[Vwdiesel] What's the difference between FF and FN trannys?

[Roger Brown]

VintagePkr at aol.com wrote:
> I mentioned last week that my 85 golf blew a hole in its 5 speed tranny and I
> have a 81 pickup with a 5 speed which I was going to swap into it.  Well, it
> seems that mecanically it will be a pretty straight swap but I want to know
> if there is a major difference in the tranny's performance.   For instance,
> My Golf had noticeably more robust acceleration and higher to speed than the
> pickup did yet they were both 1.6 and almost identical weight.
> So I was wondering...
> Did the pickup come with a "torquey-er" transmission that the pasenger cars?
> Is that the difference between the FF and FN trannys?
> Are there any others?
> I do a lot of highway driving with this Golf and I would rather have the top
> speed rather than the pulling power.  (the Golf would cruise happily at 70mph
> while the pickup at 70 felt like it was turning a bit too fast for its liking)
> Which tranny would you folks suggest for this application?
> I dont have the funds to have one custom built or re-geared I just want to
> know which tranny code to have in mind when I search the used part sites and
> junkyards.

FF and FN are pretty similar, ratio-wise, again depending on the production date which can affect 5th gear.  Also I think the
reverse gear switch mounts are different, FF is the screw in type and FN is the bolt-in type:

http://4crawler.cruiserpages.com/Diesel/VW_020_transmission.shtml

--
    Roger