follow up to transmission dead? long

[Clint F.]

>1)  Are the transmission and the torsen all part of one big piece/in the
>same housing?  If I were to buy a used transmission, could i get both?

Because of the layout of the Audi engine, not a typical transverse mounting, 
the tranny will most likely be one piece from the junkyard, but make sure.  
The M-B 4matic I just did was seperate, but both units were purchased 
rebuilt from Benz., and it was an automatic car.  (fyi that was a 5k job)

2)  With what degree of certainty is it the torsen or the input shaft?

Only one was to find out, pull the tranny, if the clutch is in a thousand 
pieces, I'd pull the drain plug out of the box and look at how much metal 
was in the tranny.  (miniscule amounts of metal flake good, big chunks of 
gear bad) If the clutch is toast, replace it and then see if the cost of 
opening the case is worth the insurance.

3)  Is it worth it to have the car fixed, have the transmission/diff
>replaced, just start looking for audi #2?

With any major repair, ask yourself these questions:
Do I plan on keeping the car for two more years?
Do I like the car?
Do I want to avoid a car payment?
If you answer yes to all these, then fix it. If you get a no answer, time 
for #2
(this is not considering a 2k bill for a car that needs maintenance items, 
ie, brakes all around, t-belt, fluid changes, tires, etc. all at once, thats 
your own fault for not sticking to a schedule on repairs)

>4)  How much of a pain is it for one to swap transmissions in this car?
>I'd be replacing clutch as well, what are the chances that it's something
>else and that this wouldn't fix it?
>
>5)  I believe Aamco is being unreasonable, am I right in this opinion?  I
>have a friend in dayton, OH that had his ford ranger's tranny taken out,
>looked at for $300 at a local place, and syncros replaced for another
>$200.

To answer two with one, The first quat clutch took me two days. Now, on a 
non-turbo 80/90 with not striped bolts and an exhaust that comes apart nice, 
6 hours if I keep a good pace and all parts are right there. Typically, just 
under 8 hours.  Understand, I'm on an overhead lift, compressor, and all the 
tools with bells and whistles on my cart.
I can't say if AAMCO is being unreasonable, don't know labor rates in your 
area, but they are probably higher than a local independant import shop. 
Some phone calls will answer that for you.
BTW, they probably forgot to lock your car, and some kids went through it.
As far as the Ranger comparison goes, if I can't have a couple (toyota or 
some other import, don't do domestic) RWD truck clutches done by lunch, I 
need to start painting houses, I'd probably make more money there.

One last thing, the AA quote was probably for a "remove and inspect" i.e., 
if they don't fix it, it's in boxes in the trunk of your car after you pay 
the bill.

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