4 to 5 speed conversion

ok i've got a mk2 golf 1.8 gl engine and gear box ready to go in my mk1.
My question is do i have to change the drive shafts from 90mm to 100mm shafts? :dontknow:
cheers Darren.

The simple answer to that is no.I would just change the flanges over on the gearbox and then you can keep the original shafts.The smaller joints are more than adaquate to do the job

The gearbox that's we took out is a 4 speed of a 1.6 diesel mk1 engine, so does your answer still apply baller? Cheers Darren.

depends on your engine! if its a pre-90- mk2 then the flanges will be 90mm and so you're sorted. if post-90 then they're 100mm so you either need to change the shafts for later cabby/rocco 1.8 100mm ones, or swap the flanges for 90mm ones. you'll need to find a later gearbox to get them from though as your old 4 speed ones wont work

Cool it's out of 1988 mk2 golf gl so excellent news guys, thanks for replying

measure the flanges just to be sure, theres no telling what box the mk2 might have as they like to blow up

How would I go about converting to a 5 speed? how would i know which is the right gearbox to get, or will i need to get a new engine too?

what engine do you have now

rubjonny said

what engine do you have now

i believe it to be a 1.5 from a gl. any more information needed?

any 1.5-2.0 8v mk1/2/3 or 1.8 16v mk2 5 speed box will fit, linkage wise you need all the bits from a 1.5-1.8 mk1/cabby.

just the flange issue to worry about then, your car has 90mm shafts so ideally get a 5 speed box with 90mm flanges to maek your life easier. or swap flanges, or swap shafts as above.

only 1.5-1.8 8v gearboxes will swap on with your existing clutch, mk3 2.0 8v and mk2 1.8 16v require a mk2 16v clutch kit. if you go for a new clutch either keep your old flywheel and fit 1.5 clutch, or find a 210mm flywheel from 1.8 mk1/2 and fit a gti 1.8 8v 210mm clutch kit

HTH

rubjonny said

measure the flanges just to be sure, theres no telling what box the mk2 might have as they like to blow up

Measured them today and there the same size as the 4 speed one's luckily
Another question mate is do I just bolt on the rear mount (square bush) on the 5 speed box as it was on the 4 speed? And then cut off the the ally mk2 mount which is surples or unbolt it and bolt on a mk1 gear mech? Hope that makes sence :dontknow:
Cheers Darren.

the ally mount just unbolts, so no need to cut anything

the bottom square mount is the same on the 4 speed, but you will need a 5 speed MK1 upper box mount though

Ok, I've unbolted the ally mount and fitted the new 5speed mount(rh side) and the lower mount off the 4speed, and have now fitted the smaller bracket/mechanism of the 4speed box where the mk2 bracket/mech ally mount was, Is this the correct thing to do rubjonny? It looks right but need to know your opinion on this before we fit the motor back in hopefully tomorrow night. Thanks in advance Darren.

yep you're getting there, some of the linkages in the bay differ as well though! the rods and the relay lever on the end of the shft need changing, plus iirc the box under the gearstick might need modifying so it lets you move to 5th?

A complete mk1 5 speed set up came in the post yesterday, from gear lever - linkages so i think ive covered everything now mate  8) gonna get involved tonight.
Cheers for all your reply rub, you've been a great help

Hi, got the gear selector etc fitted tonight, then went on to fit the motor and gear box back in and found that the rear gear box mount would not line up with the gear box,we decided to fit that part last as it gave us more room to manoeuvre, rubjonny,it looks like I need a mk1 cab 5 speed rear mount.Is this correct mate? I'm guessing the mount I have of a 4 speed diesel box is different to a petrol one  :dontknow: Anyway I'm getting there slowly

according to etka the brackets are the same 4-5 speed! diesel mounts are actually what you want as stronger, but they're the same shape as petrol.

can you take pictures of where you're at now?

Brilliant, cheers for checking 8) I bolted the mount one bolt hole to high I think because I bolted the top of the mount through the hole where the gear bracket goes and it should be one down,hence why it doesn't line up( does that sound like the problem here mate?) it was the last job we did last night and it was closing in on the midnight hour :? I did notice on the 4 speed box it had studs so will it be strong enough just nut and bolts to secure?
Cheers Darren.

ah could be, bolt the mount to the car and see what lines up then

yeah bolts will be fine, just make sure they dont bottom out before getting tight is all

God i wish i had a car ramp :?  i'm back down my shed thursday so will crack on with it again then.I had a quick look in day light yesterday and it looks like the top hole is threaded so i guess the others are,(hope) cheers for your help so far mate 8) Progress report soon.