Hi Shawn,

  I don't mean to disagree about your DIESEL vs Gas crankshaft advice...
but "I think they are", as advice, without being sure, could lead
someone with less knowledge to make an expensive mistake.

In other makes of vehicles, the Diesel and Gas crankshafts ARE different
for good reason. The forces a crankshaft experiences in a Diesel engine
are often greater than those in a comparable Gas engine, so they often
require heavy duty crankshafts and other components.

I don't know how VW does this (if they even do) but it can be
accomplished several ways, sometimes the Gas crank is Cast, and the
Diesel is a Forged crank, which is much stronger.

Or perhaps both the Gas and Diesel cranks are forged, BUT the Diesel
crank has been Nitrited (sp), which is a special hardening process that
strengthens the crank for heavy duty use, and Diesels usually constitute
heavy duty use, due to their combustion cycle/characteristics.

Anyhow, I'm NOT saying you are wrong, just that it's best to "be as sure
as possible" before offering advice that could cost someone money.

My apologies if I've offended you, as it's not my intension to, but as a
retired mechanic I thought folks might like to know why there may be
differences between the two crankshafts.

So who does know for sure if they are the same? My curiosity has been
piqued.

Later
Derek -