Im pretty sure that on the vin plate on the firewall that the tranny code has a V at the end, what about on a tranny not in the car, is it the same way?

 

the vlsd trannies do have the V at the end of the code (5-speed - RS5F50V) but one way to tell is the huge *** seal. I noticed it when I helped lophix with his tranny and noticed it was different than mine. The seals on the non lsd tranny are relatively small, meaning not much bigger than the axle, however on the vlsd tranny i remember the axle seals being huge. Also, the axles for the vlsd are supposed to be bigger so the axle holes themselves will be bigger.

just checked drivetrain.com. the lsd has a 90 mm od diameter seal. this is right around 3.5 inches. the regular trannies have a 59 mm seal which is right under 2.5 inches. you can easily see the difference with the two trannies together or when you've seen either tranny many times (which should be very common in these cars )

 

thanks, I needed to know so my mechanic could explain it to the guy that works in the junk yard.