Mexican beetle questions.

wellcraft · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2014 11:20 pm Post subject: Mexican beetle questions.

Hi guys, new to the forum and I have few questions. I just bought a 1999 mexican beetle and I need to replace the transmission and would like to know what would be the best place to get one and if this transmission is interchangeable with older beetles? Btw, it's a 4 speed.

Would like to get this car running as soon as possible and fix every thing that aren't working. Would need to fix the original ac, transmission, driver side seat, a minor hesitation and a few other minor details.

My driver side seat cover is bad and need replacing and possibly the foam too, where would I be able yo find replacement foam and a new covers for this years? Mine has adjustable headrest.

Also, is there a link or thread that show what parts I can used from older beetles, my understanding is there are some things that are different from the newer ones than the older ones but I'm not sure what the difference might be. And where can I buy parts for mexican beetles.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Regards.

JR

Frank Bassman · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 8:28 am Post subject:

Hey JR.

As far as the transmission goes, I'd call Rancho Transaxle.
http://ranchotransaxles.com/

These guys offer a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty on their stock transaxles. (Stock is what you want right?) I just recently purchased a transaxle for my bug and am very happy with their customer service. They really stand behind their product.

Find out what type of transmission you have, it is either swingaxle, or IRS. I think your bug is swingaxle. In case you don't know how to identify this, here is a pretty self explanatory picture. Notice how the swingaxle has one "boot" looking seal on the axle next to the transmission, (left portion of drawing) and the IRS has 2 boots. (right portion of drawing.)
Compare this drawing with your car.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc42/OFWH/SwingvsIRS.png

Call up Rancho. Their phone number is on their site. Ask them about gearing and so on. They'll be great help.

As far as the seat foam goes, I believe the mexican beetles were different from the German ones... for that you may have to reupholster them at a local upholsterer or if you want the original stuff you may need to find original VW parts from Mexico, which may be difficult. I do think there is someone that reads this forum who has access to those parts. His name is Antonio Trejo.

Good luck with your car. Daily driver?

-Frank

wellcraft · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 8:46 am Post subject:

Frank Bassman · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 11:25 am Post subject:

Well, I didn't order the transmission from them directly. I live in Florida and got the tranny through an aircooled VW parts place. They had them in stock and that's where I got it from. Providing them a core, the tranny came out to eight hundred bucks. Without a core I think the price would have been in the vicinity of a thousand. I did call up Rancho for some info on the tranny I bought, which is how I got to communicate with them directly. I think the shipping would have come out to about 100 dollars, but I'm not quite sure.

This was through that parts place I'm talking about. If you buy the tranny from Rancho I believe the price is seven hundred right? With shipping and providing a core you should come up to about eight or eight and a half, which is what I paid.

wellcraft · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 4:42 pm Post subject:

I got a quote from them and I'll be placing an order next week I hope. Thanks for the info.

wellcraft · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:03 pm Post subject:

My friend it's suggesting to go from swingaxle to irs as he said it's much better. What's involved and how expensive is to do the conversion without labor as I'm pretty good wrenching and I can ask him for help. Is there a conversion kit for this?

Since I need to order a new transmission I would have to do this before. My bug is lowered and I don't like the look of the camber, I rather get the straight look or standard look, it's not slammed but I think the po lowered the car by 1.5".

I dint have much time to explained the difference, what pros and cons from swingaxle to irs?

wellcraft · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:15 pm Post subject:

If I decide to keep it as a Swingaxle because it's to expensive and time consuming, how can I fix the camber on a swingaxle model?

Frank Bassman · Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 7:03 pm Post subject:

Don't do the IRS conversion! It involves welding. I would gear your swingaxle to have the late IRS ratios. (I'm assuming you have a fuel injected 1600 dual port in your Mexican) Making your car IRS will require welding of the mounts for trailing arms. It will be $$$$$$$ and may not even come out right in the end, since careful measuring must be done to make sure the mounting points for the trailing arms are perfectly aligned. Not worth it in my opinion.

