Need to change my gearbox - where to start?

Hi!

I need to change the gearbox in my dear golf.
I don't know all that much about gearboxes, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

The car is a 1988 Golf 1.8 GL, engine code JH, 5-speed gearbox.

So I wonder;
what type of gearbox would fit mine?
any experiences or advices about changing the gearbox, and/or any link for a "how to" thread?

Best regards

Best to get the gearbox code to begin with.
This can be found underneath the box on a flat piece in the aluminium flywheel housing. You might need to rub it with a bit of sand paper to make the letters and numbers appear. (arrow 1 on the image)
The letters are the important bit.

As yomp says, get a mk1 gearbox with the same code and then it's the manual side of it. I'd hope while its off you'll be changing the clutch too? 

To remove the box it's pretty simple, 2 bolts through the starter motor at the front, 2 on the top of the box, 1 behind driveshaft cup on the engine side. You'll need to remove the rear engine mount too I think, can't remember now lol. There should also be 2x small bolts holding a tin plate to the gearbox at the bottom. 

Hey guys, thanks for answering

The gearbox says "9A 07097  1"

Does that give any clues? I've been searching a bit on google without any luck…

Yup, I'm changing the clutch too !

Bit of reading for you, everything you ever wanted to know about the 020 gearbox.
http://brokevw.com/

As for removing it have you read the Haynes manual ?

Ideally you want to replace it with another 9A box to keep it simple. Otherwise you may find stuff like reverse switches, drive shaft flanges, and ratios can be different.
What's wrong with your old box?

Some more info here:

http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/index.php?page=cedi&type=misc&id=25

Thanks for those websites. A lot of great stuff.

Mark1gls, yes I have the Haynes and I also got the Bentley edition.

Yomp, my old box is making these awful and loud noises. It disappears when I push down the clutch…
A mechanic said it was the bearings and that they wouldn't hold much longer.

The 9a boxes, are they to be found on different types of VW from 85 to 89?
I was told that this was a typical golf 2 gearbox…

soulberg said

The 9a boxes, are they to be found on different types of VW from 85 to 89?
I was told that this was a typical golf 2 gearbox…

cabby, golf 2, rocco,  GTI's of this period.

I'm sure I have one kicking around in a lock up but I'm not sure if its the one I've stripped to rebuild. If it isn't then I don't know the condition of it as I never drove it and might of nicked a couple of bits off it.

Hi!

So I've been searching around for a 9A gearbox, but with no results!

Any experiences or tips about using a diffrent type of gearbox?
I've been reading this one, but Im not getting much smarter…
http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/index.php?page=cedi&type=misc&id=25

Would any of the other gearboxes fit instead of the 9A that i have ?
(Reversing light switch is not that important i guess…)

Thanks for helping me out here !

 

Anybody ?

You sure it's not the clutch release bearing that's gone? If so, cheap and easy job. Just new bearing and clutch.

Hi!  

No, Im not sure. But each mechanic that has check it says its the bearings inside the gearbox and that I should just replace the whole box.

But how could I tell if the clutch release bearing is gone?

It makes all these awful sounds on each gear. It only gets quiet when I push down the clutch…

the release bearing is behind the green cap on the end, it can be done box in but it sounds more liek an internal bearing to me as the release bearing isnt really doing anything till you press the pedal

basically you have 4 things to be aware of when buying an 020 gearbox:
1. is it a mk1/2 8v, or a 16v/2.0 8v mk3 box? the 167v/2.0 box requires a mk2 16v clutch kit as input shaft is bigger.
2. what size flanges does it have, are they different to yours? if same size, no worries. if different either need to change shafts, or swap flanges
3. what reverse switch is it, 2 pin or multi pin. if your old box is multi pin you'll loose the mpg/shift light functionality on the cluster. if your old box is 2 pin you can use either type
4. what are the gear ratios? a gti box will make it feel a bit more sporty, but loosign econmy and higher revs when cruising. how much different it is depends on what box you had and what you get.

9a box is a later GTI unit, same as mk2 gti. mk1 1.6 gti are sportier

Thanks for a good awnser ! Okay. Hm, so I guess I should start to look for a cheap mk2 gti, might be easier than just finding the gearbox…

…would you know the difference between the mk2 gti engine and my (engine code: JH, 1.8 GL) engine ?
They actually look kinda the same when I check out pictures of the mk2 8v gti engine…  

there isnt a great deal of difference really, yours is still fuel injection but de-tuned a bit as it only makes 95hp vs 112 from a gti unit. looking at it the cylinder head is the same, but the pistons were changed I guess slightly lower compression? some other bits on the injection system changed as well, but basically if you put a gti lump in there you should probably see gti power with the fuel mixture tweaked

Aha!
That's very interesting.
I might have some more luck looking for parts now.

I found one old 9A gearbox, but the guy wanted £700.
If Im lucky, I could almost get a rusty mk2 gti for the same price

sod off lol 50 is max id pay for a gearbox unless i could drive it, even then 100 max if it was mint. maybe more if it has recipts for rebuild. if it has lsd then worth more but im not a racer so i dont care about that

For £700 you could get someone to take your old gearbox off the car, set away and rebuilt it then put back on the car for you. The chap selling it must be dreaming if he wants that much for it!

The boring bit…. don't forget that 'technically' any change to engine or gearbox which makes it different to how it left the factory will be classed as a modification, therefore your insurers will need to know.

'Realistically', putting another gearbox in from another Golf you may not bother to inform, as no one will really tell The Difference. 

Just worth noting….