01M final drive fluid change

[onetrav]

Is there anyone that has actually changed there differential fluid or even checked it?

I find it to be harder than is should be to find the speedometer drive gear so I can check the fluid.

What fluid should I use.

Thanks.

[joshsjetta]

I've checked and changed mine but it was on a 2.0. Not sure what it would be like on the 1.8. I used Royal Purple 75w90

[onetrav]

So, where is the speedo gear? How did you change it? Did you pump it out?

Anybody with a 1.8T care to share? If the speedo gear is where I think it is, its not only almost impossible to get a wrench on, the turbo inlet is right in the way.

[joshsjetta]

It was at the back of the transmission on the left. It had a heat shield on it. I just pulled back the heat shield, un-clipped the connector, and unscrewed the speedo gear. Then, it was just a matter of pumping all the old fluid out and pumping new fluid back in.

[onetrav]

Anyone else? 1.8T?

[2000Jet1.8T]

The "Speedo gear" is actually the VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor). You will need to remove it to add/change fluid. Here's the catch: in order to get enough clearence you will need to drop the drive axle about 2 1/2". You will need to siphon out the old fluid and pump in the new. According to my Chiltons book it says that you should fill it until it starts to drip out, then put the plug back in. I will be doing this in the near future since my gear fluid has never been changed and the car has 138,000 miles on her and I can tell that the gears are not shifting properly. I'm hoping that there's no damage. I will be using Redline synthetic fluid. If you need more info on where the VSS is located do a search on this site and you will see some photos of what it looks like and where it's located. Good luck!

[Balomo41]

I thought that all these share the same fluid as transmission fluid.
mine is 09A and bentley says gears and coverter share the ATF.

[brobs is back]

they do!!!!!!

DO NOT LISTEN TO THESE PEOPLE.

[onetrav]

Ok, so there is no separate fill hole.

So when I changed the ATF I already changed the diff fluid?

[Fast VW]

On an Automatic transmission the final drive fluid is seperate from the transmission fluid. The transmission fluid is ATF (VW special brew) the final drive is 75w-90 GL5 rate gear oil. The ATF is drained from the pan and filled through the filler on the front of the trans. The final drive fluid must come out of the hole after the VSS (the long black plastic piece on the back left of the trans) is removed and then is refilled through the same hole. The level of the final drive is checked by using the VSS as a "dip stick" by screwing it back into place and then removing it again. The fluid just goes about a 1/4" up on the VSS to indicate that it is full. The final drive holds .75 -.8 quarts. I believe on the 1.8T the lower pipe on the turbo must be removed to gain enough clearance to unscrew the VSS.

[onetrav]

AH, ok. Now that is the type of answer I was looking for! Thanks a lot!

[BlackSunshine]

Fantastic answer! Now to make it the best ever, could you possibly post any pics?

[CoolAirVw]

There's some good pics in this thread..

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=265533

And one more in this thread with the cover off so you can see what your dealing with.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=246679

Quote, originally posted by Balomo41 »

I thought that all these share the same fluid as transmission fluid. mine is 09A and bentley says gears and coverter share the ATF.

Oh, and the guys above are confusing..

09A doesn't have seperate fill diff.
01m Does have seperate fill diff.


Modified by CoolAirVw at 7:06 PM 12-6-2009