By the way, as far as gearing goes, this is what I'd do if you want a "better than stock" tranny. (Seeing that you have a 1600)

I'd get a swingaxle geared like a late IRS German Beetle, OR like a late IRS Karmann Guia.

The Beetles came with a 3.88 ring and pinion with a .93 fourth gear.
The Guias came with a 3.88 ring and pinion with a .89 fourth gear.
The difference?
At 70 mph, the beetle is turning 3500 RPM more or less. (With stock 165/80/R15 tires.
At 70 mph the guia is turning 3200 RPM. 75mph happens at about 3500 with the Guia.

I went with the Guia 4th gear and a 3.88 ring and pinion and am more than happy with the results. Good highway comfort, good city driving. It was in my opinion the perfect middle ground between the stock beetle gearing and the overly tall "freeway flyer" .82 fourth gear.

Look at the numbers here....

http://ranchotransaxles.com/calculator.html

I'm pretty sure your beetle has a 4.12 ring and pinion with a .89 fourth. Not sure though. Find out, I'm sure there is a forum post somewhere.

As far as the camber goes, it is inherent of swingaxles. No getting around it if you must have it lowered. By the way, your rear wheel bearings are lubricated with transaxle oil, that travels down your axles, given your car is stock height. Lowering it puts the axles at an angle pointing up and oil doesn't reach your bearings the way it should. If it is going to be daily driven, I'd be weary of lowering it.

I'm not sure if you can grease the bearings to get around this issue though... It's a question I've always asked myself. I'm sure someone will chime in on this?

hopkin · Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 7:36 pm Post subject:

Here are some specs from the service manual:

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

wellcraft · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2014 9:34 am Post subject:

Frank Bassman · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2014 8:08 pm Post subject:

Hopkin, thanks for the information. I obviously had the wrong impression about the Mexican gear ratios.

As far as compression goes how low is low? I recently did a compression test on my car and got low numbers. I got...
80psi on cyl 1
90 psi on cyl 2
85 psi on cyl 3 and 4

I'm not sure if my battery was tired (don't think so) but the car turns on and drives great even with these low numbers. As far as fuel economy though, I used to consistently get around 26 to 27 mpg's combined, and now I'm seeing 20-21. (All other things equal, regular valve adjustments, points, spark plugs etc.) It's definitely not as efficient as before, but I'm not seeing any other issues aside from that and some oil consumption. (Not bad enough to actually see though.)

My point is if the engine turns on and drives good, feels good, and isn't getting you 15 miles per gallon, you can probably drive that car as is, while slowly buying up engine components to build an engine. How do your spark plugs look? Are they all fouled up or are they clean? How does that engine run? Does it feel like it's about to die or does it feel like it can battle it out on the road for a while still?

As far as parts compatibility goes, you have hydraulic lifters correct? I think the heads, and the fuel injection system are about the only things that you'll find difficulty overhauling... all other parts (Bearings, pistons and cylinders, oil pump, gas pump, cam, oil cooler, crank etc...) are the same as any bug. By the way, you do have a 30mm oil pump with an oil filter right? (I think late Mexibeetles came with it, I suspect it may have something to do with providing good oil pressure for the hydraulic lifters) If you inspect it and it looks good with little wear, I'd even leave that as it is. Some of the aftermarket ones that are out there are not up to par with the original VW stuff.

Don't quote me on the cam though, maybe it is somewhat different since you've got hydraulic lifters.

I myself have been looking at kits to buy one and have it in my closet until rebuild day comes, and have come across this...

http://www.kustom1warehouse.net/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ENGINEKIT1600

I think it is pretty good value, and have the freedom to specify parts. I was looking buying it with the balanced and counter-weighted crank, and Mahle Pistons and Cylinders.

I have heard great things about AA P&C's for stock use by the way, Mahle's just been established with good reputation for longer though.

Things that may need to be changed after 200,000 miles? I'd check for slop in the front suspension. I'd check for vertical and side play in the front wheel bearings. Also check the oil in the steering box. (Many times, if there is play it can be adjusted out via the adjustment allen screw in the nut that holds the bearings in.) I'd definitely check the steering damper, and if necessary replace it and the bushing it has. (Very easy to do.) Check brakes, adjust the handbrake which is almost always out of adjustment in a used car, and if all the electrical works stop at that.

