor and 1/2 was really tight.
This was after I installed it :(
I compared it to my smooth shifting broken Trans I removed and there was a big difference.
I had my new to me Trans rebuilt at JHM and it shifts better now, but still slow like an 01e.

[pkw]

How about when the shifter does not center itself, in line with 3rd and 4th? I saw where one was all floppy in there. What is that and how hard is it to fix?

[audifreakjim]

Check the detents. Maybe one is stuck or it was gutted and plugged by someone else. I have one like this on my spare that I had played around with, then just needed to plug the hole for storage.