Well as my plans chnage from 2L to 2.4L V6 I have had some concerns about what transmission to go with. Talking to a few guys lead me towards a UN5 Renault Master Commercial Van. It is a 5 speed box abd good for at least 250 HP. Even have perfect gearing for my manx with 34" mud tyres on it ....
So anyone got anything to say about the box ? Had any experience with them ??

Isn't this a forum for Volkswagen enthusiasts??

Yep - its going into a VW chassis

I did a little research into this area a while back and the Renault gearboxes were suggested to me to be the strongest around. Apparently they made one casting and used it in both front and rear wheel drive cars, just flipped the diff in the factory.

If you have any mates in the off road racing scene (you know buggies and stadium trucks) ask them about their experiences with them.

I know of a gentleman in W.A who has a renault gearbox of one form or another with a Lexus quad cam v8 behind it.....

Wot you mean this forum is about VW ?? I though it was about space ships :o:o

It is going in my Manx, which has a VW pan and suspension. So I think it qualifies ..

Brad my friend has one in his GT40 replica with a 300+hp 5L v8. I think its model code is like 21 something or another. They are expensive though as the kit car guys snap them up, you'll also need to go for a cable shift as they are a side shit if i recall. If you need some pictures of it I'll probabily be looking at a few GT40 this weekend so let me know and I'll take the camera.

Stephen

Hey Brad,
Why not put the manx body on the Hilux and if a V8 under the bonnet???
If you want VW content, I'm sure you have plenty of badges to stick on it.

Jeez, I'd be interested in learning about a five-speeder for my VW.
(For all the whingers who are saying this is a VW forum... um, the earth isn't flat)

I am looking at the Renault 21 / 30 gearbox for my project car. they are availble in both 4 and 5sp, and LSD's can be found for them too.

Unfortunately they are bloody rare in Oz and cost upwards of $1500 for a second hand untested one. the renault 20, 21 and 30 was never sold here.

the box you need for the high power applications is from the turbo V6 motor, same one as found in volvo 760 and peugeot, as this motor was a joint venture between volvo, renault and peugeot.

to fit it to the VW will require a fair bit of fabrication for mounts and shifter etc etc. if you want to go buy a kit to fit it in, forget it, there isnt one, and it will require some fabrication to the floor and tunng forks.

however, if someone knows where I can get one of these boxes cheaper, let me know!

Is the gearbox in the volvo 760 the same as the renaults, or just the motor ? I know there is a crap load of 760's in wrecking yards around the place...........

When I looked into this, I seem to recall there was a bloke in QLD that was importing the gearboxes. Its not John Sherman (Volks Conversions), but he was the bloke who told me the name.

just the motor unfortunately.

the transaxle is only found in the renault, and audi 90 apparently.

audi has other transaxles we could probably use but i dont think there was too many manual ones.

what about the Auid 80 ? they were inline front engine front wheel drive - must have some form of a transaxle...... hmmmmm

The trick is whether the pinion is offset from the crown wheel center... if it is, you cant flip the diff.

yes they use a transaxle as does the audi 100CD but AFAIK no manuals were available in Oz? im not sure on this one though.

One trick with un-flippable diffs is to mount the gearbox completely upside down. sounds kookey but it works quite successfully.

Or put some reduction boxes on it.

Renault gearbox is the way to go, I looked into it a few years back, but the price was way outta my league. :o

Brad, are you sure that manx still qualifies as 'VW suspension'? :P

Don't worry about the knockers mate, keep it up. I'll be wanting some tips from you in a few years when I can afford to play around a bit more. :thumb

Well if I have to cut or modify the Manx in anyway then that is the end of that idea.:o:o

On a more serious note: Th ebox I am looking at is a UN5 from the commercial vans. I have a supplier who will sell me one and has about 100 of them. They are not a direct fit and I will need to mod teh housing, drive flanges and setup a cable shifter. I don't mind though as steel is easily moved and modified.

The LSD boxes are very expensive and only came in teh sports cars. I already have a transmission manula for teh UN5 and teh biggest problem I will have is the length. Luckily my traling arms seem to have grown by like 75 mm ???

do you know the ratios and dimensions of the van box? how much is he asking for them?

I have the ratios and measurements at home.
Theye were about 700mm long and slightly narrower than teh 6 ribs. it was 500 mm from nose to flanges and then 200 from flanges to end of bell housing.
The ratios I was looking at was a diff of arround 5.8 and a 5th of 0.62 this was awesome as first was like 4.8 or something. This solved all my gearing problems.
Anyway I will be home on saturday so will look it up then.
Cost was around $1650, not cheap but about the same as getting a 091 box rebuilt and much stronger.

Sounds good!!! When are we expecting to see this beast on the road?

Man I ain't never going to finish it casue then I would need another project..

Box Ratios 4 me :
Crown and Pinion - 5.85
1st - 4.45
2nd - 2.43
3rd - 1.48
4th - 1.03
5th - 0.683

If things go to plan I will have to hve it finished by the end of 2004 as I will need a heated buggy in Canberra and may well be spending a few years there on a contract job.

That should stick rocket up my butt...

I may have a source for these boxes at $400 each!! (Un5 box). I'll let you all know as soon as I can confirm this...

Ok, I have some phone numbers for thesae boxes now, last heard was around the $400 mark. u2u me for the numbers.

coincidently I just managed to score a complete (not running) renault 20 with 5sp gearbox for $200. miracles do occur!

Check your inbox

Hi

Those really ugly Mercedes vans that are made in Sapin I think, use a 5 speed transaxle, might be worth a look?

1302Steve

Brad, I've noticed several times over the past two years that you've had a rocket up your butt about finishing The Beast, but when it comes to the crunch you always go out and buy another one! Why don't you spend the time on The Beast instead of continually fixing up other buggies, only to sell them again when you run out of room? :P:P:P

maybe the money he makes off each one is funding the project? thats how I put myself thru engineering

I heard the merc vans use the audi transaxle a UN something, same as the renault boxes, so yeah, if you can find one it'd be worth looking at, but dont quote me on that one.

I actually thought the merc vans were east west...hmmm

here's some info on the various boxes. I cant verify any of it so dont take it as gospel.


http://www.concept-shop.com/nath/gearbox.html

Hi Secoh

The Merc vans are North - South, they are not held in high regard by their owners.

1302Steve

Steve, I have heard that also. Although people do rave about their performance, comfort and general drivability, they apparently have some reliability issues. What exactly, I dont know.

I know finish the one and sell the rest .... you all sound like my wife.

But buggies are so cool and nice and funky as soon as I see one I just have to have it..

Now I put to much effort into uni and the manx Club my time is even harder to come by.

anyone have any luck with those phone numbers?