The big answer is that this is my daily. LSD is alot of money and shop time that is hard to sacrifice. Most of the mods on this I've done myself... LSD is a bit outside my scope.
That being said fear not... It will come
Let me be the first to say, props for tracking your daily. I agree completely that the VW community needs more driving and less parking/stancing. Tracking your daily driven car forces you to carefully analyze the cost, comfort, and reliability implications for each modification. :thumbsup:
Regarding the LSD, I completely agree that it's a big decision for those of us that daily our car. Both costs and logistics make it a challenge.
I'm like you in that I do nearly all of my own work, including clutch and rear main seal install, intake manifold removal for carbon cleaning, suspension, etc etc. I say
nearly all my own work because there's always things like alignments, tire mounting/balancing, and then things like internal transaxle work.
When I finally decided to install an LSD, I went back and forth about installing it in the transmission myself. I was already planning on removal/re-installation of the trans to save on costs, and thought I could save some time by just doing it myself. At the end of the day, I didn't want to invest in specialty tools like bearing race pullers, etc. I ended up bringing the transmission to a reputable shop to do the LSD installation. Start to finish, it was a 3.5 day job. 1 day to remove the trans, 1.5 days for the shop to install the LSD, and 1 day to reinstall trans. (I have the exact work steps if you want them) Doing it this way allowed me to complete the install for $1500 (Peloquin LSD, fluid, bolts, install labor)
I will say this, that was some of the best money I've ever spent.