1) From my experience of many years I can assure you that if something falls into the gearbox, it doesn't mean you need to take the gearbox out of the car. It happened to us a few times and we retrieved the component by flexible extension with magnet. It works every time. An hour spent by retrieving the component by magnet is better than disassembling the gearbox and assembling it back...



2) When mounting, particularly for gearboxes with higher mileage, I would suggest, after removing the original 5th gear to check the state of bearings of both shafts. Just tap on them towards the gearbox and test by hand whether there is a clearance to feel. If it is noticeable, ie. estimate of more than 0.05 mm at the input shaft and any radial clearance on the output shaft, it may be necessary prior to installation of our gear sets to disassemble both of the shafts and set them right. Volkswagen tolerates a small radial clearance on the input shaft, but if you set its bearings, it is better to set them completely free of clearance and to let there be a pre-load. By operating the gearbox warms up, the aluminum case is extended over the shaft, but clearance in the bearing does not increase.