'98 A6 Wagon with only a 2 spd tranny...what next

[Robert Rossato]

Eric,

On the C4 chassis there is a difference in the body shell between the
manual and automatic transmission cars.  So some tunnel modification
will most likely be needed.  My only experience was with helping a
friend of mine that was setting up an Audi Coupe for racing.  He had
acquired one with an automatic to replace the shell on one of his race
cars and we found that the tunnel on the automatic was too small to fit
a manual transmission.  

Don't know if on the C4 the automatic tunnel is smaller or larger than
on a manual, but ETKA definitely shows there is a different body between
the two.

FWIW, on the C5 the body is the same for both manual and automatic
transmissions so a swap would be easier.

Bob

> -----Original Message-----
> From: quattro-bounces at audifans.com 
> [mailto:quattro-bounces at audifans.com] On Behalf Of Eric Sanborn
> Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2008 9:30 AM
> To: Quattro
> Subject: Re: '98 A6 Wagon with only a 2 spd tranny...what next
> 
> 
> This one is the old body style with 85k on it.  I drove the car and
> while a bit soft it was very nice and rattle free.  The stick swap
> doesn't really scare me, but I think I am leaning towards just fixing
> it.  I can hang on to it for a while and then pass it on.  The tunnel
> work is beyond what I want to do with this car so I think I will look
> at just replacing the existing 4 spd.    I was just afraid that if the
> first one failed at 85k that most used ones will have more.  Should I
> look to rebuilt it instead?  From a quick web search it looks like
> rebuild kits are about $950 so nearly double a used one.  Many used
> places will offer a non-transferable warranty, but they typically want
> it installed by a repair shop (not the user).  That makes me lean more
> towards the rebuild.
> 
> So are the 12V pretty good engines?  I know from looking at the specs
> that it takes right about twice as long to get to 60 as my 4ktq.  So
> it will never be a speed demon, but it looks like it will work great
> for hauling around the kids and the dog.
> 
> Thanks for the input!
> 
> (Tony sorry for the double post)
> 
> -- 
> 
> Eric Sanborn