When I took the Corrado off the road to begin its journey to refurbishment, one of the items I had on the list was to rebuild the transmission. The 5speed manual O2A tranny was uncharacteristically noisy since the very first day I drove it. The brass synchros are notorious for failing, especially the second gear synchro. So I was surprised that it lasted this long and ventured to say my luck had run far enough. With 177,000 miles on the odometer, it sure wasn't going to last much longer.
I was disheartened when I checked with one of my local transmission shops. This guy had once rebuilt my O2O in my 1985 Golf and I was extremely happy with the work. However, when I went to visit him, he had converted his transmission shop into a muffler and exhaust shop. What
was going on? He told me that rebuilding transmissions was no longer a feasible business model. No one drives cars beyond five years and most of these cars have 100000 mile warranties. So he said his traditional client base dried up. I begged him to do my transmission one last time but he refused. But he did offer to mandrel bend a custom exhaust and catalytic converter for me. (I already had a Techtonics exhaust – but that is a story for another post in the future)
I searched the VWVortex and several recommended I check with RPG. I called and inquired with Renner Performance Group about rebuilding my transmission. I discovered that they weren't too far away from me located in Inglewood California. They indicated that it would be no issues and that I should bring it by their workshop.
So I set to work extracting the transmission from my car. That took me about a week because in order to get the transmission out of the car, I opted to remove the front end of the car to gain more workspace. I was going to refurbish AC and cooling system too. So it made sense to me and pulled the transmission forward instead of from below the car.
In the meantime, unbeknownst to me, my dear wife was discussing with one of my friends. This friend was a fellow VW enthusiast with whom I had donated a few engine parts and labor. Through him, she learned that a nice upgrade to a VW transmission is a Limited Slip Differential. She arranged through this friend to purchase the Quaife and then gave it to me for Christmas!
The Quaife makes the transmission more robust and functionally makes power transfer to the ground more efficient. The Quaife uses planetary gears to sense which wheel has the most traction and will direct more of the engine torque to that wheel therefore reducing wheel spin and increasing traction.
Sidebar: I must be showing my age. When I inquired with the kids on the VWVortex, I discovered the generational gap. An LSD to me is a Limited Slip Differential. However, I must have missed the memo because the latest generation of VW Enthusiasts interpret an LSD as Lamborghini Style Doors! Once I got passed the interpretational gap, I was able to get the information I needed.
I delivered the entire transmission and the Quaife to RPG the following week. I then purchased the necessary ARP differential bolts for the LSD. The OEM differential uses rivets and these must be drilled out in order to replace with the Quaife. There are bolt kits made by ARP just for this purpose. An additional note--the transmission with the limited slip installed will require less fluid than the original manufacturers specifications. I will be using the Mobil 1 synthetic transmission oil as recommended by RPG.
At the time, Autotech was having a Warehouse Clearance sale. So I picked up a Sachs pressure plate and clutch along with the bolt kit and throw out bearing. I also picked up the Autotech lightweight Stainless Steel flywheel. This is an 11 pound flywheel which allows the engine to spool up more quickly. This greatly improves engine throttle response and allows the engine to spool up more quickly. It is a beautiful piece of work (More on this later)
I got the transmission along with the installed LSD back from Renner Performance Group. It's nice to have this done and get it off the list.
I was disheartened when I checked with one of my local transmission shops. This guy had once rebuilt my O2O in my 1985 Golf and I was extremely happy with the work. However, when I went to visit him, he had converted his transmission shop into a muffler and exhaust shop. What
was going on? He told me that rebuilding transmissions was no longer a feasible business model. No one drives cars beyond five years and most of these cars have 100000 mile warranties. So he said his traditional client base dried up. I begged him to do my transmission one last time but he refused. But he did offer to mandrel bend a custom exhaust and catalytic converter for me. (I already had a Techtonics exhaust – but that is a story for another post in the future)I searched the VWVortex and several recommended I check with RPG. I called and inquired with Renner Performance Group about rebuilding my transmission. I discovered that they weren't too far away from me located in Inglewood California. They indicated that it would be no issues and that I should bring it by their workshop.
So I set to work extracting the transmission from my car. That took me about a week because in order to get the transmission out of the car, I opted to remove the front end of the car to gain more workspace. I was going to refurbish AC and cooling system too. So it made sense to me and pulled the transmission forward instead of from below the car.
In the meantime, unbeknownst to me, my dear wife was discussing with one of my friends. This friend was a fellow VW enthusiast with whom I had donated a few engine parts and labor. Through him, she learned that a nice upgrade to a VW transmission is a Limited Slip Differential. She arranged through this friend to purchase the Quaife and then gave it to me for Christmas!
The Quaife makes the transmission more robust and functionally makes power transfer to the ground more efficient. The Quaife uses planetary gears to sense which wheel has the most traction and will direct more of the engine torque to that wheel therefore reducing wheel spin and increasing traction.
Sidebar: I must be showing my age. When I inquired with the kids on the VWVortex, I discovered the generational gap. An LSD to me is a Limited Slip Differential. However, I must have missed the memo because the latest generation of VW Enthusiasts interpret an LSD as Lamborghini Style Doors! Once I got passed the interpretational gap, I was able to get the information I needed.
I delivered the entire transmission and the Quaife to RPG the following week. I then purchased the necessary ARP differential bolts for the LSD. The OEM differential uses rivets and these must be drilled out in order to replace with the Quaife. There are bolt kits made by ARP just for this purpose. An additional note--the transmission with the limited slip installed will require less fluid than the original manufacturers specifications. I will be using the Mobil 1 synthetic transmission oil as recommended by RPG.
At the time, Autotech was having a Warehouse Clearance sale. So I picked up a Sachs pressure plate and clutch along with the bolt kit and throw out bearing. I also picked up the Autotech lightweight Stainless Steel flywheel. This is an 11 pound flywheel which allows the engine to spool up more quickly. This greatly improves engine throttle response and allows the engine to spool up more quickly. It is a beautiful piece of work (More on this later)
I got the transmission along with the installed LSD back from Renner Performance Group. It's nice to have this done and get it off the list.
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