Wow, you're thorough!
Um, okay, the engine black cracked directly at the rear motor mount, like the engine was being pulled or twisted. The tranny cracked in the middle, oddly enough. like a knife slit it down the middle. Looks like a stress fracture that compounded into a bigger problem. nothing loose inside the tranny, though.
I had it checked out by a VW dealer in NH, but i can't say as to their dependability. As any VW owner knows, the dealership can make all the difference.
I have Geico, which checked it out after the crash as well. The guy who does the inspection had a good reputation, but the autobodyshop where he sent me to get the work done does not. My old focus was involved in a hit and run. My focus was parked, someone hit it, and ran. They fixed my focus at the same auto body and it was probably better before it was fixed.
Anyway, the bolts from the tranny to the block are fine. As the car just sat there everything was holding well, they didn't even notice the broken motor mounts until they went to take the cracked tranny out. No fatigue on the subframe itself, only on the mount. Frame is in perfect condition. They said it needed a new block, set of pistons (something happened to them but they didn't tell me what, they just said they had to replace them. Maybe they are integrated into the block? I'm not too familiar with Diesel mechanics), new transmission, and new clutch. All else seems fine.
After talking to my insurance company and sounding tough and angry, it looks like they will cover the damage because the transmission was cracked in an odd place. The representative for Geico helped me out ALOT! He said that he would put it in as a no-fault accident, like a hit and run, hitting a pothole, etc. He said VW wasn't budging from their opinion and it was probably less expencive to just fix it than fight them. I'm pissed only because my family is Deutch (German) and had VW since they started mass producing them. I've never had a problem like this and this was MY fist VW. My grandfather still has his Kübelwagen in Deutchland. it has survived WWII and still runs perfectly with basic care and low miles.
So, luckily, insurance is working with me, i just hope my rates don't jump like crazy. I still think it's a manufacturers issue because they cannot say 100% if it was caused by the accident. But, at the same time, insurance cannot say 100% that is wasn't cause by the accident.
Luckily, it's getting fixed, but i'm still very curious about any transmission issues that there are with the MK5 tranny. I doubt my driving is complicating issues, i drive like an old man. I don't speed up quickly, powershift, leave the clutch down to stay in neutral (unless i'm at a stoplight, of corse), hell, i don't even hold it on hills in gear.
My toyota, on the other hand, has 165k miles with it's original clutch. I had to replace the engine 60k miles ago. Still runs perfect and i abuse that engine. I'm hoping for a clutch problem so i can learn how to change it, but nothing is working so far.
Okay, so back to VW, can the tdi engine cause enough torque to produce problems in the transmission? Is the MK5 transmission prone to problems internally or externally? Is there any issue in VW MK4 or 5 with changing a transmission (i know there are with some manufacturers like Ford)?
Other than this, the car has been awesome. It literally is a mini-tank. I want to go all 'Escape from NY' with it, lol. Repares and basic needs for the car are expencive, but few and far between so it averages out. My gas mileage was bad, but i do drive a little fast on the highways, and i drive 90% of the time in NJ so that will destroy all mileage. I'm getting 32mpg average city, and up to 40 highway at 90mph. Maybe this new tranny and block will make the car run more efficiently. I know you're supposed to drive it like you stole it and do higher rpm's to let it run at peak efficiency, but i can't bring myself to abuse it.
so, any wand all infor would be greatly appreciated, thank you!
Quote:
Originally Posted by hermanpj
well... i hate to admit it but what the dealer is saying sounds plausible:
the car was rolled, during which time the engine mounts were subjected to stresses they are not designed to tolerate without damage. in fact in many cars (not sure on VW)they are designed to shear in a crash, so that the engine and transmission submarine under the passenger compartment as part of the overall structural plan for how the car will perform in the crash and in conjunciton with crumple zones, etc....
so although body panels were lightly damaged, the force of the rollover multiplied by the weight of the engine, focused on motor mounts (which are bolts connecting the engine to tabs of metal welded to the sub-frame) could very well break mounts. As to why 3 checkouts didnt detect, can't say. Engine mounts are routinely checked in a rollover collision. They need to check not only for clearly broken mounts, but for metal fatigue. Sounds like the dealer was not one of the places that checked it out.
So anyway, a mount finally give way under load of shifting into gear, and this rotates the engine enough to cause a problem with the transmisison. Where is the block cracked? at the motor mount location on the block? or where the engine bolts to the transmission? similarly is the transmission case cracked where it meets the engine? or is it cracked where the transmission mounts to a frame cross-member?
Not saying that is exactly what happened, but it sounds more possible than 'the torque of the engine shredding the trasmission and the resulting engine-transmission lockup cracking the engine block, and breaking motor mounts.
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