SmoothLS

I appreciate all the comments and suggestions from everyone, especially the offer from Joey T.; thank you. Here's what I think I'll do for now:

Instead of driving 5 miles in 2nd gear to the nearest shop tomorrow during rush hour in Ravena (such as it is in this small town) I'll get a tow there so that I can at least get an idea of what is going on. If I had AAA Plus (available 10 days after payment) I would have seriously considered getting towed to Joey T., if possible, about 45 miles away but since I don't I will have to try the local shop for now since towing much further is too expensive. I would prefer to stay close to home for now, especially if there is a really big problem that I can't take care of right away.

If refilling of the transmission fluid is an option (I desperately hope that it is of course) I will have it done and maybe then have the car it checked at an indy place that specializes in VW/Audi. As Joey T. said, I really had to decide between spending $200 now on a maybe fix or spend thousands for a sure fix so since $200 is a small addition to "thousands" I might as well try it first. Buy the way, I have noticed a leak from the engine but I can't tell where it's coming from or what the liquid is. It looks brown like oil but I can't tell if it smells like it or not. Maybe I should taste it. I will keep you guys updated and keep checking the posts for further ideas. Thanks again.

Joey T

Former wife lived there.


Anyway, if your shap has issues or questions, e-mail me. I would be glad to walk them through the process over the phone.

Tell them that they can use a power steering flush machine to fill the trans, and then if it shifts OK, flush it with VW fluid with a tras flush machine.

Consider having the filter changed if it shifts after being filled.

northof49(+1+1)

on my 96 i had oil running down the back of the motor and on the tranny. turned out to be the crankshaft posiotion sensor o ring. was a quick and easy fix.

SmoothLS

Selkirk Transmission

SmoothLS

There really isn't much to tell except that the car SEEMS to drive fine now but I still feel a little nervous about the whole thing. Bottom line: a little bit of transmission fluid added, brown fluid but no leak, gearbox code.

So, as planned, on Monday morning I had my car towed to a local transmission place that would take a look at an Audi. At that time it was still driving only in second and reverse and the check engine light was on. The mechanic told me that it was a bit low on transmission fluid and all he did was fill it up for it to start driving in all gears. It wasn't enough to charge me, then again he didn't do a flush or anything, but it needed some. Also, even though the check engine light was on the scanner showed that there were no codes. He actually wanted me to take it to the dealer so that they could tell me what's going on and then he would help me from there. I don't think it's a good thing when a mechanic tells you to go to the dealer, find out what's wrong, then bring it back to him to fix but he's helpful. Another thing he noticed, and which might be a problem, was that the fluid was brown.

Anyway, I drove home fine on Monday night and the car seems to be doing all right even though it seemed to lack the usual power, but it might just be my imagination. What was really strange was when the check engine light mysteriously went off when heading home on Tuesday afternoon. It was bad when it came on, as least then I already knew that something was wrong, but it was even stranger when it went off for no apparent reason. Because of that I REALLY wanted to know what was up and decided that I had to get to the dealer; thankfully I didn't have to get it towed there. I did so Wednesday afternoon but they found nothing wrong! There was no transmission leak and everything works fine but there was one gearbox code that they must have cleared, and a minor oil leak.

The plan now: change the transmission fluid, and maybe flush and fill the cooling/antifreeze system while I'm at it. After all that drama it seems just too simple but it seems as though changing the transmission fluid is what a lot of you think is a good idea. Hopefully they know what they're doing Joey T. so that I wont have to ask for help. I'll probably just go ahead and change the filter too and make sure I specify VW fluid.

SmoothLS

It looks like it's coming from all over but mainly from the front. Since hitting a huge pothole one night two years ago, which blew out my tire and cracked my oil pan, I've had minor oil leaks every once in a while.

northof49(+1+1)

i had to replace the rad on my 96 after it clogged up. make sure they open the drain on the block when doing the coolant flush, that is where most of the crud came out when i did mine.
i sold mine at 264000 kilometers and she was still running really well, went to the 1.8t in an 01. i hope it lasts as long as my 96 did