Removal of sat nav / radio from 2005 Elegance

[dustrat]

Unfortunatley auto gearbox packed in and beause of age not worth replacing so breaking car for spares. I want to take satnav /radio out to use in another vehicle. Any advice would be appriciated

[rotodiesel]

It's a great shame - the auto transmissions are useless on these cars, especially when mated to a diesel engine. The diesel torque kills them and they're not worth repairing.

 

The 5 speed manual GGB gearboxes are dead reliable and outlast the cars - there are plenty around. If the car is any good, a manual conversion would be a possibility for not much material outlay. Plenty of labour - but Summer is coming...

 

Sorry I can't help with the radio. 

 

rotodiesel.

[jimbof]

You need the 4x little keys to remove the radio. Like these, £3.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/WNB5-132-VOLKSWAGEN-REMOVAL-RELEASE-EXTRACTION/dp/B00LXA4UWK/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1430235698&sr=1-1&keywords=vw+radio+keys+4

Trying to do anything other than use the right tool will end in tears and damage, then more tears...

You put them in the slots and the radio pretty much glides out. Then you push the clips on the radio in to release the keys.

Roto, I'm interested in the conversion should mine go again (I've had almost 50K on the replacement gearbox, it must be due a trip to the mechanics at some point...!)... I was under the impression there is quite a bit to adapt? Or is it really not that bad?

[rotodiesel]

If you have a donor car so that you have all of the bits, it's not too bad. Read the US Passat Forums where the TDi has a great following - but only the autos were sold over there. Of course, most of the auto transmissions are now broken, but there's a lively interest in manual conversions using gearboxes sourced from Europe - often Holland.

 

Much depends on individual circumstances - storage for the donor car, time and expertise etc. Manual Superbs/Passats are readily available in the UK (but not in the US) - so the rules of engagement are different. 

 

The real trouble is that the Mk1 Superb is now a banger, and the "shakeout" is such that the only car now worth having for sensible running/repair costs is a 1.9 PD 5 speed manual. Anyone with a good one of these knows it, and is unlikely to part with it (me included). The others tend to be rubbish/cabbed to death.

 

rotodiesel.

Edited 28 April, 2015 by rotodiesel

[Gaz]

The others tend to be....

 

Why, I do believe you're getting soft in your old age RD!    :yes:

 

Gaz

[jimbof]

If you have a donor car so that you have all of the bits, it's not too bad. Read the US Passat Forums where the TDi has a great following - but only the autos were sold over there. Of course, most of the auto transmissions are now broken, but there's a lively interest in manual conversions using gearboxes sourced from Europe - often Holland.

 

Yeah, I've seen some of those posts - as you say it needs a donor car and enough space to house them both, and a bit more spanner-skill than I have.  Taking an angle grinder to the crank starts to worry me...!