Lets see some pictures!

wellcraft · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2014 8:18 pm Post subject:

Just doing a quick reply as I'm working but I just found out by antonio trejo that the pistons on these engines are domed and not flat. He said I could use the aftermarket kit but I would lose performance, the om rebuilt kit is a bit more than $700 when the aftermarket kit is around $200.
I would like to rebuilt the engine if possible but don't want to shell $700+ for domed pistons. Wondering what other options are out there or if someone has done something without using the domed pistons.

Just out of curiosity, when rebuilding an engine, do I always have to replace the piston or can I reuse them and replace the rest?

Frank Bassman · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2014 9:00 pm Post subject:

Flat vs Domed... That I know almost nothing about. Try the engines and performance forum. They'll be able to answer in a jiffy. Do post a link here to the topic so we can follow the teachings!

As far as changing the piston... I'd say the piston probably doesn't suffer much. After all, the rings and cylinders are what really wear the most. But they come in sets. Plus maybe the ring ridges in the pistons can become enlarged after 200,000 miles of use, rendering the pistons sub par to new ones. I'd go with a full set just to make sure all the parts are matched. I made a mistake a while back of only replacing the rings in my car, and I should have replaced the whole enchilada. Don't do anything you'll regret later.

wellcraft · Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 3:40 am Post subject:

Thanks Frank, I will go ahead and post it on the engine forum and post a link here. I'm also posting on 1600i but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post links in here, can I?

wellcraft · Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 4:05 am Post subject:

Ok, I just noticed other threads with links so I will go ahead and post the links for those of u interested in this. The first one is the thread I just started here at samba and the second one at 1600i forum.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7377398#7377398
http://forum.1600i.de/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1045&p=6561#p6561

wellcraft · Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 3:51 am Post subject: Update.

We did another compression test and this time it went really good. We found out the gauge we were using was bad. We check a few things and I do need a full tune up kit. We're do u guys fine everything needed for a tune up for a 1999 1600i engine?
I did a search but im not sure if the tune up kits i found are the same for these specific engines as i belive they use a differnt spark plugs, what are u guys using? would like to replace everything needed for a well done tune up.

Can I use one of this or ?
http://www.jbugs.com/category/vw-ignition-distributors-parts_09.html

GArBa · Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 1:40 pm Post subject:

"or".

the mexican heads take long reach spark plugs. OEM were NGK BP5ES-A (you can use BP5ES if you don't find the -A) or later champion N12YC.

Does your engine still have all of its electronics in place? If this is the case you need the specific distributor with hall effect sensor and electronic coil.
_________________
cars:
'97 type 1 1600i
~~'14 type AA Seat Mii~~ (sadly dead after 270.000 km)
'22 type C1 T-Cross
'23 type AC3 Hyundai I10 (VW no longer makes small cars!)
-------------------------
moped:
'82 Benelli Magnum 3v

hopkin · Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 2:19 pm Post subject:

wellcraft:

Here are some Engine specifications from the Service Manual. Hope this info is useful:

wellcraft · Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 2:30 pm Post subject:

Guys thanks for the help, all the electrical system on the engine is stock and untouched. I need to check those specs to see if I could find the parts needed local. Do any of u guys know if I can find all the stuff I need for a full tune up here in the us?

hopkin · Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 3:36 pm Post subject:

All but the plugs you be able to get at the VW dealership. The cap and rotor are the same as the ~90s Golf. You can get the part numbers for the cap and rotor off of 1600i.de.

I ordered a set of plugs from Antonio, but you should be able to get them at an auto parts store:

A question about your mileage, if the speedo has a stock Mexican Beetle speedo with MPH faceplate, the odometer will be in km, not miles, so you may have ony 125,000 miles on the car.

My speedo looks like:

The warning LED near the 100 km/h was added after '96. It can be seen in this example (from the UK). It has a MPH faceplate but km on the odometer:


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