OK, been told I need new differential bearings this morning by the garage. Looking at £400 labour costs if they do it.

I’m not at all familiar with this area, so have no idea. What are the consequences if I just say **** it, the car’s not worth it and drive it till it fails? How would it fail etc?

What are my options for repair:

1) Pay to have them replaced (find gearbox refurbisher?)
2) Get a reconditioned gear box???
3) ????

Car is a VW Mk2 Golf 16v GTI.

Thanks

Go ask the question on Edition 38, sounds a bit dodgy to me.

Continue to drive it and expect to damage more stuff

It’s quite a bit of work to sort – the gearbox ‘ll have to come out, be stripped down and new bearings pressed into the diff housing. A recon box could be more effective. I’d reckon £300 for a recon unit plus fitting.

Best case: it’ll whine a bit, gradually getting worse over time.

Probable case: it’ll fail, with a loud BANG! accelerating off a roundabout at low speed, dumping oil and bits of gearbox casing all over the road.

Worst case: it’ll fail dramatically at speed causing one, or both wheels to lock and you’ll end up upside-down in the central reservation.

Golf mark 2 O2O/A gearboxs always die when the diff explodes in two pieces because it is riveted together. No warning and you just have to coast to the edge of the road.

Diff bearings are probbably all packaged up with a dieing diff, so they can do the lot when they dismantle the gearbox. £400 sounds about right, I just dropped in a diesel gearbox so now i can cruise at 90 at 3k revs in top, but 1,2,3 are all the same so it sprints off the line just as well as always. £100 for a SH gearbox fitted, but you may as well do the clutch etc.

The bearings are immersed in oil & would most likely go on for many miles before failing & I’d have thought the whining from them would get louder to the point where it was a pain in the ear to drive.

After my clutch shattered and took out my input shaft bearing I decided a second hand box was the cheapest and easiest fix, with little risk. But I can fit it myself, if you’re paying someone else and the rest of the car is sound I might consider re-conning the box.

Thanks guys, sounds like I shouldn’t just keep on driving for long periods then.

Time to decide whether to fix or sell.

Turnip – are you saying it’s £100 roughly to fit a SH box?

I don’t suppose you’ve got a set of Marzocchi’s you want to sell to fund this? 😉

Could arrange a shady deal at Warrington station……….

Lol – I wish I did this time 🙂