Audi 90 transaxle

[Eric A.]

Does any one know anything about the Audi 90 transaxle? There is one on ebay that looks interesting. The only information I have found says that some of these cars were available with a turbo engine that made 300+ HP. Were they available in 2 WD? There isn't a photo on ebay that shows the rear of the transaxle but I cannot see any provision for an AWD connection.

 

[Devin]

Eric,

I saw that one too. Since it is within an hour of where I live currently, I may go and check it out. The bell housing looks to be the same bolt pattern as some other Audi transaxles but hard to tell from photos. For $100 it might be worth a try if the ratios aren't too bad.

Devin

 

[Charlie M]

I believe the Audi 90 had an 014 gearbox. I went to a local VW/Audi performance shop looking for parts and info for my 016. The guys there swore up and down that the 014 was a superior box to the 016. Gearboxes have been discussed at length on this and other sites and they're the only ones I've heard make that claim.

According to them the 014 is not only a stronger box but it has better availability (it was used up until the early 2000's) and some came with a 3.375 final drive ratio. That's their opinion, you'll probably find many folks here that will disagree. Just looking at the exterior, the 014 has a larger input shaft but the case is significantly smaller.

These guys were parting out an Audi 90 so I bought the gearbox off them for $50. I've had the 016 box apart. When I have the time I'm going to tear down this 014 to see how they compare. For $50 I thought it would be cheap research. When I do that I'll post the results.

Charlie

 

[Eric A.]

Charlie,

Thanks for the information. It is hard to tell from the photos on ebay just how big the transaxle is. By using the bellhousing as a reference I thought that the center part looked like it might be a little bigger than the 016. The shifter is in a different location, but I don't think that would be too big a problem to solve with a cable shifter. I will look up some information on the 014 and see what I can find out about the ratios.
Eric

 

[Charlie M]

Eric,

If I get a chance this weekend I'll take pictures of the two boxes side-by-side and post them next week.

Charlie

 

[Ken Grulich]

I am new this board, but I have been reading as much about transaxles as I can. My plan is to build a mid-engined tube frame car for track duty. This site has been the best source of transaxle information I have found.

So, I am wondering if there is an update on this subject. I found a complete Audi 90 car, and I am trying to figure out if it will work. My planned engine is a stock LS1 and planned vehicle weight is 1200-1500 lbs.

Thanks,
Ken

 

[Ken Grulich]

I am just keeping this alive because I am still trying to find out the difference between an Audi 90 and Audi 100 transaxle. I did a search on car-parts for an Audi 100 trans, and I got a bunch of Audi 90 transmissions returned. I called one of the shops and asked for serial numbers, and they said they could get back to me tomorrow. Does anyone know the differences?

EDIT: I just called another parts yard. They said the transmission is the same for a 92-94 100 and a 93-95 90. Does this sound correct?

Thanks
Ken

 

[Eric A.]

I thought that somewhere on this forum I read a post that the 100 used the 016 transaxle. It seems to be hard to pin down exactly what box is in what model. Maybe it changed for different years. I'm still looking for a chart of what the gear ratios are for the 014.

 

[Graeme Stebbing]

Hi Eric A , Is this what your after
Type Ist 2nd 3rd 4th Rev Diff Speedo drive
014 Serial Number prefix QN 3.46 1.79 1.07 0.70 3.17 4.11 0.52
014 Serial Number prefix 4X 3.46 1.79 1.07 0.70 3.17 4.11 0.52

comes from Technical Pages

not a lot of info out there on 014

Regards
lambo

 

[Eric A.]

Thanks Lambo, I had seen these transaxles listed as a 5-speed. The gear ratios aren't bad but no real improvement over the 016.

Does anyone know if the 4.11 R&P from the 016 might fit in the 093 box? That might be a good swap if it is possible. The 093 has these ratios:
1st 2.84
2nd 1.52
3rd 1.07
4th .64
5th .48
The R&P is 5.22

The 093 was fitted to the 1.9 liter 5 cylinder models, but I don't know if they were in any of the cars imported to the U.S. My Haynes manual says all North American models have the 016.

 

[StuartB]

As I understand it, and this should be taken as a general rule and by no means definative because developement of different models and the changes made didn't all happen in any given year, the medium and full size Audi manual cars from `76 up to around `82 had four speed 014 (or type 088) boxes in them, these had the iron centre section and were the original four speed prerunner to the 016. Around `82 they started using variations of this box as the basis for the new the 5 speed (016 type boxes), then around `89 they went accross to the 093 type all alloy two piece cased gearbox.

 

[Eric A.]

Thanks Stuart,
Do you know if there is any interchange of parts possible between the 016 and the 093? I am looking for some options until your heavy duty gear sets become a reality. Let us know how that is coming along.
Eric

 

[Wayne M.]

I just got a transaxle out of a 1989 Audi 90. It is a 5spd 012 with a code of ALP. By spinning the input shaft and watching the CV flanges it looks like first is about 13.8 to 1 and top gear is about 3.2 to 1. It would be nice if top gear was somewhat less than 3 to 1. The trans is about 3" shorter than the 016. The bellhousing bolt pattern and input shaft diameters are different than the 016 so Kennedys adapter will not work. The case of the 012 is completely aluminium while the 016 has a cast iron section. The shifter exits to the rear. Im not sure if the ratios are what I really want but the price was right, I just had to remove it so it only cost me a few hours work. Next is to see what I can do about getting it mated to a small block Ford V8.

I will post a pic or take better measurments if anyone is interested.

Wayne

 

[Pedro Kim]

Hi,
The audi 90 in usa from 1988 to 1991 came with a 2.3l motor and 130hp on fwd,
from 1993 to 1995 came with a 2.8 v6 motor 172hp on fwd.
There was an audi S2 turbo 220hp awd only in europe and a the audi RS2 turbo 315hp awd, both look like the audi 90 and I believe where made in limited quantities.
Maybe the audi 90 can handle about 50% more power.
An other alternative is the audi a4 1.8 turbo fwd or the 1988 and on, vw passat both they have 160hp and the v6 with 193hp.

Hope it helps.

Pedro