help! HOW MANY MAN HOURS TO SWAP OUT A MKIII 02j? MANUAL TRANSMISSION?

[Gary_98Cabrio]

Hi experts! If i can get a good used five speed and new clutch, and I give it to somebody who has done VW trans work before, how many hours do you expect he will-should bill me?

I am 70 and an amateur and have not done serious engine or trans work in 35 years. And never a transaxle (Corvairs do not count). Although my jacks and stands and metric set of tools is above average, I cannot see me doing the work myself. Like, just the front struts scare me to death.

I also wonder if it is easier to swap the 2.0 and transmission all at one time............

Somebody here in another thread suggested buying a whole MKIII that was hit in the rear (what was left anayway)and maybe that would be a good source of good, inexpensive parts.........

What do you know? RSVP...thanks in advance for your time. I think my tranny is 02J . My 98 Cabrio vin is 3VWBA81E6WM811464. There is nothing wrong with the motor ....170,000miles... except the distributor and cam sensor are probably weak. The transmission has a chipped reverse gear ( i probably did it..I recently forgot to push in the clutch!?!?! i forget which car I am in...once in a rare while) And primarily, there is a very loud thrust? bearing that rumbles at idle and especially at 30-65mph... after that it "floats" and quiets down slightly.
ps. i am not an additive guy but after doing some reading i tried Lucas transmission fix..primarly for automatics....and it actually quieted down the thrust bearing howl quite a bit...and did not appear to affect the syncros...it shifts fine.....at least in warm weather. I used 10?oz ( capacity is about .. 76oz. Right?) of Lucas additive...13% . Maybe I will increase the additive mix to 32%.....until I get the money and locate a tranny repair deal....

[Gary_98Cabrio]

[QUOTE=Gary_98Cabrio;78257425]Hi experts! If i can get a good used five speed and new clutch, and I give it to somebody who has done VW trans work before, how many hours do you expect he will-should bill me?

So..nobody will answer?!?! Well I found a couple of decent mechanics without your input. what's going on here?

[Ultraflux3]

I have swapped 02A's and 02J's in my driveway by myself. Takes about 4 hours or so. So expect 4-6 hrs for a shop to do it, plus shop materials, fluids, and time for test driving.