90 Audi 90 Tranny

[roner@novagate.com]

My 1990 90 (non-Q) first started making a whining noise from the drive 
train at about 80,000 miles.  At that time it was only audible from 
about 65 mph+.  It has gradually worsened so that now (at 108,000 miles) 
it is audible from 20 mph on up.  I've had the car since 30k miles 
and have never had any tranny leaks or found the lube to be low.  
The first mechanic I had check it out said that the whine was coming 
from the transaxle, was probably a bearing, recommended putting in a 
rebuilt tranny, and quoted me a price of about $$$$2,100$$$$, PLUS labor 
(I left the shop before he had time to computate the labor estimate).  
While I was still in a state of shock, I had another mechanic check it 
out who said that the whine was coming from the transaxle, was probably 
a bearing, recommended going with a used tranny from the boneyard, and 
quoted me a price of $$$$1,100$$$$ to $$$$1,200$$$$, PLUS labor (again, 
I left the shop before the computations had been finalized).  I then 
talked to a mechanic at a tranny shop that specializes in euro-imports 
and was told that maybe, just maybe, they could tear it apart, replace 
the offending bearing (or bearingS), put it back together, and keep the 
total cost under a grand or maybe, just maybe, even less.  But then, one 
never knows until one tears it all apart, does one?
This car, while it does have some other relatively minor nagging 
problems that I can probably take care of for a total of $300 to $400, 
is in pretty good condition. The appearance of the car inside and out is 
very good, it drives really nice, and the 2.3L engine is still very 
strong and in good shape.  
The questions I have for y'all are:
1. Has anybody out there been here, done this?  If so, what route did 
you take and what were the results?
2. Do you think it's worth fixing this car? I was told that sometimes 
they'll keep going forever like this if you can live with the whining 
(just crankup the old stereo). (I've already ruled out going with the 
used tranny.)

It's getting close to decision time because the clutch is getting pretty 
worn and if I'm gonna do this I want do the clutch and the tranny at the 
same time.

Thanks in advance for any input,
Tony
roner@novagate.com